Just some blabbing, blogging, etc.

Well, here's the thing: My computer bit it. And by bit it, I mean it just won't turn on anymore. I'm sure if the monitor wasn't as black as the couch cushion that my cat likes to lay (or lie, I never really grasped that whole grammar lesson), it too would boast a little sad mac face along with 2 ipods in our household. Electronics and I have never had a good relationship but my computer dying while I'm here in Spain could be the end of me. It is my connection to everyone/thing in the US!

Luckily, I am heading out to California next week to see my family so I'm going to go buy a new computer.

I needed one anyway for my personal use, especially for loading my new photography programs. As some of you know, I bought a new camera that is wonderful! I really love photography and I decided it is a hobby worth pursuing and investing in so I purchased a professional quality camera and am working on learning all it can do and starting to take some good (by my humble standards) pictures. So far I have mainly subjected my cats to hundreds of shots while I adjust settings, etc. It made for some very good, very angry looking cat, shots. Unfortunately, those are all on the computer that refuses to cooperate so hopefully I will be able to recover those and post a few.

Everything else is going well. I will post some pics I took around Madrid, some shots of Segovia, and some cat shots when I have a computer again. Cass and I are off to Valencia this weekend for some sunshine, beach, and perhaps a bit of culture.

Take care!
Amanda

Avila, Spain June 2007

Saturday Cass and I took a short road trip to Avila, Spain. It is about 1.5 hour drive northwest of Madrid. It is one of only 80 cities in the world that has been declared a World Heritage Site. Much of the city has ties to St. Teresa, who was born here in 1515. There are literally pieces of her body in different cathedrals within the city...the road to being recognized as a saint isn't pretty.

Visually speaking, it is most easily recognized by it's 11th-century walls that encircle the old city of Avila. The walls took 9 years to complete and are about 30 ft high with 88 semicircular towers.


Once inside of the walls, Avila was much like other older Spanish cities with cafes and cobblestone streets. Although there were several cathedrals, Cass and I decided not to tour them since we have seen our fair share of them since being in Europe. Instead, we decided to pay a small fee and walk around the old city on top of the walls. The views were really lovely because you could look inside the walls and outside of them and see the contrast of new city vs. old. The steps and pathways were steep at times and definitely not friendly to the less physically able. However, we managed fine and got a bit of a workout from it in the nearly 90 degree heat. Here are some views from the walls:


After our walk, we decided to head back. We were both hot and ready to seek shelter from the sun! On the way home, we opted to take a smaller highway that took us through the hills and the views were well worth the extra driving time. We were many miles away from Madrid, but could actually see it from the hills as we were driving along. Unfortunately, my camera could not capture what the naked eye could so I don't have a good picture of it. Afterwards, we arrived home and made a veggilicious meal together and shared a nice bottle of wine. All in all, a nice way to spend a Saturday!

Brussels, Belgium... RIP

Well I took my chance on Ryan Air and their ridiculously low cost flights and bought a flight to Brussels. I figured Cass was already there for work and I could go join him and together we could enjoy some waffles, beer, and chocolates.

However, it was not to be... I have just received (ok, not received, sought out) information that my flight is cancelled due to a strike at the airport I was to arrive at in Brussels. They don't make it easy for you to find this information, but I called their "hotline" that charged like $1/minute and confirmed. They tell me I'll receive a refund, but I'm not sure that will actually happen. We shall see...

I am heading out to the grocery and buying myself some beer and chocolates. The Spanish don't believe in typical American breakfast food so I might substitute more chocolate for the waffles.

Send Eggos,
Amanda

England, with a side of Wales - June 2007

Cass and I are back and feeling very refreshed after our 5 day trip through southwest England that also included a day in Wales. It was a great trip that provided a lot of beautiful sights and also some shall we say "interesting" sights.

