1/25/09

Some believe everything happens for a reason
Others say you get what you can handle
I think we are each born free and able
to bring both joy and pain into this world.

When sorrow brought me to my knees,
and all of life's certainties became questions, I prayed:
God, give me the strength to stand
and countless hands lifted me up.

The tears dry
and the wound heals
Yet answers to many questions
stay locked in silent hearts.

Faith allows us to hope,
hope guides us to love,
and love brings us boundless joy.
A four stop journey that can last a lifetime.

Never forget who you are.
and always hold tight to the blessings which remain.
Despite an indescribable loss, I found my way.
I stand unbroken.

Hahahahahaha - You have to be kidding me

Ok so guess what showed up at my apartment today? Just guess. I'll give you a hint. It weighs 20 lbs. It has seen more countries in the last month than President Obama. It managed to befuddle airport authorities worldwide. It has about 12 days worth of clothes in it.....

Ta Da!

You know I had totally given up on this thing. It wasn't so much what was inside of it, but the bag itself that I regretted losing. I wanted to take it hiking/camping this year. I was going to call AirFrance this week about compensation, but this just arrived from Detroit via Munich. When the office manager at the apartment left a message on my phone, I was like, "Maybe.... no, no, there's no way; how ridiculous would that be". Well, very ridiculous.

The obligatory shot of Emma lounging on the balconey and enjoying the unusually warm weather:

I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike.....

The next step of the triathalon training has commenced! Cycling seems like the easiest of the three stages, but I'm not sure if that will prove true. However, I have given myself a decent ride with the purchase of this thing:

I took this Specialized Allez 18 speed for a ride at Austin's Veloway. The veloway is a paved trail that is only for cyclists and rollerbladers. If you live in Austin, it is located next to the Lady Bird Wildflower Center down south Mopac. I rode 15 miles today on this thing, and it was the most fun I have had training since I started 2 or 3 months ago.

Done with Pictures

So I finished posting the rest of the flickr-worthy photos from Spain. Of these I will probably pick 10 or so to blow up and put on my walls here at the apartment. Suggestions are welcome ;-) The link to the photos is below. No registration or password is required. I would write more, but I am having a bit of a downer morning.

More Pictures :-)

I just posted the pictures I took at La Alhambra. This means I have gotten through about half the photos. I'll keep posting them tomorrow and friday. I should be done by friday. So far I am happy with the way they have come out :-)

The link is here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7858441@N02/
or if you like the slideshow version: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7858441@N02/show/

Pictures! (part one)

Pictures of Madrid and Cordoba can be seen here. I will try and have Granada and Barcelona uploaded tomorrow. I have just picked really the best photos to post, because a lot of shots are repeats or of the same kind of scenery. I imagine the 1100 photos are going to turn into about 180 finished products.

Here I go again!

After 10 days, 4 cities, 3 museums, 2 Moorish wonders, 1100 photos, 3 train rides, and 1 lost bag I am about to start my journey back across the Atlantic! Tonight I will spending the night in Paris. Wish me luck :-)

Last Days

So we come to the end of this journey. Gianna leaves this (Saturday) morning, but I won't go until tomorrow night. The last few days have been spent exploring Barcelona, which is a beautiful city, but much harder for me to navigate, since they like to speak Catalan here. It's something of a combination of Spanish and French. Plus they like to use a lot of x's. The Picasso museum was pretty cool, and today I will go check out some of the areas of the city designed by Gaudi. I have to say that Barcelona's architecture is more attractive and consistent than Madrid's. But I liked the food in madrid better.

Because this was my first trip to Europe (oxford doesn't count), I learned a lot of things. I learned you don't need nearly as much stuff as you think you do. I learned that subways and trains are a pretty handy way of getting around, and they aren't hard to figure out. I learned that food is definitely regional. And I learned how completely odd a new culture can seem. It's just a different way of putting together the puzzle pieces. Food, family, entertainment, language, social interaction. We definitely have our own style in the US (especially Texas!), and to be honest, I kinda miss it after only a week. I guess it becomes part of who we are - at least the nuture side anyway.

You know, the most romantic thing I saw on this whole trip wasn't the kids making out on the subway (that was gross actually). It wasn't the newly weds sharing breakfast or holding hands. It wasn't even the couples re-uniting at the airports and train stations. Nope, the most romantic thing I saw was an old couple, probably in their late 60's, walking past me outside of a coffee shop. I was just sitting, waiting for a moment. They walked by in lockstep, arms around each other. They walked slowly, deliberately, and weren't even talking, just smiling. They moved so easily, it looked like one body with 4 legs. It looked like the rest of the noisy, chaotic world didn't matter to them; they were truly lost in each other's embrace. I'm sure their partnership hasn't always been so rosy, but they looked so happy and peaceful in that one moment, I don't think I will ever forget it.

RIP my luggage

Well the last couple days have seen some pretty ugly phone calls with AirFrance. It seems what they thought was my bag was not actually my bag. So it looks pretty bleak at the moment. I guess I just lost most of my working waredrobe. I will have to rebuild yet again, things just aren't supposed to be simple or easy I guess. At least I still have my pictures and my camera :-)

LOL, so I have decided the best analogy here is a golf analogy oddly enough. Crossing the Atlantic is like hitting a shot over water. Don't use your best ball. Rather, grab something old and scratched up and then swing as hard as you can ;-)