Today, we discovered something that we will be partaking in rather frequently throughout the rest of our journey : free walking tours. We met our tour guide (and about 20 other tourists) in Madrid´s Plaza Mayor at 11 am to start our 3 hour trek through the city. Fiona, our little Irish tour guide, was great--she shared gems of knowledge such as the popular suicide spots in Madrid and facts about King Carlos the Useless. But seriously, we learned a lot. We saw the oldest restaurant in the world, some restaurants that Hemmingway ate in (that would be all of them), and statues explaining how Inquisition victims were strangled. We also ate one euro ¨bocadillo de jamon¨ at the ham museum for lunch. I had two. I could have had more. Trip highlight for sure.
After our tour we went to check out the Cathedral de la Almudena and Palacio Real. The cathedral was awesome. It was very brightly colored on the inside, unlike most of the cathedrals we´ve seen at home and abroad, and it was huge. We spent about an hour inside exploring and praying. Palacio Real is supposedly the largest palace in Western Europe. After having seen Chambord and Versailles, I refuse to believe this. Admittedly, it was very cool. Again, the inside was very brightly colored, which was very different than the chateaux of France. We spent about an hour here as well poking around the bedrooms, dining rooms, and hallways of Spanish royalty.
Currently, Tim is asleep and Maria and I are taking a bit of a breather as well. Tonight we will do a little bit of souvenir shopping, check out the Museo Reina Sophia, and eat some tapas. We have an 8am train to Lourdes tomorrow morning so we will either be waking up at 6am or not going to sleep, and I REFUSE to wake up at 6am... but we´ll see if Tim and Maria can´t talk some sense into me (translation : Maria will later tonight talk some sense into Tim and I, and we will all be in bed early and well rested for our travels tomorrow. This is exactly how it will happen.)
Again, pictures to come in a bit! The Spanish don´t like tourists taking pictures so we weren´t able to get them everywhere today, but we will post what we have!
I still miss cheeseburgers,
Daniel
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Toledo, Spain
and nuns in habits bustling around the streets and the most beautiful
cathedral I've ever seen (yes even more beautiful than the ones in
France). The alterpiece is absolutely glorious along with its 20 side
chapels! I also saw the biggest monstrance I've ever seen, it was the
size of a Christmas tree! After the cathedral we set off to find the
Hospital Tavera which is not a hospital but a renaissance palace. We
hiked close to a mile to find out it is under renovation!! But it
wasnt easy. At first we thought everyone was just on their siestas,
then we thought we were at the wrong place. It was quite the
experience. It is particularly rough hiking around Toledo with its
cobblestone streets and crazy elevation changes. Toledo is basically
built on a mountain and we were very thankful for the five story
escalator running up the side of it.:-) So this morning we had a train
to catch to Toledo at 9:20. Unfortunately there was an alarm mix up
this morning and we missed our train by 5 minutes!! But yayy for
eurail; we just ended up catching the next one. We are determined
never to miss a train again! As the day continues on In Toledo we are
enjoying a cafe and plan to go to mass at the cathedral at 6:30. Of
course, after that, we will try and catch the USA verses France
women's soccer game:-)
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Madrid, Spain
Hi everyone! You´ll be happy to know that Tim, Maria, and I are all safe and TOGETHER in Spain. I had been so anxious to meet up with everyone for about a week now, and it was music to my ears to hear Maria yelling at Tim on the top floor of our hostel (okay, not really yelling... we´re not sick of each other... yet...)
We had a lot to take care of today, mainly finding each other and buying train tickets for the next few days, but we had a lot of time for fun as well. We took the metro a couple stops west to the Plaza de Ramales to look for the Cristiano Ronaldo statue that I had wanted to see so bad that, sadly, does not actually exist. We also stopped in at Plaza Mayor and have even bigger plans for Madrid on Thursday (we will be in Toledo tomorrow).
After our little adventure, we all took showers (finally!) and headed out to a Tapas crawl with our hostel, where we ate more Spanish dishes than our stomachs were meant to hold. We ate at 4 restaurants over a course of 3 hours--this is turning out to be my kind of trip ;)
We´ll blog again tomorrow de Toledo!
