The trip spread out over a 5 week period, where we visited the United Kingdom, including Inverness, Edinburgh, London, Cambridge and Oxford. We also spent time in Spain traveling to Madrid, Segovia, Salamanca, Barcelona and the Catalonian towns of Cadaqués and Figueras.It's hard to list all of the highlights of the trip, as there were so many great things we could talk about, but there were a couple special moments to point out. First, the 2008 European football (futból, soccer) championship was advancing to a conclusion when we arrived in Europe. We went to pubs to watch quarterfinal and semi-final contests with Spain, and they won both matches. Owing to fortuitous timing, we flew to Madrid the day before the Euro 2008 final match, against Germany.
You have not seen a "party" until you are in a passioned-filled, victorious country like Spain after winning a big soccer tournament. Our hotel was only a half mile from the Plaza Colón, the city's center for the match celebrations. The Plaza was filled with thousands of screaming fans. Trying to describe the feelings, the emotions is difficult - words cannot really express the moment. See the posts for 29 June and 01 July at the right for a small sample of the "ambiente" ...
A second highlight was when we visited Cambridge. It was graduation time, and we got the unexpected opportunity to see the pomp-and-circumstance associated with longstanding cermonial traditions. The photos that we took do not begin to capture the atmosphere of the moment, but seeing it firsthand was very inspiring and will always be remembered by us.We could go on and talk about how great it was to stay in an apartment in Barcelona getting a more authentic local perspective on Barcelona and Catalunya (Mallorie and I really appreciate this view and lifestyle).
Or we could spend hours discussing all of the great artwork that we were fortunate to see, from the Queen's Italian renaissance collection in Edinburgh, to the spanish
masterpieces at the Prado or the photo exhibit of Edward Steichen in Madrid, the Gaudí and Romanesque styles in Barcelona, Dalí artwork and jewellry at the museums in Figueras and Cadaqués. Seeing and appreciating the artwork is certainly one of the big advantages of visiting Europe.This blog has daily posts made throughout the trip. You know the routine - took pictures throughout the day as we walked around the many different places. Then, back at the hotel or apartment, downloaded the pictures, did a quick edit and wrote a few words that hopefully wouldn't embarass us. Over the next week or so we will probably update the blog posts, a little, to add some more photos and descriptive verbiage.
All of the daily posts are available by clicking on the links at the right side of this web page - please feel free to read them and post comments ... in the meantime here is a summary of the trip itinerary:
June 14-15: Hal flew to the UK
June 16-18: visited Inverness, Loch Ness area of Scotland
June 19-20: Edinburgh
June 21: Rendezvoused with Mallorie and Sarah in London
June 21-27: London and Cambridge
June 28: All flew to Madrid
June 28-July 5: Madrid, Segovia, Salamanca
July 6: Sarah flew home, Mallorie/Hal train to Barcelona
July 6-12: Barcelona, Cadaqués, Figueras
July 12: Train back to Madrid
July 13: Hal flew back to London for work
July 14-21: Mallorie in Madrid
July 18: Hal flew home
July 21: Mallorie flew home
It's now time to start planning for the next trip ... hmmm, let's see maybe Cuba? ... South America? ... Montréal ... stay tuned.
