Marbella

Marbella, March 3-8 2009

Angela: above the park, on the terrace, at the beach, in her element.

Marbella is a Southern Spain, seaside town with an incredible view of the mountains to the north and the Mediterranean to the south. We were fortunate enough to find a hostel right in the heart of the old-town within walking distance of many sights. We felt like we were on vacation in the middle of our vacation!

Marbella is where we found our favorite cafe so far (el relejo) right around the corner from our hostel. We also watched some futbol at the Tavern, a true English pub in the south of Spain. It seems Spain has been infiltrated by many Brits. Apparently Marbella is a center of the Mafia Italiano as well. I guess you could say it´s a real mix of all the Mediterranean nations.

An incredibly detailed sand sculpture. The artist seemed to make enough from his collection dish to buy cigarettes and red wine. Well worth a donation. Just a few in a large pride of street cats. That´s right, you can buy beer from the vending machine, my kinda place.
One night there was a lively parade celebrating the feast of carnival which culminated with a march down to the sea to light paper statues on fire. We were already asleep when the late night procession went by our hostel, but it woke us of course and was a surreal experience. The mass of people singing and playing horns was so dense, they resembled a large dragon moving through the street. They had a very lively drum beat as well. Í´ll try to post some videos on facebook.

We also met some other travelers including a fellow U.S. citizen who is a WWOOFer too! Hola Craig!

The Rock of Gibralter

March 6, 2009

10:30 AM
Well we´ve made it to England, I should say Gibralter, which is a territory of Great Britain. It´s right at the southern tip of Spain, at the mouth of the Mediterranean. Right now it´s 10:30 AM and we´re sitting at the base of ¨the rock¨fueling up on a breakfast of french bread, oranges, cheese and yogurt, about to embark on a long hike to the top. After only being in cities for the past week, we both have a need for a long strenous hike, and by the looks of it, that´s what we´re going to get!

4 PM
The Rock was quite an amazing experience. My back, my legs and feet are already feeling the pounding they received climbing from the base to the summit and back down. We figured we walked at least 8 miles, mostly straight up or straight down. It was well worth the effort. When I get to a computer where I can upload some photos, you´ll get a much better image. More in a week or so...

Our first day and night in Sevilla

This is a view of the main Cathedral in city center. On the other side is the barrio de Santa Cruz, a labyrinth of old streets filled with restaurants, shops and private residences. I really knew we were in a place with a lengthy history, I could just imagine going back thousands of years. It was very moving. We didn´t go up the tower, because they were charging too much:(

As you can see, the oranges are fully ripe and the setting very tropical. The temperatures were in the 60´s, perfect for long walks exploring an exotic location.

Here is the view from the bridge of the Triana neighborhood where we stayed. I think Angela is picking some baguette from her teeth:) The Cathedral tower to the upper left of the photo is next to the Triana Backpackers Hostal, our home for 3 wonderful nights.

The bridge in the background is called the Isabella II. It was one of our main walkways between the Triana neighborhood, where our hostal was located and the main section of old town. The right side of the bridge is Triana, the left is old town Sevilla.

This is Angela with her full gear after just arriving in Sevilla. We were both ready to head to our hostel and put away our bags.

Here we are on the 6 hour bus ride to Sevilla from Madrid. We are both tired, but are very exited as well. The ride way very beautiful, passing through some mountains and acre upon acre of olive trees.

Obama Inauguration: January 20th 2009

The metro was so packed we decided to get off at Arlington Cemetery and make the rest of the journey on foot. We were joined by thousands as we marched toward the Capitol.

Braving a blustery winter's day, millions of us came together to support change!

We huddled with the great mass of people surrounding the Washington Monument. By 9 A.M. this was as close as we could get, putting us behind a mile of spectators.

After the ceremony, as we were hiking back towards the metro, we spotted this guy waving a flag of green peace. A good conclusion to this historical moment.

Baltimore, January 19th 2009

Here we are on the frozen waterfront of Baltimore: Moira, Steve, Angela and Me. Brrrrr!! A delicious piece of Irish Pizza: Corned beef, Swiss, Potatoes and Caramelized Onions. MMM!!Here are Moira and Steve in their neighborhood. Nice old town feel.

This is sweet, but can't wait for Europe...
More postings to come, look for something after the Inauguration.