I Made It To Madrid!!

Well, I am finally here! Madrid, Spain. Again, I have to comment on the absolute beauty of the old architecture here. I think that I am going to have to get a book or something on architecture so I can identify and understand some of the things I am seeing. However that won't be happening anytime soon cuz I am not carryin another book around!!

Madrid is great, but it is a very big city. 3.2 million, and I swear all of them were out when I got here. That probably had something to do with Spain making the Europeon Futbol (soccer for you yanks!) Finals. There were people howling (no, that's not a typo) in the street at 2 am from sheer excitement(I'm curious what will happen if they win the whole bloody thing tonight...). Friday and Saturday were spent wandering around Madrid. Friday I wandered mostly alone, then came back to the hostel and met a Spanish teacher from Washington State who is participating in a masters program in Salamanca. He turned out to be a fantastic tour guide as he had read pretty much ALL of the tour book and thereby saving me from actually having to look stuff up. I was also able to practice reading spanish with him, although I couldn't really talk a lot because he did most of the talking (he was gooood!).

PDAs (public displays of affection) are common here, which is a big change from the states. Couples just stop in the street and start smooching and you just walk around them and keep going. Good for them. I will also say that the people here are so darn polite! I believe that this is one of the friendliest places I have ever been to.

Mike introduced us to one of the most wonderful breakfast favorites here. Churros y chocolate con leche. Hot chocolate and stick donuts essentially, but their hot chocolate was like liquid chocolate, not the powdered stuff we drink. OMG!! You must take your time because it is just that good. And I don't think I was hungry for at least 4 hours after that!!

The best thing I've seen and learned about so far is the statue of Don Quixote. For those of you who don't know the story, Don Quixote is the story about an old man who reads a bunch of stories about knights and fancies himself as one, and goes out trying to be galliant, but getting his bum kicked all over. He has a side-kick who keeps trying to convince him to stop getting into fights. The story is a great representation of the fighting and peace, old ideas and new, that goes on in Spain. The statues were beautiful although my photo doesn't do a very good job.

Ok, so a couple of funny things I saw. The yellow store front you see actually is a restaurant but it translates as "Ham Museum". The photo above it is Mike eating at the Ham Museum (I had cheese). There are cured hams hanging all over the place and you can buy sandwiches and drinks. These places are all over the city and the way you tell how good they are is by looking at the floor. The more trash, the better the place. I guess I was a tad rude when I threw my trash in the trash can. Go figure.

Finally, the sign you see on the left is funny because of its different meanings. In Spain, pinchito means to get a pinch of something, like maybe food. However, I found out (through my human translator Mike), that in Mexico, pinchito means that you want to grab someone, if you catch my drift. So we had to take a photo just for hahas.

Tomorrow I will head to Cordoba. Cheer for Espana tonight in the Europeon Cup!

Dublin, Ireland

They say that Ireland is gorgeous with its rolling green hills. "They" are absolutely right. Ireland is absolutely beautiful. From the window of an airplane. You can see the rolling green hills and the earthen fences and it all looks so peaceful. From the sky. Then I landed in Dublin. That is where my fascination with Ireland ended. I stepped off the plane and left the airport only to find that it was 55 degrees, windy, and rainy. Ugh. I was determined to get out and see a little of Dublin since I was there so I took the bus to Grafton Street. This is the main shopping district and the home of Trinity College, which has been around since the 1500s. First let me say that my knowledge of where to go in Dublin is thanks to my playgroup experience. Helen, one of the moms, is from Dublin and was kind enough to email me an entire itinerary of what to do while in Dublin. I did go and have coffee at Bewley's, a cute 3 story place where you can look out over Grafton Street and watch the fools running around in the rain. I travelled to the Beneton store (which I really wish we still had in the states), and bought an umbrella, and finally went to Trinity College to see the Book of Kelts. This is a national treasure housed in the college. I have to say that Evan, our tour guide, was really quite funny and was the primary reason I didn't abandon the tour even though the weather was so awful. (check out my great tour group shot-its the one with all of the umbrellas!) He told the group that last year it rained for 89 days in a row. I mention this because when I reached the Dublin airport to head for Madrid I met a gent who worked promoting Guiness. He told me that the Irish drink more alcohol that any other EU country. I theorized that the Irish were the ones to label alcohol "spirits" because with the weather being as it is, they needed to do something to keep their spirits up!!

Needless to say I was happy to depart Dublin for warm, sunny Madrid!

Smiles!!

