Day #45 - Istanbul to St. Louis travel day

Wednesday, April 28th

At the end of my blog from yesterday, I alluded to the fact that I had to take a little trip today. Well, I did take a trip from Istanbul to St. Louis, MO. I'm writing this blog from my sister's house in St. Louis here on Friday morning (April 30th). Before going any further, no worries, I'm OK and will be fine.

Let me explain. Have you ever heard of shingles? If not, that's a very good thing. If so, maybe your aunt has had these, maybe your mom, or perhaps your grandparents. Shingles is an adult form of the chicken pox. Lucky me, about 5 years ago, I had the shingles while working in medical sales in Minnesota. Unusual for a person of my age. But, this is a viral condition that can attack a body when the immune system is down. The fact that I was often burning the midnight oil putting some undue stress on myself, I ended up with the shingles. It started out as a major back pain for me. I remember standing in the OR one morning in Alexandria, MN in a functional endoscopic sinus surgery. The case was lasting forever and I was commenting to another rep in the room that I may need to sit down because my back is killing me. This was unusual for me. The pain continued and the next few days I experienced numbness, tingling, and burning sensations isolated to the left side of my body. I also had fever and flu-like symptoms during all this. A few days later, I began to form a rash from my spinal cord on my left side to my mid-line on my stomach. Classic shingles -- a single nerve effected which begins with pain, numbness, and then results in a rash on a single line effecting only 1 side of the body. I rested and was fine within a few days. I don't recall really missing any work.

Alright, I say this above, only because it leads me to where I am today. I've mentioned on earlier blogs the fact that my body was shutting down a bit. Well, I was feeling many of the same symptoms that I had experienced 4 years ago - and I was just starting to get a few red spots on me. The last few days I haven't done much. I took trains as much as I could and rested often. Now, if this was shingles, that wouldn't be great, but I could handle it.

However, as I had been experiencing numbness and tingling on my left side, then, I started to feel this on my right side as well. This was scaring me a bit. I have a friend who had Multiple Sclerosis - the first indication that she had the disease was numbness in her arms and legs. Anyway, my sister is a nurse and I communicated my conditon to her via Skype. She works at a cardiologist office in St. Louis. Her doctor has close ties to a neurological specialist. As my sister is awesome, she spoke to both doctors about me (actually called them while we were on Skype and the doctor could hear me saying my symptoms) and they both concluded that I shouldn't mess around with this and see someone right away.

I was sitting in my hotel room in Instanbul, Turkey on Tuesday (April 27th) evening about 10pm. I do have medical insurance that I got for this trip for times just like this. However, I'm in Istanbul, Turkey. What do you do? The neurologist in St. Louis told my sister a story that one of the leaders of Turkey had recently come to the US to seek his medical care because he did not trust what Turkey could offer. Good enough for me. If this was a cold or something easy, I'd go to the hospital in Turkey. I considered flying back to Paris or London to see a specialist. Because my sister said the doctor was concerned with possible complications with a shingles condition, I got on Travelocity and booked a flight back to the US. I got a flight leaving Istanbul at 6:55am on Wednesday morning to arrive in St. Louis at 5:05pm on Wednesday night. In less then 9 hours, I was set to fly back to the US.

Now, I sat there in my bed, more than scared about the situation, in a remote country, by myself, on the other side of the world. I had Skype so I was able to talk with my parents and sister. I knew there would be no sleeping for me on Tuesday night. I had to be in a cab at 4:30am to get to the airport. I just needed to make that flight.

I got through the night and made it to the airport. By this time, I really didn't know how I was feeling. I was just in a daze. I took the 6:55am flight to Madrid, Spain to arrive at 10:30am. All goes great. We got there on target. Next flight - Madrid, Spain to Chicago, IL. Flight leaves on time at 12noon. All is going well to this point. Then, 45 minutes into the flight, an announcement comes over the loud speaker: "If there is a doctor on board, can you please come to the front of the plane" OK - no big deal - I've heard them say this before on flights. I'm good - just stay calm. Next, a guy from a couple rows behind me runs up to the front. 10 minutes go by. Another announcement: "Ladies and gentlemen, we are going to turn the plane around and will be landing in Madrid in about 30 minutes" Woo - I've never had this happen before.

We land and everyone is asked to stay on the plane. About an hour or so goes by and the announcement comes: "We will now be refueling and then will be taking off again within the next 30 minutes." The guy who had run to the front, comes back to sit behind me now. He's a doctor and speaks English. He begins to tell the story to a few people around him. A guy, around 35 years old, just had a heart attack on take-off. He's going to make it - he's lucky we were able to turn around. I'm sitting there listening to this. I have a headache, my left side is tingling/little numb, and I have a few dots forming on my waistline. Deep breaths - remain calm. I actually think my state of complete exhaustion played to my favor. I couldn't get too upset - I was too tired. Only problem now, my flight was going to land in Chicago at 4pm - I was going to miss my flight to St. Louis.

My sister was to pick me up at the airport at 5:30pm. I had provided her with all my flight itinerary, all the flight numbers, etc. She would be able to find out that my second leg of the 3 leg journey was delayed - surely? After the heart attack issue, the remaining flight to Chicago was OK. It turned into a 12 hour flight instead of a 9 hour flight. When I arrived at O'Hare Airport, I had to go through the passport line. It was a 45 minute wait. I then was sent to the American Airlines booth to get my reticket to St. Louis. Now, my arrival time was going to be 8pm. I knew I had to get to a phone - quickly. Since I had been communicating via Skype my whole trip, and I didn't have a cell phone, I didn't know my sister's number by heart. I called my mom. Needless to say, she was slightly freaked out by now. I felt aweful. I did not mean to cause anxiety to my whole family, but unfortunately, that's exactly what I had done. My sister was unable to find out that my second leg was delayed as the Iberia Airlines website was having technical problems. All they knew - the flight from Chicago that I was supposed to be on, was on time, and I was not on that flight.

