I would come back to London for sure if I was a rich american bastard, but even then my money wouldnt last long. I would love to go shopping here though, so mush nice clothing. And the food looks good too if it wasnt 20 bucks. I guess it was a bad place to end my trip. Since I'm pretty much out of money, being in London is just... painful. I have some pictures, but they wont be up for a couple of days. I can only use the internet for 30 minutes here. On the plus side it should only cost another 8 dollars to ride the tube to the airport. hopefully. people here like to tell you tons of different prices. ah. I'll be happy to be home, and just relax.

Even being in Britian i feel like people are speaking another language. Maybe they are.

The countryside in england is very nice though. today was all blue skies. hopefully tomorrow will be nice as well.

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All of the churches in porto have these wonderful tiles all around them. It makes them stand out ~from the buldings around them, and from churches in other towns.

This store would have been Michelas paradise. Thousands of necklaces and earrings in all colors and shapes and styles. I want to send the girls to spain and portugal so they can have new wardrobes. so many polka dots and shoes!

Along my shopping route, a griffin? statue.

The centro of Porto. Where all things colide. Food and wine and shopping and tourism and business.

A view from my room.

The sky over porto at dusk. Very beautiful!

This was a painting i did a while ago in Pico, Açores. I forgot to take a picture though until last night.

The painting i did last night before watching some news and some weird english programming.

Here, I have seen more news than i have in my entire life. Its like there is a shield around america and we dont get any real news. I feel like i know FAR MORE about whats going on in the world than i did at home. Some Spanish guy on the news compared Bush to Hitler. was he wrong? you decide. There is also news of iraq SHOWING the bad things.. bombs and people killed. Nothing like america.

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This is the coimbra university. It is one of the oldest in Europe, being founded in 1100 something.

This was near the university. They seemed to have some very radical views there. And clothing styles.

There were tiles murals all along one street. I liked the fact they were all in blue, and looked like they were sketched almost.

Detail.

This was the university botanical garden. Very beautiful. And finally, a FREE garden!

A wall running by the university.

Also by the university. Im not sure what though, it wasnt marked on the map.

Some old houses by the university. Coimbra was very colorful.

Architecture in coimbra. I forget who made this one. Its supposed to be a rennasaiance style, but i dont know.

And lastly, I bet GRACE would want one of these. Its an electronic bus timetable that tells you which bus, and how many minutes until it will arrive at the stop. Its almost a relief.

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This is the Monastery of the Geronimos. Id say the most elaborate monastery ive ever seen. or imagined.

Another view.

I was very excited to see this statue because the hippocampus, the half horse, half fish, was one of my favorite mythical creatures, and ive really never seen any artwork of it!

There was some cool art on the ground that showed the different conquests of portugal throughout the ages. these people are standing in europe.

These people are standing in the americas.

Where i am!!

Where i went earlier....

I went to a tropical botanical garden. I wonder how much money ive spent on going to gardens and churches and such? this one was different though, because all the plants were from the asias and africa and such. very nice.

Some very interesting bamboo. I would like to have some in my yard.

San Francisco or Lisbon? You decide.

I havent the slightest idea what it says, but i like the idea of a clock for a head.

This was the weirdest textured building i saw in lisbon. But dont get me wrong, there were lots of strange buildings!!

On the walk back to the hostel, there was a plant growing out of the wall.

I left lisbon on their independence day... April 25. It was the day Portugal was no longer under a dicatorship. The carnations you see are a symbol of the peace. On that day in 1974, they put carnations in their rifles to show that there would be no more.

They had a tram system in Lisbon a lot like San Francisco. Some going up and down extremely steep hills. Like in San Francisco.

A very tasty place to get a pastry by my hostel. A very old one too.

The metro stop by the hostel. I was sad to leave it and took this photo.

This is a sink in a mall at the train station. They even have art in their sinks!!

The subway stops each had a different type of art. Some very classical, some new age. some very strange. but all very nice. or at least nicer than plain, boring, subway walls!

Lisbon and Seville have been my favorite cities so far. I would definently like to return to lisbon! and even stay in the same hostel with paulo and maria and jo. They were all great!!

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This is the hostel cat, Jo. She was very friendly and slept on my lap more than one night. She reminded me of louis.

The first real day I was in Lisbon I went around the town with a German guy. We went to Sao Jorge castle, and this is it.

This is a view out from the castle. The castle is perched on a high hill, as most castles are, and looks out over lisbon and the river.

View of the river, the rio tejo.

The confusion of lisbon houses. It looks easy to navigate, right? I like all the different colors.