T

Meet Miss Madison. This pint size two year old is the daughter of my best friend Megan. She is constantly (and I really do mean constantly) on the move. I was coerced (while I was innocently nursing my bath and given a glass of wine) into going on a playdate. Yes folks, I went on a playdate where moms and tots get together for some socialization. You think this is funny? No, this is no laughing matter. There were 4 tots, Madison, Emma, Olivia, Amelia. Plus of course their mothers and one infant. And me. We ventured to head to a local farm with a petting area. The farm actually had a market with some pretty good lunch selections. We ate outside in a little picnicky area where the kids could run around (cuz you know they ain't sittin still for very long).

After the kids were pestered into eating as much as possible (too busy exploring the world you know), we gathered up the troops and headed for the petting area. I knew there would be issues right away when one of the moms squenched up her face and commented on the smell of animals before we even left the parking lot. Seeing as I had grown up near a farm and I really do think that low tide is much worse than farm smell, I chuckled and thought to myself that I really hoped she didn't plan on visiting the beach anytime soon. The seaweed alone might put her over the edge.

We saw bunnies and chickens and baby chicks and donkeys, and shetland ponies, and some type of hairy animal that resembled a cow(see photo to the right), but I am not really sure what the heck it was. We fed the animals and wiped animal snot all over our clothes, ran wildly from one animal to the other and back again, sat in the dirt, and made an incredible amount of hilarious facial expressions. All in all I think it was a productive experience.

The best part? It only lasted an hour because it started raining. Then we headed back to the hacienda where I thankfully was able to lie down for a nap.

Reston, VA & Washington DC

Well, I made it to Virginia. This was the longest leg of my trip north and it took over 9 hours. I left Savannah at around 10:30 am with the intentions of driving 5 1/2 hours to Rocky Mount, NC and hopefully stopping there to do some kayaking or hiking. When I finally got through to the only bike shop in Rocky Mount that also rented kayaks, they told me that they closed at 2 and that the hiking wasn't very good around there anyway, but they would be happy to leave a map taped to their door when I came through. Thanks anyway. I looked at my map and saw that Fayetteville, NC was also on my way and it looked like there was a lake, Spring Lake, next to it. Oh no, Spring Lake was the next town over and although Fayetteville looked like a cute enough town, I had no interest in stopping. It seems that unless you are looking to eat or shop, most places don't have a lot to offer. I ended up stopping in Richmond, VA and wandered around until I found the Civil War mounument and attached park. Yippee! Much to my dismay, there was an extreme event wrapping up and they were clearing everyone out of the park because there would be fireworks later that evening. Oh well. I went into downtown Richmond and walked the cobblestone streets until I found the Taphouse Bar and Grill, where I ended up having dinner and chatting with the owner, Mike. He has a son going to Colorado to go to college and is worried about his son goofing off......ya think?!?!?? I of course felt the need to explain my belief that it is very rare at 18 to have even an inkling about what you want to do in life and we discussed the possible scenarios for awhile.

Around 9:30 I finally made it to Kevin's. Kevin is my friend Katie's husband's friend, if you can follow that. Kevin had just finished a motorcycle trip across the country and is going to be moving to Colorado next month. Hmm, am I seeing a trend here? Kevin and I have hung out before, most recently for Ted's birthday party in March. He's a great guy and gracious host.

We spent Sunday in Washington DC. My one and only priority in the capital was to wander around the Smithsonian. Kevin asked me which one? I had totally forgotten that there were many parts to the Smithsonian. I opted out of the artsy stuff and went straight for the Air and Space Museum and the Natural History Museum. We also went to the National Archives to see the founding documents of our country, the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and numerous other historical papers related to our country's past. I thought it quite interesting that as you stand waiting to enter the Rotunda where the documents are kept (need a visual? See National Treasure), the security guard tells each group at LEAST 4 times that flash photography is not permitted. I don't know, maybe it just seems too simple for me. Let everyone use flash photography and you might as well leave the documents out in the Florida sun. And the Declaration is so faded already that protection is critical to preserve what is left. Having said that, while we were there, EVERY single group had at least one dumb dumb who felt the need to ignore the rule, or who just didn't pay attention to their camera settings. Personally, I think they should confiscate if you can't follow the rules. People would learn real quick to pay attention. Accountability for your actions. Something this country lacks.