Oh-boy -- I was a walking zombie at this point. My flight from Chicago was delayed about 30 minutes on the tarmac and I arrived into St. Louis around 8:30pm. My sister was at the baggage claim waiting for me. She was a mess - I think I took 2 years off her life with worry. She was sure that I would be coming out in a wheelchair or worse. So, I was in St. Louis, and had just created some major tension for my whole family. I wasn't feeling much of anything by this point. All I knew - I hadn't slept for about 48 hours, and I just had travelled the past 20 hours on flights and delays from the other side of the world to be here right now.

On Thursday, I had an appointment with a neurologist at 12noon. He did every test on me known to man. I was with him for nearly 2 hours. He ruled out most everything. He concluded that I probably had some funky bacteria that I could have picked up from my travels. This could have caused the rash and my current sickness. The nerve condition was likely something created by my carrying the heavy pack - pinching the nerves to create the numbing condition. The weight loss only aided in the nerve exposure. The bacterial sickness worsened the conditons as a whole. I was put on antibiotics, went to hosptial to get blood drawn, and told to rest.

It's Friday morning right now, and I'm resting. Feeling better. I think the diagnosis itself made me feel a million times better. I think I was making myself sick with worry. Still waiting for the blood tests to come back, but the doctor, who is highly respected, gave me the pass for any major neurological illness. I was told to take the antibiotics, rest, and see him in 2 weeks. I told him that I have a return flight on May 9th - can I make it? He said, "Just rest and give it time - we'll see"

So anyway, it has taken me a while to accept this. Am I a big baby to run home when feeling a little sick? But you know what, it's OK. Say it out loud, "I'm experiencing some pretty strange symptoms, I'm in a remote area of the world, I need to get checked out so I can continue this trip feeling strong" Yeah - that sounds pretty good. I think coming back was a good call. If things continue to progress well, I'll be returning next Sunday, May 9th - back to Istanbul. End result, I'm taking a short 12-day sabbatical from my 300-day sabbatical. It's a competitive pitstop - like my brother-in-law said. I can take this time to tweak some things and get a strategy for my return, and be better for it.

I'm going to stop blogging during my time in St. Louis. I will defintely pick this up on Sunday, May 9th on my return. Don't worry about me - I'll be OK - this is all part of the expereince. I look forward to coming to you live from Europe in a few days. Hang on - the really good stuff hasn't started yet.

Day #44 - Istanbul, Turkey

Hagia Sophia

Blue Mosque

Blue Mosque regulations

Looking out over Bosphorus

Bosphorus at sunset

Tuesday, April 27th

Istanbul is a really interesting and diverse place. It's a city, but it feels like a sprawling town. Endless restaurants and shops, everywhere you look. I've been working up the courage to venture out a little more. People are incredibly friendly, with nearly 100% English-spoken. Outside Ireland, this is the friendliest city I've visited to date. The food here is pretty good. And service is outstanding. There is so much competition that the retaurants do everything they can to set themselves apart.

I started the day off across the street from my hotel at the Blue Mosque. It's an elegant building, with perfect symmetry. It has six minarets (steeples) that define it's place as one of the most visited tourists spots in all of Istanbul. I went in to tour the facility. They had some regulations posted for anyone going into the mosque (see picture). The women had to have scarfs on with a full length gown. Men had to have long trousers. Everyone was given a bag to place their shoes - as barefoot/socks-only inside the facility. It was impressive. We could only walk in a certain area - but I was able to capture some neat pictures.

I then crossed the street to tour the Hagia Sophia. This is the place. The take-away. The Hagia Sophia (Church of Holy Wisdom) is quoted as being the most impressive silhouette on Asia's skyline. The Byzantine capital of Constantinople (now current day Istanbul) was fast approaching its zenith as religious, commercial, and artisitic center of the Roman Empire in the 6th century, when construction of the Hagia Sophia began. With time, it rose to become the greatest church in all of ancient Byzantine. Sadly, much of the church's original gold and marble were plundered during the Crusades of 1204. In 1453, Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks - and the church was converted to a mosque. In 1934, it was stripped of all religious significance and function, but it will always be a spiritual oasis, remaining as the single finest structure to have survived the earlier period.

Even though I don't always understand the age or signficance of structures, it's obvious to see this was a special place based on the number of people here and the time spent viewing. There were pictures where many of the US presidents, the pope, and various world leaders had been to the facility. I took some photos - but it's a place to see firsthand - that's for sure. 6th century - is that even comprehendable?

I walked down to the Bosphorus (the body of water between the European and Asian continents) just at sunset. See pictures attached.

Tomorrow I need to take a little trip. More later. Until next time - keep the faith!

Day #43 - Barcelona to Istanbul, Turkey

Blue Mosque with fountain

Blue Mosque

Hagia Sophia

Moonlight over Blue Mosque

Monday, April 26th

I left the hostal this morning at 6am. I took the metro to the airport. I took a 9:10am flight from Barcelona to Madrid. I then took an 11:10am flight from Madrid to Istanbul, Turkey - arriving at 4:35pm. It's 1 hour ahead - so a 4 hour flight.

I'm currently on the plane. From the looks of the folks around me, I'm expecting a fine class of people on arrival. I have a hotel that is literally across the street from the Blue Mosque. I'll try to get a picture of me off the balcony with the views in the background.

I'm fired up. Istanbul is the bridge from the East to the West. The city spans the European and Asian continents. I've walked/run across state lines (Bloomsdale, MO to Kaskaskia, IL), I'll be walking across country lines later this year (France, Italy, Switzerland - Tour Mont Blonc) - why not walk across a continent line. Say it out loud. I agree, it sounds pretty cool.

Later

It's 10:30pm and I'm in my hotel room. I made it to the hotel about 7pm. First impressions of Istanbul ---- English spoken everywhere, very nice people, unbelievable sites. I ate a meatball dinner 1 door down from my hotel. Then, I walked 150 yards from my hotel doorstep and took the pictures above. Yes sir - "It's a Beautiful Day" - U2 playing in the background.

Good night. I'm going to get some solid sleep tonight and feel like a champion tomorrow.