On the walk back from the castle, the German and I stopped at this wine shop, and they had some very old wines. There was one from 1985 for 80 euros! and there were some older for even more.

We then went up to the top of this building that was essentially a big elevator and a platform on the top that sold snacks and beer. But it had a nice view. This is Rossio square.

This is a view of the Sao Jorge castle over the city.

The next day, I went to Sintra. And I walked the whole way from the train station to the castle top. It was all uphill and probably 4 miles. No wonder im done with stairs and castles! My legs were shaking after I finally made it back down to the train station.

This is a decorative door on the way up to the castle.

Also on the way.

Most of the walk was through some sort of forest. It felt like I had gone back a century or two.

Outside the castle. These are some of the original moorish walls that were not rebuilt. The original parts of the castle were built in the 9th century, and then later restored and used in the 14th.

Inside the castle. There were many trees, probably grown up over the years of neglect. But it made for a wonderful atmosphere.

And here is the castle, hanging on the the side of the rock.

On the walk back down the hill...

And a romantic moorish fountain.

The next two nights i pretty much lounged around with the hostel worker, Maria, and we made some food and had great conversations with other people there. And we watched some CSI. good times!

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This is the view of Horta from the ferry.

Horta Porta. Probably the most interesting port in the azores if you remember all the paintings for good luck there!

Boats and Houses.

View of the Island Pico from the Port.

Oh, by the way.. I think in the azores I found a strange translation in food items. A hamburger is actually a slice of ham plus a hamburger patty. And a steak snadwich with cheese and lettuce is actually a piece of steak, bread, cheese, and a slice of ham. WHAT IS WITH THIS HAM THING?! I only think of Ryan´s eating habits and laugh. the more types of meat the merrier!

A street on the way to the beach.

Beach! It was a very nice day and I laid out for sometime, and forgot my frustrations about my family.

Me! and the beach. I was very happy.

Then back to Madalena to spend the night because it was cheaper than Horta, ferry rides included, to stay the night.

So, I didnt leave on a bad note. The last day was very nice, and i appreciated the weather.

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This is on the ferry ride to Pico island. The water was a little rough, and I was a little ill. Stayed the night in Madalena.

I wandered around the town, Lajes do Pico, on the next day until I found a nice place to paint. This is along the way.

I have climbed many stairs. I am officially done with stairs and castles.

The sidewalks here always have interesting designs and images. Sometimes i wonder why i havent run into anything while looking at them!

Still me walking around.

Night is coming while I am still painting.

This is from the restaurant that was part of the residencial i stayed at. They had very nice people there and i talked to them well past closing time.

Night. The little dot you can see in the middle is Venus. The sky was amazingly clear.

This is a picture of a picture of a flood they had before they built a barrier wall next to the sea. The place you see is the place i stayed. The giant rail crate you see was supposedly floating around and smashed into the building. You can imagine what happened to the car!

This was on the shop next door. The American view of the world. Looks familiar eh?

The next day I went to Sao Roque. Which i was bored. I must have walked for miles and miles in my boredom. I had to hitchhike to get there, other wise spend 4 hours on the bus circling the island. Some old eccentric couple picked me up, and im surprised they didnt run anyone over!! If anyone EVER goes to portugal, please watch out for motorists. they are damn dangerous.

They had natural swimming pools like this all over the azores. They fill up with the tide. this one, the tide is out. People would also just swim in the ocean, and even do laps. Badass!

Another view of the mountain, Pico.

When I was walking around I saw this house way in the middle of the Pico ¨forest¨ and it looked very difficult to get to.

The calf was very cute. I thought grace would want to see it. I felt bad I probably ate its mom or dad while I was on the island. I was almost impossible to avoid meat. Unless i wanted bread and cheese for every meal! But now on the mainland im back to a veghead.

These were rocks in the ocean.

And these were some vines i thought were pretty.

Overall of Pico I liked Lajes the best. Like i said, i would like to go back with a tent and more time. and maybe a car...

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The Azores were a mix of bad and good. It was so beautiful, but sometimes so slow and boring and hard to get around (only two busses a day). Walking was wonderful, but the islands were bigger than one might think! and i didnt get very far.

I would like to come back with more time, a tent, and camp out in the ¨wilderness¨. That would be really fun.

This was the view from my airplane window as we flew into horta. It is the peak of Pico mountain. It was a bit breathtaking.

Welcome to the Azores!

The little car I rented, the Ford Fiesta!! It drove so easily. Way easier than the truck. Reminded me of JRs car. I only rented it for the one first day in Horta.

When I first went driving into Horta I stopped by some tide pools.

And the fish in the tide pool!

