LisAlexis EuroTrip 2009

Friends and Photos

lisalexis — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 07:02:03 +0000

Since Lisa and I arrived back in the States, life has been a bit of a whirlwind. We’ve had to move to new homes, find new (or old) jobs, catch up with friend and family, etc, etc. So, sorry we have yet to “wrap up” our trip, so to speak. In reality, we haven’t seen much of one another… not because we don’t want to… just because we haven’t had much time.

But, today we met up very briefly in my new apartment. As we were discussing the blog, we found ourselves on the topic of the thousands of photos we have and how tedious it is to load them all online. From this discussion we not only learned that we had each, independently, started a Shutterfly page for our photos, but we had picked the exact same layout and color scheme for the page. I guess such things will happen when best friends spend 24/7 together for two months straight!

Here are the links to our two sites. They are works in progress… so please bear with us!

Lisa’s pix:

http://lisalexis.shutterfly.com/

Alix’s pix:

http://lisalexiseurotrip2009.shutterfly.com/

Home Sweet Home

lisalexis — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:54:36 +0000

Hellooooo USA!

Just a quick post to let everyone know that we have arrived safely home in Washington State and are currently snuggling up close with our families. We were both hit pretty hard with jet lag and have been taking the last couple of days to sleep, unpack, launder our smelly clothes, and sleep some more.

But stay tuned: we will post a Euro wrap-up in the next couple of days.

Paloma

lisalexis — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:29:00 +0000

Forgot to mention the name of our hostel in Madrid… Whoooo whoooo!

Granada Graffiti

lisalexis — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:12:13 +0000

In addition to the Alhambra, Tapas, Sierra Nevadas and Arab Infusion, Granada is also know for having some of the most beautiful modern wall painting in Spain. Although we missed the walking graffiti tour, we saw many traces of this pop culture art form and were amazed by the vibrant colors and expressive nature.

We also followed the written graffiti of a university professor who writes obscure and crude words on walls throughout the Albacin. This “art form” was highly entertaining and made our tour guide blush at describing it’s meaning. Art comes in all forms, and this 65 year old sociology teacher proved a funny point. Naughty professor!

Tapas

lisalexis — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:58:54 +0000

Yum! Yum!

Day Fifty-Six: Madrid to Frankfurt to Toronto to Seattle – 11/12/09

lisalexis — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:52:59 +0000

Actually.. It ended up being Madrid, Frankfurt, Vancouver THEN Seattle. And we never stopped sprinting from plane to plane since we missed our first connecting flight to due to fog!

We will spare you the details of our trials and tribulations patchworking our itinerary to Seattle, BUT we are happy to report that we (and all our bags, miraculously) arrived at SeaTac 3 hours early! What? Amazing.

Thanks goes out to Momma A. for whisking us home and treating us to a fabulous Thai dinner.

So. Yes. We are HOME. Please stay tuned for our conclusive blogs over the next few days…

Cheers!

Day Fifty-Five: Madrid, Spain – 11/11/09

lisalexis — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:52:11 +0000

And just like that, we stumbled upon our last day in Europe. Who would have thought that the time would have passed so quickly?

So. What did we do during our last few hours in Madrid? Lots! We had roughly 16 hours to kill. So here’s how we spent our time:

1. Performing our last backpack wrestle. Tear. Tear.
2. Wandering the side streets of Madrid.
3. Taking our sweeeeeeet time (nearly 6 hours) touring the famous Prado art museum. Goya anyone?
4. Peeking into various stores and doing some serious window shopping.
5. Exploring some famous gardens, statues and churches.
6. Enjoying a lovely Italian dinner and each other’s company.
7. Chatting in Spanish with our former hotel manager.
8. Drinking late night Cappuccinos.
9. Hauling ourselves (and backpacks) onto the Metro.
10. Landing safely in the Madrid Airport.
11. And waiting, waiting, waiting for our next morning flight.

We took advantage of every moment of this day. However the excitement to return home grew more strongly than either of us were expecting. We are looking forward to seeing the northwest and hanging with family/friends more than we may have let on in this blog…

Adios from Espana! Hello, Washington!

Day Fifty-Four: Segovia, Spain – 11/10/09

lisalexis — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:50:45 +0000

A “quick trip” led to an all day excursion to the nearby medieval pueblo of Segovia. The main attraction in this town is the Alcazar Segovia, which Walt Disney is rumored to have based the castle in Snow White after.

Unfortunately, I did not find my Prince Charming… But I did find a Knight in Shining Armor!

Lisa is currently shaking her head in disgust at me and my cheesy humor…

Day Fifty-Four: Granada to Madrid, Spain – 11/9/09

lisalexis — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:49:24 +0000

Today was our final day of travel through the European countryside. Although sitting on trains and buses for hours on end is incredibly exhausting, I am going to miss staring out the windows at the changing landscape with nothing but my thoughts, my book, my journal and Lisa to keep me company…

Anywho, like most Catholic countries, Spain has a lot of holidays. Today was one of those ‘saint days,’ however no one could tell us which one! Upon arrival to Madrid we found the streets FULL of people and performers. However fun and festive, we were in need of a little down time. So we found a theater and treated ourselves to “La Crudad Realidad.” Oh Gerard Butler!

Our final hostel is quaint, private, and very small. Note Lisa in the tiny tub!

Day Fifty-Three: Granada, Spain – 11/8/09

lisalexis — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:48:04 +0000

After spending the morning on a wild goose chase to arrange transportation to Madrid, we decided to spend the afternoon wandering the narrow streets of Granada in the slowest, most European way we knew how. Late lunch of tapas and local wine. Siesta. Late dinner of gazpacho and calamari. Sleep.

Attached you will see Lisa writing a few postcards at a cafe… Gloves and all. Apparently, it’s no longer summer!