Day #42 - Barcelona, Spain - beaches

Art Museum - way to Poble Espanyol

Great beach

Alot of beach goers on Sunday afternoon

Guell Parc

Guell Parc - really interesting stuff

Sunday, April 25th

I've not been feeling 100% for a few days, so I decided to take in some sun today to see if that would help out. Let me say, the thing I'm struggling with most right now, is not the language barriers, directions or meeting people, it's my physical well-being. My body is shutting down and reacting in ways that scare me. It's strange really. My metabolism seems to be that of a 1st grader. I'm constantly feeling like I should be on the move. My energy level is at an all-time high. That's great and all, but, because of this, nutrition has been an issue. I don't know what I weigh, but it's easily plausible that I've dropped 10-12+ pounds to date from start of trip. When my pants fall completely to the ground - that's when there is a problem. I'm very close right now. Tilt my hat to the side and say "Yo, Yo" alot - I could be a rapper.

Now, I'm good with weight loss. Plus, I actually am stronger in alot of ways. I'll be OK - I just need to control my nutrition. I'm eating and sleeping, I just need to be aware that I can't go too long without food. It seems like if I don't eat quickly when I start feeling bad - it goes south fast. I guess I don't have alot of reserves built up. It makes it tougher when you're not clear what you are eating, and the nutritional value of the intake. It's kind of like running a marathon constantly. If you try to do a marathon and don't eat the right amounts - you'll crash - no question. It's all about learning my new patterns.

See, this is a big change from the way I used to live. I would often go all day and eat 1-2 times - usually in large quantities at these settings. I'd eat powerbars, energy drinks, etc. Honestly, if I can just hang in there, the way I'm being forced to eat right now, is probably the absolute best thing for me. A person should eat multiple times in a day. You shouldn't go too long without nutrition. Eat small and eat often. I wanted to become healthier on this trip. Even though from an outsider's viewpoint, I may have appeared healthy before, not so much. Although it's a bear right now - I'll be better for it in the long run. For those family members worried about me - it'll be OK. If my energy level is high, I'm stronger, and my body looks better -- these are all good things. I will adjust. No worries - they can't keep me down.

Sorry for that detour. I said I was an inner motivator. That was more about me trying to inspire myself than anything else. I feel alot better just writing that down.

I started Sunday morning by going to mass. I found an English-speaking catholic church on the internet. A 10 minute train ride and a 15 minute walk - I was there. Nice - and I'm keeping the good karma flowing.

I then took the metro to Guell Parc. This was a place recommended to me by my aunt's friend's son. It was great. Located outside the main tourist section of town, the park was a unique experience. There were miles of trails up and down these hills. There were people playing music along the paths. There were stone columns, architectural pieces, interesting sitting spots. It's really difficult to describe - but it's definitely worth an afternoon if you're ever in Barcelona. There were hundreds of people there. It was a Sunday with perfect 80 degree weather. Maybe choose a weekday - this is a place where a quiet, peaceful stroll would be the correct answer.

After the park, time for the beach. I didn't know what beach was the best, so I got on the metro, located some fine ladies with beach bags, and I decided that I was getting off the metro when they did. It worked out nicely. My requirements for a great beach - blue water, fine sand (preferrably white sand), and excellent viewage. I was rewarded today. I plan to hit several beaches on the trip, with the French Riveria and the Greek Isles being at the top of the list. I've now set a mark. Let's see if I can do better. I'm betting that I can. Bondi, Ipanema, South Beach - whose going in the charts as my best European beach? Who wants the title? St Tropez - do you got what it takes?

I then took the metro to another recommendation - Poble Espanyol. This is an old town area closed to vehicular traffic, within confined walls. It wasn't far from the Olympic stadium complex. When I got there - it was $15 to get in. It was getting late. I got the generally idea - so I decided not to pay the fee.

Back to the hostal to get packed. Tomorrow morning I take a flight to Istanbul, Turkey. Ah-hah!!! I feel the need, the need for speed!!!!

Day #41 - Barcelona, Spain - Soccer Game

FC Barcelona vs. Xerez CD

Scarfs are a popular purchase

82,000 person stadium

Very impressive stadium

Best team in the world

Saturday, April 24th

Today I got to experience my first soccer match in Europe - FC Barcelona vs. Xerez CD. I learned a lot about soccer in the last two days. Generally I understand the game, but how it fits into specifics within European culture - that was really interesting.

The game started at 6pm on Saturday night. Because of my experience in Madrid, I wanted to get there early. Therefore, I decided to sleep in and hang around the hostel area until leaving for the match. I had to pickup my ticket at the stadium, as I purchased it online. My hostel was located 10 minutes walking from the stadium - awesome. I went over about 1pm to see if my ticket was there. I could not get it yet - only after 3pm. The area surrounding the stadium was packed with people. Souvenir stands were already open.

I went back to the hostel after eating some lunch. I had to change rooms from my single room to a six-person dorm. I got setup and in the process met this guy who was also going to the game. This guy was the most educated soccer fan I may ever meet in my entire life. He filled me in on the whole scoop. Basically, FC Barcelona is the best soccer team in the world. (Hey - nice - I heard the best of the best were coming here). They have arguably the best player in the world (Messi). European leagues are the dominant soccer leagues in the world, with Spain, the UK, and Italy being the powerhouses in Europe. Each country has a league of their own. And then the clubs from each country play against each other for the Champions Cup. FC Barcelona won both the Spanish league and the Champions Cup last year.

I found out that there are 20 teams in the Spanish soccer league (the top tier). FC Barcelona is in first place. Xerez CD is in last place. So the match I'm going to see should be a slaughter. I learned why there was so much potential anger for riot in Madrid a few weeks ago. Currently Real Madrid is the 2nd best team in Spain. FC Barcelona and Real Madrid hate each other. I was told by the guy I met (who was from U.S.) that this rivalry is Yankees / Red Sox, Cardinals / Cubs times 50. He said it's the most heated rivalry in soccer. I'm told Barcelona and Madrid really do not like each other as cities. I'm finding the differences interesting about the two - and people from one area clearly have a chip on their shoulder about the other.

I go back to the stadium around 3pm. I got my ticket right away - which I did not expect. It was an awesome day so I took a seat on a grassy hillside across from the stadium along with a ton of other fans. Attendance was 82,434 fans for the game. The atmosphere was exciting, but it was truly tame as compared to what I saw outside Real Madrid stadium. I did not see anger or hostility, it was a pretty casual atmosphere. I'm told that Xerez is from the very southern tip of Spain - right near Portugal. The name of the town is actually Jerez - not sure why the soccer team is called Xerez. Supposedly, this team is really bad and may be moved down a level. I do not think Barcelona fans could be too angry at this club.