This was the port in horta. People would paint messages about their journeys by boat for good luck or to say that they had be there. and there were thousands!

Here is one view of the beach next to Horta. Very nice and clean and blue water.

Another view of the same beach.

I started to climb up the hill you see in the first picture, and there were some ruins of a house which were very interesting.

When i was walking around, there were lizards scurrying everywhere. I felt like i was in Jurrasic park.

The water was great. Everywhere here the water was so blue.

Me climbing the hill.

This is the view over the beach that you could see from where i hiked.

This was me driving around, and this is a happy cow grazing by the side of the road.

My house Nice grassy hills and a horse.

Also driving around on Faial. A nice old church.

A cafe. My relatives perhaps? the Jacintos?

I drove up to the volcanos peak, the caldeira. Its a crater now. I assume it exploded. Its also a refuge area for wildlife.

Some of the wildlife.

Chicharros. Little fried whole fishes. I had a very hard time eating them, but i did. and here is the picture to prove it!

So that was my first day in Horta. Pretty eventful, but somewhat lonely. And i slept in the car. Yikes. But pico was much less lonely and I didnt have to sleep in any cars!

Family history is always difficult remains copyright of the author therook, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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So here was my first stop into Lagos on the way to Salema. The sky was great and the water clear. I didnt know that portugal was one hour behind spain so i showed up for the bus an hour early! oops!

By the way, im going to change my caption style to underneith the photos. so beware. photo, then description.

The boats in the harbor.

And the boats up close...

This is the street where i stayed, a look to the right. I rented a room from a family. It was very nice. but kind of odd because i would walk in from going to the beach or whatever, and they would be having dinner or cooking! and neither of us spoke the other´s language!

And to the left.

And walking to the beach which was ...pretty much right there. I stayed on the beach in a way!

View from the window in my room. I could hear the waves at night which was really awesome!

The beach.

This pretty much describes what i did for two days!

My feet were very happy to be in the sand and not in shoes.

Salema is a fishing town. and the boats come in and out of the water all day, pulled by a tractor.

The Salema Vista.

My painting of the boats.

My other painting that isnt so good.

I walked around salema the next day and went up some random road. Most of the time all i could hear were the birds. And then, I heard this enchanting ringing or chiming, and i realized it was the cows walking with bells tied around their necks in the valley. below. how often does one realize that?

One view from my walk.

Another view.

And the future site of my vacation home.. haha

View of the overall beach at Salema.

My breakfast.

What Portugal REALLY thinks about the United States. please STOP US.

A Mural at the Lagos Post office. The first half. I love europe, its full of art.

And the second half of the mural.

So I had a great time in Salema and had some great calamari and wines and sun. It was like a vacation from the vacation! Very awesome indeed. So, until next time.... I have TONS of pictures from the azores. So beautiful there!

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The guidebooks LIE. you need a car to see the good stuff. The are only 2 busses a day.

If the ferry doesnt make you sea sick, the local driving will.

restaurant? where?

Hitchhiking is the only way to make it from one side of the island to the other... north to south.

The water is amazingly clear and blue, and the sky is huge with great cloud formations. And the lava rock beds are very interesting!

You can actually SEE stars at night!

chicharros are not calamari.

The bananas are locally grown and luckily not genetically engineered.

Cows moo at me when i walk by.

So...thats the azores so far. Tomorrow I go back to Horta (where I flew into) to search for my ancestors birth records, and hopefully maybe of their parents and such. wish me luck! hope everything is well in the homelands. Much love.

The Azores, here i am! remains copyright of the author therook, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Im sure it would have been a grand town if i had seen the horses, then got to taste sherry in the ´noon!

Here was a giant man statue by the bus station.

Here were the only horses I saw... the first on the main street, the second in the alcazar.

This was the catherdral in Jerez, next to the alcazar. and following is a typical street in Jerez.

I did see what had to have been the biggest wine TREE?? ever

And, on the way out, i had to laugh... did you ever wonder how they got concrete to the top of a building?

So, that was my day in Jerez. I should have gone to tarifa for sure. Or picked a different day. but i didnt have an alarm clock. How have i made it this far? I woke up at 7 today to catch a bus with no alarm.. and from seville i woke up at like... 5:45 to get my bus to lagos. yes i AM crazy. and hardcore. maybe. just a little.

Jerez de la everything was closed Frontera remains copyright of the author therook, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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and another view;

My favorite thing though was that along the arc of the actual building, were tile representations of all the provinces in spain. and they were all amazing!

and you can kind of see Valencia... since it was my first love, and there was no sevilla, my favorite.

And the up close parts;

Here is an upclose of Toledo.. I didnt go there, but The detail on the tile was to my liking...