Our journey started at a little airport in Bournemouth, which is on the south coast of England. After waiting an hour or so for the little trailer that rented out cars to open we were on our way to the western coast to stay our first night in Penzance. The drive was beautiful! I had imagined some of England to be rural but not nearly as much as it actually was. It was green fields and roaming cattle, sheep, and goats as far as the eyes could see.
Penzance itself was a really cute little town on the water that had a lot of shops, coffee houses, and cafes. The views were great but Cass and I found a ton of humor in the following sign that was posted in most of the store windows. I think they were serious... I regret not having a hood.There was also this restaurant that seemed to be lacking in confidence, their sign also made us laugh..

The next day we drove past "St. Michael's Mount". It's a little island that houses a castle and a church. We didn't have time to tour it, but we did stop to take pictures from the mainland.

Next stop was "Land's End". This is the most westerly point of England and it really is spectacular to see. The land is all cliffs that drop off into the Atlantic. We were lucky to be there on a nice day and the views were amazing. I've included a couple pictures, but they really don't do it justice.

After a long day of driving and stopping in little towns along the way, we arrived at the farm/B&B we were staying at for the next two nights. That's right - a farm! This was my pick and I was so excited. They had 2 cows out front that I insisted on calling Bessie (both of them), multiple dogs including a 3-legged Jack Terrier named Becky, a kitten, chickens, and horses. I was in heaven. I actually emailed the owner of the B&B before I booked it to be sure that I would actually be able to be somewhat near the animals. She was fine with it, the cows and horses were not. Bessie #1 and #2 came to the fence where I stood patiently for a length of time, but didn't actually want anything to do with me once the realized I had no treats for them. The horses didn't so much as glance at me. The dogs were happy playing with a block of wood that I threw around for them though.
Our farm location was so that we could visit the city of Bath. It was a really interesting little city that actually has Roman baths nearly 2000 years old that you can tour. The natural hot spring waters boil up from the earth and were thought to be sacred.
Romans not only bathed in them, but also threw in curses written on sheets of metal. Some of them have been translated and are on display. The Romans were all about revenge - one guy wanted the person that stole his gloves to "lose his eyes and go mad". At the end of the tour you are allowed to drink some of the water from the springs - tasted a bit like warm saltwater, but Cass and I drank it anyway and lived to tell the tale.
Next stop - Cardiff, Wales. On the way to our hotel we stopped to visit two castles. The first, Castle Coch, was ok. There was nothing too grand about it, but we were happy to have seen it. The second castle, Caerphilly Castle, was really incredible to see. It is in ruins, but walking around it really gives you a good idea of what it was like back in its better days.

It is very surreal because there is this huge old castle and surrounding it is a normal downtown of a city. Look to your left - castle, to your right - CVS. After the castles we decided to head to downtown Cardiff, where we were staying for the night. Upon driving into the city, Cassidy and I were both silent. I had read a lot of great things about the city and things to do, etc. The only thing we could tell from the car is that is seemed deserted and was definitely dirty. Now, we lived in Manhattan which some consider to be dirty... Manhattan was pristine compared to this. To make it worse (and funny) I had a full blown fall while walking to our hotel. So far all wounds have healed nicely, but I'm not sure what diseases I picked up in the process. Our hotel was really nice, but we decided to head out and see what Cardiff had to offer. After wandering, we ended up in a nice local pub where we had some drinks and played some mean games of war and gin rummy. . .
The next morning we did visit the Cardiff castle, which was pretty nice. My favorite part was the group of peacocks just wandering around the grounds! After this, we got out of town to head back to Bournemouth for our last night.
On our last day of travels we stopped at two amazing places - Stonehenge and Salisbury, England. I loved Stonehenge. I read that it was disappointing in person, but I guess I was just excited to see something I had read about for so long. There's not much to say about it since it is a bunch of very large rocks with an unexplained purpose, so I'll just post the pictures.

Salisbury is known for its cathedral which boasts three things: 1) the tallest spire in England, 2) it contains the oldest known working clock in the world (from the 1300's), and 3) it holds one of only four remaining copies of the Magna Carta. The outside was being restored so it was a bit blocked off, but the inside was gorgeous! The city itself was also very nice with a stream running through it and lots of nice bakeries and coffeshops.