Kevin and I also saw the National Botanical Gardens, the Capital Building, the Washington Monument (we just looked at them), and strolled downtown in the midst of a humungous gay pride festival. Now I am a HUGE people watcher. I don't care what kind of people, I just love watching how people act. Maybe I should have been a sociologist and studied people for a job. This festival made me realize that this country is notorious for taking everything to the extreme. Not that there is anything wrong with being gay, I really don't consider it my business unless we are dating, but I found it rather amusing how flambouyant quite a few of these people were. There was also some stuff that was downright inappropriate and I wondered how these people could think it okay to participate in that manner without taking into consideration that it was open to ANYONE walking in the city. I told Kevin that if there was a straight pride festival it would be called a party and the cops would be all over it. People are funny.

Unfortunately, by the time we left and headed home, I was not feeling so hot. I crashed at Kevin's around 6:30 and except for a brief break and hanging out with Kevin, I slept until 9:30 the next morning. I caught myself a cold. Great. Not unexpected though. I had been running on all pistons for the last 8 weeks with very little care for my poor body and now I was finally slowing a little and it was telling me that no, you don't need to slow a little, you need to STOP.

My next stop was Megan's in New Milford, New Jersey, and since she brought down Madison germs when she visited in April, I figured I was okay bringing them back to New Jersey. She was probably missing them : )

Savannah, Georgia

Hey Y'all from Savannah!

I absolutely LOVED Savannah. I first fell in love with the city when I drove up to Don's house. I stuck my hand out to shake his and he gave me a big hug and said that I was getting a real southern welcome!

Don lives just a few blocks from the downtown historic district so on Friday I parked at the end of Forsythe Park and walked the entire downtown district. The city of Savannah and the state of Georgia was founded by James Oglethorpe and one of the fantastic things that he did was to design the city in a grid a set aside 21 squares throughout the historic district. These 21 squares are mini parks and they are absolutely gorgeous. The whole city is so lush and green and peaceful. The houses are like mcmansions but each is so individual and there are over 1,000 of them!

These two photos are of Forsythe Park. This is the largest in the city and sits at the south end. There wasn't one person that I walked by who didn't smile and say hello to me. The walk was so peaceful through this park and I could have hung out there all day!

In the center of the city is a large cemetary that I walked through. By chance I happened to find this memorial plaque. This is the resting site of one of the Georgia signers of the Declaration of Independence. I thought it was pretty cool that just happened to find this little piece of Georgia history.

For all of you Stingrays, I just wanted to include this photo to help you make a connection to one of your big writing assignments of the year. This photo is of the entrance to the cemetary where I found Button Gwinnett's grave. This entrance was errected by the D.A.R.-the Daughters of the American Revolution. They spend time and money to make sure that this country remembers its past and all who fought for our country's freedom. The D.A.R. essay contest is designed for students to take time and write about some part of our past, which is so important for us to remember. Why, you may ask? The history of our country helps us to make the decisions that will affect what happens in the future.

I walked around Savannah for about 5 1/2 hours and clocked over 6 miles. I was tuckered out when I finally got back to Don's house!! Then we went to dinner at a good ole fashioned southern restaurant called Sweet Potatoes. Down home cookin y'all! Mmm mmm mmm.

Unfortunately I was only in Savannah for a day and then I was off to my next stop, Reston, Virginia. The trip from Savannah to Reston is the longest leg of my driving trip and I was not looking forward to it.

Smiles to all and to all a goodnight!!

T

New Blog and Plant Camp!

Ok. So many of you were telling me that you couldn't post comments to my blog and to be honest, I was having issues posting photos and getting to the darn thing anyway, so I have moved here. Seems pretty typical of me to move around but I hope this blog will stick for the summer.

Plant camp rocked!! There were 28 teachers from around the state of Florida, 3 of us from St. Lucie County (can you guess who were the trouble makers??). Kerryane, Lea-Ann and I had a wicked good time these past 5 days and I absolutely love them!!! I think I have stronger abs just from the amount of laughing we did!! We went airboating with Capt. Dave (see us during best part of the camp I think), wrestled sturgeon at UF, and had more fun with gastrointestinal issues than you can possibly imagine (inside joke)! Seriously though, I learned so much and am blown away at the amount of useful materials that I walked away from this camp with. I really can't wait to put some of this stuff to use with my classes. I have always wanted to learn more about plants and this camp was awesome.

Thank goodness however, that I can be done thinking for a spell. I have arrived in Savannah, Georgia and am looking forward to being aimless around this absolutely beautiful city for a day or two. I have resolved NOT to do any school work while I am here (although the ideas just don't stop coming) and to just enjoy and decompress. The last two months have really been a blur for me so this is a welcome relief.

Smiles to all-hope you are well!

Tina