Interesting things from my first soccer match:

(1) If you ever watch a soccer game on TV - you may notice the constant horns. Check out a worldcup game this summer - you'll hear it. I always thought it was some crazy soccer fan guy. Well, turns out - most of this noise is primarily made by little kids under the age of 10. I'm sitting on the hillside and start hearing the horns. I look around, every kid has a little plastic horn which makes unbelievably loud noises.

(2) If you are not wearing a jersey, flag, or scarf -- you're probably not a big fan.

(3) The players have little time before the game for warmup. The players arrived at the stadium about 4:30 pm. People were waiting for them on the streets. FC Barcelona did not come out for warmups until about 30 minutes before the game.

(4) In between halfs, I go out to get a water. My seat was in the upper deck. Normally, you'll see large concession stands open. They had these - but nobody staffed them. They had 1 small booth. (You know the small beer booths at baseball stadiums that help keep crowds from the concession stands). This is what they had - one of these. It was staffed by a 15 year old kid. 40 people swarmed this kid. There was no line. People were just picking up what they wanted and throwing money on the table. The kid was going back and forth frantically amongst the mass. I was impressed by the kid - he kept his cool. I can't believe he was even put in that situtation. And I can't believe there was no line. It was truly - the most aggressive person got what they wanted first.

(5) After half - a big thing is to tear paper out of your program, form paper airplanes, and see if you can throw these on the field. There was a lot of paper on the field by end of game.

All in all, it was a great expereince. Barcleona won 3-1. It could have been much worse. Even to an amateur eye like myself, the skill level was obvious between the two teams. It was the varsity versus JV. I can appreciate soccer, and really enjoy watching the World Cup, but I'll never be taken for soccer fan guy. One of the primary reasons, many soccer players fake injuries. This more than bothers me about the sport. At one point in the game, this guy was rolling around on the ground, writhing in apparent agony for nearly 5 minutes. People with compound fractures could not show more agony. The ref runs over to give a yellow card. The guy gets up, and not 30 seconds later, is running a 4.5 - 40 yard dash down the field - clearly not hurt at all. That's OK - it was a really neat day and I'm glad I was able to see such a great team play on their home field.

Day #40 - Barcelona, Spain

View from Catalan National Art Museum

92' Olympic Stadium

La Sagrada Familia

St. Jordi's Day - guys get books

St. Jordi's Day - ladies get flowers

Friday, April 23rd

Great day today. I got into my hostal late last night - just barely making the 10pm cutoff. After saying the trains are "almost always" on time, my train was late into Barcelona by about 45 minutes. I got to the station at 9:30pm and needed to be checked into my hostal by 10. I don't have a phone and didn't have time to email. I needed to make it. Hostals are sometimes different than hotels - staff may be gone after the checkout time elapses.

I jumped off the train, ran for the Blue L5 metro train. When I got there, it was just arriving. I took this 2 stops down and jumped off at Badal. I had the directions written down - supposedly it takes 5 minutes to walk. Luckily I guessed right on the direction and made it to the hostal at 9:55pm. Solid.

Today I spent the whole day walking around Barcelona. It was awesome - discovering new things along the way. Right away when I got off the metro, I noticed that alot of women were carrying a rose. I didn't think much of it - maybe that's the way people roll here. After about 30 minutes, I knew something was up. There is no way this many women would be carrying roses on a Friday in April for no apparent reason. Then, I started to notice that there were many book stands and flower stands on the street. I went up to this lady in the flower booth: "Hola, como esta, what's up with the roses and books?" She smiled and said that today is St. Jordi's Day (St. George's Day). Tradition in Catalonia on April 23rd is for men to give their women roses and for women to give their men a book. She said: "We give books because they need to learn something"

Wow - I keep running into these cool traditions. I just looked this day up on the internet. Supposedly over 4 million roses and 400,000 books are purchased today in Catalonia. This totals over half the book sales all year. This is not a nationally recognized holiday - but I'm told that most people take off work. The street volume was proof of this. There was a sea of people all day. Almost every women I saw had a rose.

I continued to walk around and made my way to La Sagrada Familia. This is a famous momument that stands near the center of the city that has never been completed. Antoni Gaudi was run over and killed by a train before he could complete this masterpiece. See picture above. It's a major tourist spot in Barcelona and has a metro stop named after it.

As I'm really into sports I wanted to see the Olympic complex where the 92 games were held. It's located up on this hillside to the east of the city. It took a little while to walk there, but it was worth it. The Olympic stadium was open so you could walk inside. I got to see where all the events were held. I've been to the Winter Games in 02 (Salt Lake City). I really want to go to the Summer Games at some point in the future. I was bummed when Chicago missed out on 2016. As I want to go to the event while in the US, I'm holding out for 2020 - I hope?

After walking the Olympic venue, I ate lunch outside this small cafe overlooking the stadium. Awesome. I saw this guy eating spaghetti - I ordered the same. It was piping hot, steam rolling off (as it was a brisk day today). This may have been the best thing I've eaten this year.

I walked over to the Catalan National Art Museum. I didn't do the tour, but I read the informational booklet. I'm learning about the different time periods for architecture and art in Europe. Romanesque - 9th-12th century, Gothic - 13-15th century, Renaissance - 16th-18th century, Modern art - 19th-present. I guess that's why all the cathedrals or museums are labelled Gothic, etc that I've been visiting.

I sat and relaxed outside the art museum. It was a great view of the city (see picture). I then decided to head back into the city to see how the flowers and books were coming along. I got back into the city about 5pm. Even more people than before. Books were marked down and some people were giving out free roses. Late afternoon is the time to roam the streets.

Before ending the day, I went to the Picasso Museum in downtown. This was probably the coolest museum I've been to thus far on the trip. It had direction and organization. You walked in and were guided from room to room. There was a written description of the years Picasso painted the particular paintings in the room - and his insprations for doing so. This actually told a story and made sense to me as I went through the 15 rooms of the exhibit. Picasso focused on people and his images were incredible. I guess I enjoyed this because Picasso is a well known name and I learned something. This trip is all about learning new things. I think if I was shown a picture of a Picasso painting in the future, I'd have better than a 50/50 chance of knowing it's his work just by what was painted and the colors used.

