¡ah, españa!

this is a photo of kate & i in segovia, where we went on friday. it´s a lovely town just outside of madrid. we wandered through the streets and i visited the cathedral, which was gorgeous! sadly i couldn´t take photos or video inside, but i did get a bit of the cloisters. speaking of which, i was trying to take a photo when this family walked into my shot, so i waited while they headed for the centre garden. the bells rang and this little boy of 3 or 4 yelled out "hello, God!" and when he got into the garden yelled it again louder. it was so cute.

this is going to be another lame-ish entry simply b/c the internet place didn´t open until 2 hours after it´s supposed to and kate is supposed to get back from class soon and i have her house key. but wanted to post a wee bit before i leave spain (and fly to switzerland this afternoon).

i have tasted tortilla (a spanish potato omelet of sorts), vino tinto (red wine), paella valencia (scary rice stuff with CRAB, which i didn´t eat), natillas (custard), vino tinto de verano (almost sangria - you could only get a pitcher of sangria and i just wanted a glass so this was the next best thing). most of the time andre cooked for us, which was very tastey. and we had lots of bocadillos (sandwiches).

i´ve been to madrid three times; stayed in camarma; visited alcala several times (as we always have to go there first to get anywhere else; and that´s where kate´s school is); segovia; toledo. the towns are all fascinating with great old architecture and lively plazas. yesterday we went to kate & andre´s favourite park in madrid and it was AWESOME. think of central park in nyc but way way better. you can smell eucalyptus, honeysuckle and more. they have fantastic trees. even some called "brain trees" b/c they´ve been cut that way.



kate showed me how to make tortilla last night and i got to videotape the process, which was fun - especially as we were sharing her ipod (one ear phone each) whilst cooking.

another favourite capture of mine, was while we were in toledo - we were up on a hill and down below could see into the backyard of an elderly couple´s house. they were hanging out clothes to dry and were adorable. hopefully it comes out.



oh and also in toledo i climbed a church tower for a "view of the heavens" whilst andre & kate waited down below. i´m afraid of heights, but always fascinated by them. well, the stairs are thankfully one way, but you are in one room and can see all the stairs and they´re grilled, so you can see through them as you´re walking. i of course was freaking out. the lady ahead of me ending up chickening out halfway and i had to plaster myself against the wall so she could pass me and go back down. i almost followed her, but forced myself ahead. the view was grand, but then it´s time to go down. whew. i had flip flops on and didn´t think i could make it without tripping and falling to my death, so i took them off and stuffed them in my bag. the whole way down i was repeating "via con Dios" to encourage myself. i think i almost broke out in a sweat, but i made it! later that afternoon, we were walking down a narrow alley (toledo is known for its narrow, windy cobbled streets) and i tripped and skinned my knee quite bad. made me especially thankful for removing my flipflops before the descent down the tower stairs!!!

okay - i best sign off before kate has to wait for me.

(check out the pic for my previous post below...i just added it today)