Daniel
P.S. Photos to come soon!
We had a lot to take care of today, mainly finding each other and buying train tickets for the next few days, but we had a lot of time for fun as well. We took the metro a couple stops west to the Plaza de Ramales to look for the Cristiano Ronaldo statue that I had wanted to see so bad that, sadly, does not actually exist. We also stopped in at Plaza Mayor and have even bigger plans for Madrid on Thursday (we will be in Toledo tomorrow).
After our little adventure, we all took showers (finally!) and headed out to a Tapas crawl with our hostel, where we ate more Spanish dishes than our stomachs were meant to hold. We ate at 4 restaurants over a course of 3 hours--this is turning out to be my kind of trip ;)
We´ll blog again tomorrow de Toledo!
Daniel
P.S. Photos to come soon!
Monday, July 11, 2011
Newark, New Jersey
From: Maria and Tim
Making our way to Europe has been such a breeze...so far:-) As my mom
dropped us off at the airport this morning I knew it would be a long
but good day because I knew I would have lots of bonding time with
Tim! The flight to Newark was busy as we bustled through our
guidebooks once again! When we got here I was determined to find an
alternative side bag, because I decided I really just don't like the
one I'm using now. It's too small. Sadly our search was not fruitful,
and I'll gladly get one in Europe instead. Now we are sitting waiting
for our flight later this evening. Once we arrive in Madrid we will
finally meet up with Daniel at the hostel to put up our backpacks.
After that, since we are arriving on the morning, we will have a full
day of sight seeing in Madrid! We'll post again soon! For now I'm just
going to learn how to whistle and make a bridge shuffling cards lol.
Making our way to Europe has been such a breeze...so far:-) As my mom
dropped us off at the airport this morning I knew it would be a long
but good day because I knew I would have lots of bonding time with
Tim! The flight to Newark was busy as we bustled through our
guidebooks once again! When we got here I was determined to find an
alternative side bag, because I decided I really just don't like the
one I'm using now. It's too small. Sadly our search was not fruitful,
and I'll gladly get one in Europe instead. Now we are sitting waiting
for our flight later this evening. Once we arrive in Madrid we will
finally meet up with Daniel at the hostel to put up our backpacks.
After that, since we are arriving on the morning, we will have a full
day of sight seeing in Madrid! We'll post again soon! For now I'm just
going to learn how to whistle and make a bridge shuffling cards lol.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Finally Packed!
It's my first blog entry, so here goes nothing!
First off, I'm super excited to have this opportunity to travel Europe
with two great friends, Maria and Daniel. The trip was originally my
idea, but I got it from my parents, who both completed similar trips
in their college years. Although I didn't concern myself too much with
the attractions we are seeing (besides insisting on a day for
Normandy), I did take point on traveling between cities, finding
places to stay, and helping everyone get organized for the trip
(surprisingly). I let Daniel and Maria plan the fun (as I am too
indecisive/can have fun anywhere), while I hope to get us from point a
to point b without getting lost (although that's half the fun) or hurt
(it's ok I am an EMT)!
Today I traveled back from Slidell, Louisiana where I was celebrating
my Grandma's 80th birthday. The whole family was there and we had a
great time! I met the Landrys for dinner, and Maria and I spent the
rest of the night going through our packing list and fitting
everything into our bags (followed are some before and after
pictures!). It was a tight fit, to say the least!
I can't believe we are finally beginning our journey tomorrow! I doubt
I will be able to sleep tonight, but who knows that may help with the
whole time difference thing! Wish us luck and stay tuned for more!
-Tim
From : Daniel
To : Everyone
Message start.
Hey guys! I felt like it was finally time for me to make my first post on our blog before Tim and Maria get here and we start sprinting our marathon. I'm currently in Nice, France and LOVING IT. In fact, we may actually change our trip plans to Nice in lieu of Antibes now that I've seen both cities.
Just as a heads up, in addition to posting here, I am going to keep up with a video blog sort of thing on my facebook wall. Posts from each city at least, if not daily :) As a side note, I am indeed capable of doing the laundry. People make mistakes.