Chilling in my hostal room now and will head to the "common lounge" here shortly. Not much going yesterday, everyone was out by the time I arrived.

Day #39 - Granada, Spain & Train Travel

Food/Drink car

Food/Drink car

Walking between train cars

Standard seating

Cobblestone streets of Granada, Spain

Thursday, April 22nd

This morning I got up and did some walking around Granada before boarding a train to Barcelona. This train departed at 8:45am and will arrive in Barcelona at 8:50pm. This sets the mark for my longest train ride ever.

I didn't walk around much - as I'm using Wednesday night and the train travel on Thursday as a rest period. Granada is famous for a place called The Alhambra - quoted as being the greatest expression of Spanish Muslim art and architecture. A really neat building with 9th century ties. There is a famous hotel called the Parador de San Francisco within the walls of the Alhambra - offering unbelievable views.

I've talked quite a bit about hotels/hostals on the trip, but I never talked much detail on train travel. Besides my small netbook computer, my eurail pass is the single most important possession I have with me. I paid $1,674 for a 2 month eurail pass. This allows me to use the train network between 21 different countries. It's a paper ticket. I currently have this with my passport, ATM card, and credit card - on me at all times. I wish it was a laminated card or some material other than paper. I'm a spilled bottle of water from a big problem. It's got a workout - but doing good at the present moment.

This pass is worth every penny I paid for it. In my first 37 days, I would have paid double for individual trip puchases - and - I still have a month to go. I was hesitant at first, trying to figure out the trains requiring reservations and ticket lines, but I'd do the eurail pass again in a heartbeat.

Every train station has a ticket/information booth. They are usually staffed by 2 people in the smaller stations and maybe up to 10+ in larger stations like Paris. I've come to realize, I just need to give myself more time for the lines and have a plan when I get to the agent. I generally write down the places I want to go and show this to the agent. This way, there's no issue with the language barrier. The agent will type in the trip and show me the computer screen for options on time of day. I'll selecct one. Now, if a reservation is required, I'll have to pay a couple euro (generally 1.50 to 6.50 euro) even with my pass. I then get a paper ticket that I must show before boarding, in addition to my eurail pass. Sometimes, I don't tell them about the eurail at first and they show me the price I'd need to pay with no pass. This can be in the hundreds at times. So, I'm not complaining about the small reservation fees. I'd say 75% of the trains actually require an additional reservation fee. I always go up to the ticket agent and make sure before boarding.

The trains can have between 3 to 12+ cars. If you have a reservation ticket, you are provided a car # and a seat #. Right now, travel is pretty light and cars are not full - I suspect that the summer months will prove differently. The way to tell the car #? On the outside of the train before boarding, each car is marked. If you wait until you get on the train - it can be confusing. There is not always identifiable markers on the interior cars. This is why I had trouble on my first trip from Paris to Bordeaux. The inner cars all said car #2. I should have entered the correct car from the outside.

Now, train travel is awesome compared to flights. You can easily walk between cars. There are usually 2 bathrooms between each car - so there is never really a line. Also, most trains have a food/drink car. It looks kind of like a bar when you walk in. They have a few tables where people can sit/stand. They have sandwiches, drinks, snacks, etc. You just pay for what you want. That's really nice - you make the call unlike air travel. Also, on longer train trips, they will often stop for 10 minutes at a port. You can get out and walk around and stretch the legs. The cigarette smokers love this - as no smoking is allowed on the trains.

Due to the language barrier, I usually never know what port is coming up. It's announced, but I can't understand 80% of the time. The train's are almost always on time. Therefore, I use the time of my destination as the mark. I get my bag on and when the train stops, I confirm the location by the signs at the port, and then deboard. You gotta be careful here. The other day I was travelling from northern Spain into Portugal. I got my bag and jumped off the train at my destination time before looking at the signs. I quickly noticed that this was not my port. I barely made it back on the train before it left the station. The problem was the time had changed. Portugal is 1 hour earlier - I still had an hour to go. Lesson learned. I'm looking at the time zone map right now. There's 4 zones I'll be travelling just like the US. Ireland, UK, and Portugal are like the western time zone. 80% of interior Europe is like the mountain time zone. Finland, Romania, Greece, and Turkey are like the central time zone. Russia is like the eastern time zone. Good to know.

The seats on the train are generally very nice. Much more room than in a plane. They do have first class cars with a little more room - but standard class works just fine. In addition to the many advantages discussed already, maybe the biggest, you get to see the countryside while travelling. It stays light to nearly 10pm here in Spain. Unless I'm taking an overnight train, I'd usually be at my destination by then. I will be taking my first overnight trip when I return from Turkey. Madrid to Paris. I'll board at 7:30pm and arrive at 7am. That should be interesting - more later.

Just a quick note on metro trains within a city. The eurail pass does not work here - but it's usually only 1 euro or so to travel. The metro stations are great - similar to what you would find in New York City, etc. They are very well marked and easy to get around. Just make sure of the direction Find the last port and that's what's usually listed on the board. I've only gone the wrong direction 1 time. I guess it takes a mistake sometimes until you figure it out.

Bottom line - train travel - nice option.

I'm looking out at a field of orange trees. Oranges everywhere. I'm about 3 hours south of Barcelona - not sure where. Not much else to report today. I have a hostal booked in downtown Barcelona for 2 nights. Hoping to meet some friends. There's also a chance I'll be meeting up with the son of one of my aunt's friends. He's from US and now lives here. We've exchanged emails and hope to meet up over the weekend.

I also got a ticket to the FC Barcelona soccer game on Saturday night. I know I discussed the crazy people outside the Real Madrid stadium, but I really want to see a 'big-time' soccer game while in Europe. Manchester United and some of the major UK teams will not be playing while I'm there because of the World Cup this summer in South Africa. FC Barcleona is ranked as one of the top 5 best club teams in Europe (maybe the best right now) - I'll be aware of riot potential - but it's an atmosphere I need to experience.

