Category: Spain

As predicted


Our last minute costume

This weekend was totally insane. Outside of the fact that I spent most of the weekend helping Katty with her move, my uncle and aunt were in town, I sold the Jetta, and there were more than a few Halloween parties to go to! Let me begin with Friday morning…

We often park Katty’s car in the alley next to her building when bringing a bunch of stuff up or down the stairs. We always put the hazards on and we never leave it there for more than 15 min. Until Thursday night. It totally slipped both our minds. Friday morning we went out to get her car and go sign the lease – when we got outside we saw a familiar car sitting in the alley. I was convinced it was somebody else’s car as we would never have left it there! Luckily there was no ticket. But the leaving the Hazards on all night kills the battery. D’OH! As Katty called AAA I got out of the car and decided to ask the only guy walking down the street if he had a vehicle and jumper cables. He sighed and said… “yea, I do”. He totally came to our rescue! The situation was resolved in 5 minutes! Of course it just added to the stress factor already present!

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Continue reading As predicted

Spring is in the air

Bloom

After little sleep and a LONG flight home, we have finally arrived. Sweet home Chicago – and what a day we have arrived too! Not a cloud in the sky and 75F. Perfect weather! Too bad I’m too exhausted to really enjoy it – but at least its something. Even better, everything is starting to bloom! The scent of flowers was lingering in the air as we arrived home…

Continue reading Spring is in the air

Madrid in 48 hours!

Royal Palace in Madrid

We have just returned to Bilbao from our whirlwind tour of Madrid with Pepe and his brother Eduardo! We had a fantastic time with Pepe and his friends! The first night we went to a bar that seemed to only play 80s rock and had burgers and fries – it felt like we had gone back in time! The following day we spent walking around the entire city. Pepe was a fantastic guide! That night his father invited us out for dinner, incredible meal! Best lamb I think I have ever had! After going to another bar and watching Teresa take a few turns on stage with a guitar (and her own music!) we didn’t know what to expect next! As luck would have it I checked my e-mail this morning and I have been invited for a third interview on Friday!
…and I was hoping to be able to come home and relax after this trip!

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Just about to leave for Madrid

We finally found a moment to sit down in an internet cafe here in Salamanca. My parents, aunts and uncles have left to return to Bilbao, while Teresa, Matt and I are getting ready to head for Madrid! Valladolid and Salamanca are incredible cities in their own rights, and if I had my USB adaptor with me, I would be posting pictures of both! I know you guys will believe me when I tell you that I have taken a ton!

Now we are off to visit with Pepe and his brother Eduardo en Madrid! Should be a great time! Tonight and Monday night in Madrid and then Teresa and I head back to Bilbao. We plan to see the exhibition at the Guggenheim and leave early Thursday morning for the US! Its non-stop since arriving!

My updates might be a bit more sporadic as I found out that T-Mobile is KILLING me for the roaming data rates. I have been taking pictures with my digital camera and then sending them to the blog via MMS. (for some reason my blog was automatically blowing up some of the pictures, so they looked horrible – I have since corrected the problem, so go back to see the original pics!) Apparently this counts as internet data so I´m getting hammered big time by the roaming rates. That and I´ve checked my e-mail a couple of times as I´m still waiting to hear back about the interview. Time to start trying to steal WiFi again! Internet cafes work as well.

Anyway, we need to get a move on! Hope to post again from Madrid! Hasta luego!

Ohm…

Teresa reporting: Last night we found one of the most amazing bars I’ve ever been in (then again, Pablo’s the expert) called Ohm. We managed to snatch one of the elevated bed/lounge boxes before it got crowded, and I managed to steal two of the reserved signs (one for each hermano)! The whole place had a very elaborate Eastern/Buddhist d?cor, including signs for the bathroom labeled Buddha and Shiva instead of men and women. Basically, the last thing I’d expect to run into in Valladolid!
Apparently, the place is also a hookah bar on weekdays, but they get too crowded on weekends and fiestas! Too bad! That was about all the place was missing! DEFINITELY going back tonight and catching the late night crowd…

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Atajo

Atajo is the spanish word for shortcut. This picture was taken while follwing the now infamous “Jane” (gps) shortcuts. In order to avoid the 8km of stopped traffic entering Burgos Jane took us through some of the most scenic roads I have been on in Spain. As we were the lead car in the caravan I could only imagine the reaction of Tio Santi when we turned on to the gravel road! Aita was laughing histerically as we kicked up a storm of dust! After 10 min of gravel road we had a steep climb that ended directly at the highway! I was almost as much in disbelief as the rest – but I knew better. Jane knows better!

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