Tim, Maria, and I are going to make some awesome friends over here. In fact, when I got to Nice, I met 4 Australian guys that I hung out with until they left the hostel this morning. They're names were Tom-O, Dave-O, John-O, and Harry (who doesn't get an -O at the end of his name. Poor guy...) Australians are apparently big into wagers. For instance, if John-O doesn't cut his hair until February, he'll make 40 dollars! And Tom-O got an eyebrow piercing 2 weeks ago. I don't really know what he got in return for that though... Anyway, they all turned out to be good guys, and I'm pumped for all the people we're going to meet while we're over here.
That's all for today. I'm heading to the beach to catch a "Sandball" tourny. Don't forget to check my FB wall for vids!
Message end.
To : Everyone
Message start.
Hey guys! I felt like it was finally time for me to make my first post on our blog before Tim and Maria get here and we start sprinting our marathon. I'm currently in Nice, France and LOVING IT. In fact, we may actually change our trip plans to Nice in lieu of Antibes now that I've seen both cities.
Just as a heads up, in addition to posting here, I am going to keep up with a video blog sort of thing on my facebook wall. Posts from each city at least, if not daily :) As a side note, I am indeed capable of doing the laundry. People make mistakes.
Tim, Maria, and I are going to make some awesome friends over here. In fact, when I got to Nice, I met 4 Australian guys that I hung out with until they left the hostel this morning. They're names were Tom-O, Dave-O, John-O, and Harry (who doesn't get an -O at the end of his name. Poor guy...) Australians are apparently big into wagers. For instance, if John-O doesn't cut his hair until February, he'll make 40 dollars! And Tom-O got an eyebrow piercing 2 weeks ago. I don't really know what he got in return for that though... Anyway, they all turned out to be good guys, and I'm pumped for all the people we're going to meet while we're over here.
That's all for today. I'm heading to the beach to catch a "Sandball" tourny. Don't forget to check my FB wall for vids!
Message end.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
From Maria:
Right now, Tim Norman is in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, I am back at home, and Daniel is waiting it out in Nice, France practicing his laundry skills (if you guys haven't seen his video on facebook it's totally hilarious. nevertheless, I will probably be doing the laundry from here on out;-).
I spent this past week on my family reunion trip in Florida, and I really loved sharing with my family all about our soon-to-be trip of a lifetime. I have to say, the more and more I talked about the trip, the more real it became! This will truly be a time where I discover myself, the experience glory of God in Europe, and make really amazing memories with Tim and Daniel. I know many think I and maybe Daniel too are French purists, and it's true I AM MOST excited about Lourdes, but I know we will be overwhelmed beyond our wildest imagination by the rest of Europe.
So, in less then two days we will all be together beginning our trip in Madrid, SPAIN!! Between now and then, I've got a lot of last minute things to do (pack to perfection). Tim and I will be taking off Monday morning at 10:45 on a flight to New York, and after a good 5 hour lay over we will take off for Madrid. Hopefully this 16 hours of travel time will be a great start to the trip for Tim and I :-). As we are heading east, Daniel will be taking a train west to meet us. And there it will all begin...
Right now, Tim Norman is in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, I am back at home, and Daniel is waiting it out in Nice, France practicing his laundry skills (if you guys haven't seen his video on facebook it's totally hilarious. nevertheless, I will probably be doing the laundry from here on out;-).
I spent this past week on my family reunion trip in Florida, and I really loved sharing with my family all about our soon-to-be trip of a lifetime. I have to say, the more and more I talked about the trip, the more real it became! This will truly be a time where I discover myself, the experience glory of God in Europe, and make really amazing memories with Tim and Daniel. I know many think I and maybe Daniel too are French purists, and it's true I AM MOST excited about Lourdes, but I know we will be overwhelmed beyond our wildest imagination by the rest of Europe.
So, in less then two days we will all be together beginning our trip in Madrid, SPAIN!! Between now and then, I've got a lot of last minute things to do (pack to perfection). Tim and I will be taking off Monday morning at 10:45 on a flight to New York, and after a good 5 hour lay over we will take off for Madrid. Hopefully this 16 hours of travel time will be a great start to the trip for Tim and I :-). As we are heading east, Daniel will be taking a train west to meet us. And there it will all begin...
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