More from Barcleona tomorrow. The home of the 1992 Olympics and the 4th most visited city in Europe. I bet it bumps Madrid because of the ocean. I expect similar impressive architecture, etc - but the water is the trump card. We'll see if this is correct.

Day #38 - Cordoba, Spain

Outside Mezquita

Courtyard

Church spire

Wednesday, April 21st

It's 7am and I'm at the train station in Seville. I was up at 5:30 - out the hostel by 6. I walked the streets toward the train station until I found a cab - it would have been about a 45 minute walk here. I was scheduled to take the 7:15 to Cordoba - time has changed to 7:50 - no worries.

This is a large train station. There is 1 place open where you can get food - predominantly donuts. I just ate a ham sandwich and a bag of chips for breakfast. There are people standing around this cafe drinking their sippe cups of coffee. I've got to think there is a market for larger, paper, take-away cups - isn't there? I'm not really a 'coffee drinker', but I would love to have a large cup of Caribou or Starbucks right now. There's 20 other shops here - none are open. I wonder if that is a law - I would doubt it. If I was the manager of these shops - I would pay double to my staff in order for my shop to be open early morning. There are 14 outbound trains before 8am - and people are sitting around. This could arguably be one of the busiest times of the day.

I've been writing this blog often in my notebook while I'm in transit from one location to another and then typing it out on my computer at night. I did the blog yesterday quickly at night - but I think I should elaborate a bit.

Semana Santa (Holy Week) is celebrated througout the Christian world, but nowhere as it is in Seville, Spain. Each evening of the week before Easter members of the city's sixty brotherhoods slowly parade thrugh the cities darkened streets. Many are hooded, barefoot, and dragging chains. There are candlelit processions and floats bearing the images of the holy family. Deeply devoted songs are played throughout the week. This all gives way to the Feria festival I was at yesterday. My book states it's 'a one-week hiatus from the worries of the real world'. Anyway - I wanted to give some more detail on why this festival is so celebrated.

Popularity of this event --- when I went to find a hotel/hostel, a hotel called ALfonso XIII went for $821 a night (cheapest rate) I'm told it's the most exotic hotel in Spain. Well- hopefully it has something special for that price. I don't ever recall seeing a hotel priced that high while searching on the net.

I'm off to Cordoba, Spain this morning. I'm trying something new with this blog. I find myself forgetting details or not having time to complete at night; therefore, I'm going to try and write shorter notes throughout the day. It'll be like a twitter account - but displayed as 1 entity within a blog format.

Later

I spent a few hours in Cordoba this morning/afternoon. It's about a 1-1/2 hour train ride from Seville. Cordoba is one of those southern towns with deep traditons. Back between the 8th and 10th centuries, Cordoba was Europe's largest city (strong statement). One of its main attractions is 'The Mezquita". The Mezquita was initially constructed as a mosque - one of Europe's most breathtaking examples of Spanish Muslim architecture. It was later partially destroyed and rebuilt in 1236 as a cathedral. There's a church spire and a neat courtyard outside as well.

I'm learning alot how religion has influenced Europe's past and how some of the most treasured symbols in many cities are cathedrals (christianity), mosques (muslim), and synagogues (jewish). There's also so many different kings and empires which have governed and since fallen. I'm very interested in history. I'm a little confused about details right now - hopefully I'll put the pieces together as time moves forward.

I'm currently in another train headed to Granada, Spain. I'll be spending the night here. We keep stopping outside of stations - I'm not sure what is going on. I keep thinking about the old west and the gangsters that would hold up trains. If pirates still take over ships, can trains be held up? I've been singing "The Gambler" to myself all day - I need to get the train car to join in. That would make me feel better.

Once in Granada, I'll probably crash for the night. I'm headed to Barcelona tomorrow - the 4th most visited city in Europe. Fired up. I have a hostel reserved to make some friends on Thursday-Friday nights. Until then.

Day #37 - Seville, Spain

Horse-drawn carriages were everywhere

People walking from tent to tent

One of the 1,000 tents

Shaded streets lined with decorations

Flaminco dancing

Tuesday, April 20th

I took a really early bus out of Faro, Portugal to Seville, Spain. I knew going into Seville that they were having some sort of a celebration festival. Supposedly, Seville has some strong religious ties and has serious prayer sessions nightly during the Easter season. 2 weeks after Easter Sunday, this festival of celebration breaks out. The festival is called Feria. For 1 full week, they celebrate like there is no tomorrow. The festival started today, April 20th and runs through April 25th. The first day of an event like this - that sounded like a place I needed to be.

I walked around the city for about an hour before I found anything of significance. Finally, I started seeing all these women dressed out in these elaborate full-length dresses. They were all walking with a purpose in 1 direction. I thought: "Wherever these women are going, that's were I need to be" A few people turned into hundreds, convoying to this area of town. We walk through this gate - similar to a fair ground. Inside - It was amazing. Thousands of people. All the guys dressed in suits, all the women dressed in full-length floral dresses. Tents lined the streets. I learned that there is over 1,000 of these tents. All tents are invitation only - as it's a privledge to get invited. Each tent has tapas, drinks flowing, music, dancing, etc. Horse-drawn carriages filled the streets with passengers going to see the crowds. There was the famous "flamenco" dancing going on everywhere. This type of dancing involves alot of turning, hands and arm movements and hip rotations. This place was a mix between the Kentucky Derby (minus the infield), and 'The Grove' at Ole Miss. It was a classy and sophisticated atmosphere, but had a wild undertone. I was carrying my bag and was WAY out of place. I decided that I would stay overnight in Seville because I needed to take this in.

I found a hostel - 22 euro - dumped my bag, put on my 1 and only dress shirt - and was off. I still was woefully underdressed - but it would have to work. The pictures should show the atmosphere. It was awesome. I had a ton of fun just walking around interacting with the locals. I could have used a couple buddies as wing-men today - this was an amazing atmosphere.

Very good day. This is an event that I would highly recommend. Called it a night and will catch a train early tomorrow to Cordoba, Spain.

