Eiffel Tower

......And this is the view from the 2nd floor

View from the Eiffel Tower

I always thought of the Eiffel tower as a cheesy tourist attraction and never took the time to purchase a ticket to go up. It was so worth it! In fact it was probably my favorite part of this trip. This is the view from the 1st floor.

Skyline of Paris

This is a partial view of what a city of about 11,000,000 people looks like. Taken from Montmartre

The Paris Chaperones

I was able to enjoy the luxury of flying 11 hours in a size small seat with my size large ass, not once but 4 times this summer. Here are three of the Paris chaperone's settling in for a loooong flight over the Atlantic.

Madrid bar # 3,460

When I grow up, I want to visit every single bar in Madrid and sample the house specials. I will write about each place and rate it on a 5 point scale. I will get paid a Gazillion Euros and live in a huge house on Gran Via.

More bang for your buck!

At this bar you can purchase a mixed drink for the bargain price of 5 Euros. Mixed with hot pepper OR Marijuana

Cerveza Fria

I love Spanish cerveza! My favorite is Mahou made in Madrid. I also like the fact that a person can walk around on public streets drinking her beer....

Monjas en la Playa

San Lorenzo Beach in Xixon

Tanto Monta Monta Tanto

The throne of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella
(one is as important as the other)

View From A Castle

Enchantment

My husband Miguel in front of Alcazar De Segovia

This may be the most beautiful city in Spain

The Romans built this incredible structure to carry water in the 1st Century AD. (thats 2000 years ago!)

Segovia Spain

A Tranquil moment in Segovia

Gulpiyuri Beach

If you ever get a opportunity you will not regret it. Pull your car off the asphalt road on the way into Llanes and hike the 100 meters or so through the fields...just follow the smell of the sea, and make sure you have a camera.

My American friends

When your friends that live 6 blocks from you, travel 5000 miles to visit you... well I guess that means they are pretty good friends! This is the gorgeous Dr. Ximena Garcia and her husband Craig. (He is some sort of Dr also) Jake, David, Lauren and Christopher (their spawn)

Mas comida por favor!

I left off yesterday with the empanada and mussels in Madrid. Same day same city we moved on to some unknown location for some sort of beer or wine and my other favorite food SARDINES!

Next on the tapa tour my other favorite food... champinons or mushrooms.
Even the notoriously picky eater Mig will eat mushrooms in Madrid!

So you are thinking...." This chick is obsessed with food" And what? This is what fat people have in common!

Next stop was a tiny bar specializing in one item, mussels or mejillones. (no idea on the spelling but I am sure Mig will spot any errors and fix them :)

Our first stop on our tapa and vino tour included fresh tuna empanada and Rioja wine

After a hot shower and clean clothes we did not waste any time making up for lost time! Vino tinto here we come!

This is the best located hotel in Madrid. It is smack dab in the heart of Puerta del Sol. I love it I love it I love it!

It got better....

After arriving in Atlanta in the wee hours of the morn, Mig the "should-have -been-an-attorney" got us all wonderful rooms on the house at a really nice hotel in Atlanta. See the clothes I am wearing?..... I wore them for 4 days, As my luggage was enjoying Madrid without me!

It turns out that Delta Airlines is a pretty fair airline, as far as a American airline company goes....

Story of my life.....

See the mechanic sitting on top of the tail? This was my first clue that we were in for a loooong day. If I remember right, we were delayed for 9 hours at Kansas City, thus starting a chain of events like missing our plane to Spain, loosing our hotel and our train tickets. All pre-paid of course...

Hola

Buena dia!

I have been wanting to start blogging again and the list of excuses go on forever. I believe that I did not post anything of my last summer in Asturias and I am getting ready to go again... time does fly!

Mig and I have an incredibly busy summer planned. We are taking a tour group to Paris for a week and then Mig and half the group will head north to Normandy and I will escort my half of group back to good ole Kansas. Two weeks later Mig and I will head East over the Atlantic again for my sister in law's wedding in Asturias.

Weddings are big big big in Spain and I am currently looking around for a gown that will pack easily and wear comfortably. Oh yeah and make me look like a size 9 instead of a 16/18...

I got pictures galore and I can not wait to be back in touch with my old blogger buddies.

This picture was taken at Semana Negra in Gijon Asturias. Octopus and a mojito.... oh yeah