At long last, Cassidy and I arrived to our final stopping point. We decided to stay in Bournemouth since that is where we were flying from early the next morning. Cassidy and I are still confused about this town. We went "downtown" it there were NO PEOPLE ANYWHERE! We walked for quite a while thinking that maybe when we turned the next corner, that would be the street with all the cafes, bars, etc. If there was one, we never found it. It worked out fine since we were both exhausted anyway so we just went to an Indian restaurant outside of town and got a good night of sleep! Also, I've added a picture of a little park area down the road. Please note 3 things - 1) this is advertised to be a children's play area, 2) we actually did not stay in a bad part of town, this place just needed lots of help, 3) Yazz is gay.

Paris - October 2006

Ahhh, Paris. In my travels to date, it is the prettiest city I have visited.


Cass and I spent 3 days exploring the city and although it was a nice introduction, I could have easily spent more time just wandering the streets and ducking into little cafes for a caffeine break. I also grew to love a good crepe.

On our first day we went to the Cathedral of Notre Dame and walked up the 387 steps to the top where we were able to take some great pictures of the city below us. I loved the gargoyles.


We then started our long walk to the Eiffel Tower. Along the way we stopped in the Museum D'Orsay. It was really interesting, but knowing we had the Louvre to tour the next day, we did a quick loop around and continued on. By the time we arrived to the Eiffel Tower, it was dark and the lights were on. I loved the sparkling light show and frantically searched in my purse for my camera, but was too late! The show only lasts for 10ish minutes and then starts again the next hour. Cass and I took the very large (and I think scary) lift up to the top to see the city at night. We were accompanied by an American couple complaining very loudly about the French and how they didn't speak English - gotta love the stereotypical American toursit. They were also discussing hot dogs from a cart for their dinner choice. But I digress... At the top of the tower we saw the "city of lights" in all its glory. Unfortunately my camera doesn't do so well with low light so I don't have anything to show for it. But if you go to Paris, it is worth whatever ridiculous price they charge you to go up and see all of Paris spread out before you.

The next day we headed to Montmartre to visit the Sacre Coeur. Montmartre was a picturesque little neighborhood with a central square that hosts a variety of artists painting right before everyone. I regret not buying a painting, but have vowed that I will when I return.

We also stopped by the old Moulin Rouge theater, but it was really nothing to write home about. I was prepared to see something extremely grand (see what Hollywood does to a girl's expectations?) but it was just a theater with a windmill on top. On to the Louvre...

The Louvre is absurdly huge! Only about 10% of their 400,000 items are on display at one time! We bought a book to help us find the items we wanted to see - here I am consulting said book and taking a break on a bench. We saw the Mona Lisa and that is quite a production! I don't see what all the fuss is about, but they have this thing roped off, behind glass, with security guards around it. I personally enjoyed the Egyptian antiquities area because they had such an extensive collection.









On our way out, we stopped to take a picture of the controversial pyramid. I liked it an thought it was pretty, but I can understand the French peoples dislike - it is huge and does block a nice view of the Louvre.



The rest of our trip was a lot of eating bread, cheese and the occasional crepe and drinking great wine. We did so much walking around and enjoyed the beauty of the city. There are several gardens to explore and just walking along the Seine was an activity in itself. We took a night boat cruise on the Seine which was also really beautiful (and educational). We are excited to make it back one day and do more in depth exploring!

First Blog

Thanks to my good friend Brett J Butler, I have been inspired to start posting my own actual blog that people outside of Myspace can read. I will continue to post in Myspace, but it will just be a copy of what is here.

I wish I would have done this since day one of moving to Madrid so that I would have more accurate blogs on past trips, etc. I promise to now stay on top of it and update after every trip! This really is for my benefit b/c I am getting old and starting to forget things. It would be nice to have a "journal" of what I have done during my time here when I return to the US

I am also going to go back and post some pictures and write about the trips we have already taken.... when I stop procrastinating. We are heading out to England and Wales on Thursday morning so I will have pictures and stories when we return!

Hope everyone is well! Miss you!

By the way, I realize that my url address is "amandashield". I didn't want to use "amanda047893" or whatever they suggested was available so I am using what will be my new last name in about 17 months because it's easy.