Day #36 - Travel Day - Lisbon to Faro - Iceland Volcano

Monday, April 19th

Today I got my first taste of the major effects the volcano has caused throughout Europe. I went to the main train station in Lisbon to get tickets worked out for the next couple days - total chaos. Lines were enormous, people were panicking. Although Portugal has not seen any of the ash from the volcano (at least to my knowledge), many people are trying to get back to places like Paris, Berlin, London, Dublin, etc. Flights are still cancelled which has caused people to revert to train travel.

I stood in a line for 1-1/2 hours and still wasn't close to the ticket agent. I decided to opt for a different plan. I chose to find a Wi-Fi spot in the airport and figure things out. Man - for me - this is just a very small inconvenience. For many people, this is a nightmare. At the internet cafe, I sat next to a middle-aged guy and his 2 little girls. I'd say the girls were 1st and 5th graders. The guy was frantically calling people while looking up travel sites on the interent. His wife was upstairs in the line I just came from. I couldn't help but listen because he spoke perfect English while I couldn't understand anyone else in the cafe. The family was from Stuttgart, Germany. Their flight had been cancelled and they must have been stranded at least a couple days. It sounded as if they had a flight scheduled for tomorrow, but if it cancelled again, there was not another flight until the following Wednesday. As a backup, they were looking into train travel back to Germany. This would cost them $1500 + the $1000 they would lose on the flights. He was saying all this out loud to his girls. He kept saying: "This is the most expensive low budget trip ever - girls - don't expect any more trips this year". The girls were being perfect angels as I'm sure they could see the distress on their dad's face. They said, "Don't worry dad, it'll be OK" It was neat to hear - the kids consoling the parent. Probably not the best thing to freak out his kids - but I guess he should be given a pass.

Since I really couldn't get anywhere due to train lines, I decided to plan the next couple weeks. I made a big call - I've decided to take a 4-day trip to Turkey. Because I need to make up 13 days, I decided to do 3 extra days in the states after returning from my Peru trip, and then spending an extra 6 days in England versus the Scandinavian countries. I needed 4 more - somewhere close - non-Schengen - that I was not already visiting. According to some sites I've visited, Istanbul is a great place to visit. I'm a little nervous about the location, but it should be fine. $350 for my flight - I thought it was a great deal from Spain.

In the short term, since everybody is heading north, I've decided to head south. I took a train heading to the southern tip of Portugal to a placed called Faro. I'll spend the night there on Monday and then will head into southern Spain via bus to Seville, Spain on Tuesday morning.

Day #35 - Sintra, Portugal

View from peak of Moorish Castle

8th century ruins

Great path

City of Sintra, Spain from peak

Looking down the trail

Sunday, April 18th

Today was a pretty relaxing day. I got up and went for a run and then had a great breakfast at the hotel. I hit the streets of Lisbon, walking to areas I could not cover yesterday. There seemed to be more people out today. I feel that the folks here are really nice and hard-working. Every time I go into a shop, there's someone there immediately. Actually, usually 2 people. 1 person appears to be a backup if the other cannot understand the language. There's better food options and bottles of vitamin water and orange juice. I can make it here.

I worked my way to an art museum called Museum Calouste Gulbenkian. This museum was formed from the private collections of Calouste Gulbenkian, a rich American oil tycoon who died in 1955, but had lived in Portugal since WWII. It was Sunday - so the museum was free. It was impressive I've got to say. There were alot of great paintings. Their claim to fame was that these paintings appeared real, and the items jumped off the canvas. There was also a ton of unique pots, plates, old rugs, coins, and sculptures. I can't imagine what all these items would cost. And for 1 person to have this collection - that's crazy. I know I'll never truly get it - but I really appreciate those who do and the passion with which they bring to their craft.

I next walked to the metro station and took a train to a small town called Sintra - located 18 miles northwest of Lisbon. I was only going to spend a couple hours here - but the town was so cool that I doubled that time.

My favorite thing about this town easily was the 8th century ruins of a Moorish Castle perched at the highest peak for miles around. I thought: "Hey, no big deal, I'll just climb to the top of that bad-boy" Well, I did it. But next time, I should pack a lunch. It was a major climb which took me over an 1-1/2 hours to get to the top - walking at a healthy pace. Good training. The path was great. When I got to the top, there were a number of people there who had taken the shuttle. See the pictures I've attached. You could see for miles.

I think I need to take a break from the old castles and architecture for a few days. I know that I'm not appreciating sites like I should. 8th century ruins? -- that's one of the oldest things I've seen thus far on the trip. I can't believe what had to go into building such a fort. I took several pictures at the highest point and took a casual stroll back into town.

I took the train back into Lisbon and called it an early night. Nothing earthshattering to report - but a nice peaceful day.

Day #34 - Lisbon, Portugal

Tourist street in Lisbon

Great walking paths in city

Round-about outside Hard Rock Cafe

Central Point of Lisbon

Saturday, April 17th

I arrived this morning about 12 noon in Lisbon via train from Porto, Portugal. I grabbed some lunch at the train station and booked a hotel for a couple nights using the Wi-Fi at the station. A couple things I noticed right away different about Portugal than Spain. First, people tended to speak English fluently. All the information people at the train station, the security guards, and those people at the restaurant - all spoke English. I was very surprised. I found more people speaking English in a couple hour time period than I found during my entire time in Spain. Maybe it was just by chance, but I liked it. Secondly, the Wi-Fi at the station was easily accessible and free. To this day, I still haven't figured out the Spain Wi-Fi at the train stations. I've been doing my computer work from hotels primarily.

Lisbon has a nice subway system. Pretty simple. 4 different metro trains - 4 different colors. I took the red train to my hotel exit point. I checked in and got settled. I went out and walked the city late afternoon into early evening. Nice city, not as visually impressive as Madrid - but, I knew this coming in. Right down from my hotel was the central point of the city. There was a huge statue on this round-about (see picture). Impressive. The streets were very nice, lined with trees. The walking paths were wide, offering a relaxing viewing point. (see picture).

I do feel the streets may be on the shaddy side. I was approached multiple times. Once, I was asked if I wanted 'coke' or 'marijuana'. The others I did not understand, but I never broke stride when they walked over to me. I stayed in the major areas - it just appeared there were alot of younger groups sitting together on corners (that's never a good thing).

I had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. I treated myself to something I knew and had a steak. It was a great dinner. Afterward, I walked down to the ocean. (I'm a huge fan of the ocean - especially at sunset). I realized I had found where many of the people and tourists were located. Earlier, I didn't think there was much acitivity for a larger city. It wasn't San Sebastian sunset - but nice nonetheless.

Lisbon is certainly a nice city to visit. The next couple days I'll get into the specific sites - today was just an overview. I do find myself trying to compare all these things - it's not fair. You have to know where you're going and set expectations to that level. If Lisbon was as visably impressive or fantastic as Madrid, it would be voted the 6th most visited city rather than the 20th most visited. New places - focus on new things. Lisbon was great because people were more approachable, more fluent in English, and getting around is very easy and compact.

I might take a day trip or so to a couple places outside Lisbon before heading to southern Spain. Have a great Sunday!

Day #33 - Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Cathedral Santiago de Compostela

The Finish

First view of the Cathedral - see in the far distance

Route was well marked

Views over an ice cream

Friday, April 16th

You guys are great with the knowledge base on Santiago de Compostela! Very nice. Real quick update - no travel interruptions here in Portugal due to the Iceland volcano. The skies are blue - no signs of anything here. I'm just about as far away as one could be unless I was in southern Italy or Greece.

About 2 weeks ago, I ran into this girl in Biarritz, France at a train station when they were on strike. She had a massive pack and she came over to me (matching big packs) to see if I was walking the Camino de Santiago (the Road to Santiago), she wanted to share a taxi to the starting point. At the time, I was clueless to what this meant. She proceeded to tell me that she would be walking 500 miles in 20 days to the city of Santiago de Compostela. After this conversation, I vaguely recalled reading about this in my '1,000 Things' book. Yes - there it was. Sometimes I get surprised at what's actually in this book.

So, the Road to Santiago or "The Way of St. James" is a 1,000 year old pilgrimage route. Along with Rome and the Holy Land, the City of Santiago de Compostela is one of Christendom's three principal pilgrimage destinations. The pilgrimage route is often called "the route of forgiveness" - as my aunt had suggested. Since the 9th century, millions have come from all over Europe and the British Isles to the cathedral, said to house the relics of St. James the Apostle. There are 8 different routes that make up the Way of St. James. They can vary from 500 miles to 65 miles. I was told that one must walk at least 100km (62 miles) to actually get stamped as completing the journey. The most popular route (and the one the girl I met was doing) starts in Roncesvalles, Spain - in the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains.

I arrived in Santiago late on Thursday (15th). I had a train departure on Friday at 4:40pm. I don't think I was going to make the 500 mile journey. I decided that I was about 10 miles bad and could use some forgiveness. Side note - how do priests come up with the penance during confession. Do they have an excel spreadsheet or some sort of slide rule. All right, we got a guy here who swears often, has 10+ lies, and covets alot of stuff. That will be............ 10 Hail Mary's and 5 Our Fathers. What if a really bad guy walks in. The conversation may go like this: "Son, do you like donuts" "Yes sir - I do". "Son, do you have a good pair of walking shoes" Yes sir - I do" "Son - I need you to board the next plane to Madrid, Spain and walk 500 miles in 20 days on the Road to Santiago in penance for your actions. Think about what you've done during that time - have a nice day" All right, I probably could do another 10 miles because that wasn't very nice.

OK, this was really an inspirational day for me. I really wanted to experience this trail. My goal was to start from the ending point - the cathedral - and go about 5 miles out and then come back the 5 miles. I hope this was not disrespectful. My intentions were actually opposite this. I wanted to experience the trail, but more importantly, I wanted to see the people and be 'awed' by their efforts. It was a perfect weather day again - very typical so far in Spain. You couldn't believe the walkers on the route. I bet I passed over 100 people. It's just a Friday in April - I can't imagine how many people due this over a year's time.

Now, when I got to about the 3 mile marker, I realized my hotel was right there. I could have stopped, but, I came for a reason. I decided to turn around there, go the 3 miles back to the cathedral and then I would walk the 3 miles back to the hotel. I'll give it 10 miles, figuring the distance I walked around the cathedral site. About 2 miles from the finish, you get your first site of the cathedral (see picture). The rest of the way is shear adrenaline.

Let me say this, awesome. Very humbling, Very inspiring. People of all ages and sizes were on the route. You saw the springy groups with small packs - possibly just doing day hikes. But then you would see these people with huge packs, walking sticks, headbands, faces filled with exhaustion. When I finished at the cathedral, I took some time and watched them come through. You finish through this long tunnel - there's music playing. The tunnel opens up into the courtyard filled with people and you look up and see the cathedral. I've done enough endurance activities to know that raw emotion doesn't come much sweeter then after completion of such a herculean effort. These people were amazing. Hugging each other, tears on their faces, families there to greet them - wow - makes you feel great inside. All these people doing this pilgrimage for many different reasons I'm sure. But they all have a common bond - a trip to stay with them for a lifetime.

The site of the cathedral itself was unreal. Construction began in 1078. Outside there is a spacious plaza that wraps around both sides. The plaza is also home to the Hotel Reyes Catolicos - allegedly the oldest hotel in the world (strong statement). One of my favorite memories of the day was after I returned to the cathedral (6 miles in). I had a seat in the plaza, enjoying an ice cream. An awesome guitar player was playing in the background. A large group was surrounding him. The plaza was confined by buildings, so the music could be heard throughout the area. The guy was playing "Yesterday - the Beatles" and "Tears in Heaven - Eric Clapton". I took a photo at what I was looking at during that time (see pic) - coolest part of my day.

I walked back to my hotel feely really good. I got to say, I didn't know I would be doing some of these things on this trip - good stuff however. Taking it all in stride.

I grabbed some lunch/dinner at my hotel and then was off. My destination for tonight is Porto, Portugal. Entering my 5th country thus far on the trip. No paperwork needed or anything when you pass between 2 Schengen countries on train - easy as state to state in US with car. From Schengen to non-Schengen, a passport sticker is required. I'm still getting used to this travel. Oh - I laid out a plan to recover my 13 days that I lost in non-Schengen countries when I chose not to return to Ireland. I'll give details later.

Tomorrow morning I'll be heading to Lisbon, Portugal - the 20th most visited city in Europe. Until then ----