Everything was painted and very detailed like i said. here is one of the railings on the upstairs.

Here is me admiring the stairwell banister

And view of the stairwell

Here was the center of the plaza... horses and carriages could go through it, and in the very center was a fountain. note the ground, how elaborate it is!

And here were two random things I found in Seville... Louie and Camu!

And thus concludes my travels in the most badass city ever. Hope you join me there next time.

Seville is badass part 2 remains copyright of the author therook, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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So, on the way to the cathedral, very nice colorful buildings.

One of the large doors to the cathedral.

Through the courtyard.

The main door in.

A window above the door.

The woman in front of the door.

In the first rooms I went in was like a museum more or less. With artifacts and paintings and such.

Then, I found a stained glass of the same women!

Brian, remember the organ in the Mezquita? This place topped even that. It had like, dueling organs. facing each other. all the way to the ceiling. amazing!

Another stained glass.

The main attraction of this church was the tomb of Christopher Columbus! really! Here it is....

And on the way out... the door knob. I guess its hardly a KNOB.

This was a little of the Alcazar. I didnt go in because the line was around the block.

And Okay, I decided that Seville is the most badass city in spain. This is the door to the Alcazar. Tell me thats not sweet.

Then me meandering around the other day... some sights.

And finally, at the days end, this was my dinner! It had whole shrimps in it. Legs, eyes, little unhappy faces. But it was good.

Seville is badass part 1 remains copyright of the author therook, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Sevilla First Day remains copyright of the author therook, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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here are the pictures of it, which just dont show how slow and awesome this procession was. These people literally moved one step at a time, the whole things swaying side to side like someone deep in prayer.

And the side view...

The next day I went out to the beach, and to the castle on top of the hill. I got a little sunburnt.. oy and I got very sleepy from all the fresh air. I am determined to come back with sexy golden, but not cancerous, skin. Seville rooftop sunbathing here I come!

The Beach here had these amazing rocks on it.. I stared at them for probably an hour.

They went all the way to the sea..

The restaurant I ate at..I had an avocado salad and a beer and a coffee. Umm..one hint. Beer and coffee dont mix. Only wine and coffee. Anyway, they had this octopi next the the fire, and they looked very wiggily yet tastey.

One could see the castle from the beach. I decided to make my way up the ascent.

It took me forever to get up the hill..mountain..hell walk.. but the streets on the way there were great.

Finally! I got to the castle and walked around. once again, no railings. There was even one part where people were dozing that was next to a shear cliff! Even I am too much of a wuss for that!

When I left the castle I realized there was a straight shot street up the hill to the castle and I had winded around for what seemed like hours. So I went home and passed out. And read a steven king novel I found?

The next day, yesterday, I went to go start a painting. This is what I was painting, but it got dark before I finished...

And then...this is the hallway to my room. You can see the door to my room on the left. The plants are in an open air kind of patio .. and this is the second floor! very neat eh?

One last thing... I went to the store today, and the wine was so cheap I actually giggled aloud.

This was the botton shelf:

This was the top shelf:

Ah, why cant wine be that cheap in the States? Id probably be a lot more drunk....

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This is the first view I had of it when walking through the gate.

This is another part outside...

This was the very first thing I saw once inside... so grand!

Then on around ... Beautiful workmanship...

These pillars were everywhere throughout the Mezquita...

And the different wings held numerous other archways.

Then I went into the most wonderfully ornate room I have ever seen in my life... it was at the center ... this was the ceiling in there...

This was one of the chairs...

And brian, if you like the organ, you will absolutely LOVE this one:

Then, leaving the actually building, more exterior shots:

And my newfound love of olive trees...

Then when leaving the walls surrounding the Mezquita... a horse and carriage...

And on the outside of the wall was this very nice painting.

And back up to the train station.

And here is me, happy in cordoba!

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So here is what I did in Madrid when I was not looking for somewhere to spend the night...

This is the train station. Intimidating at night, but really close to everything in the day time. And a lovely forest inside!´

I went to the largest park Ive ever seen. There were musicians, boat rides, statues, policia on horseback, food venders, gardens..and more!

This was my favorite statue set in the park...

These were at the botanical garden... These trees must have been 100 years old! they were the largest Bonsai trees I have ever seen...

This was a view over Madrid...

And this was an Egyptian monument which was sent to Spain in thanks. But I wonder how they got it there??

I took this picture for my mom, because I know how she likes tulips... they were very beautiful and very red.

And this was another great statue by the last place I stayed. Everything is so epic in Spain!

And lastly, this is me trying to leave Madrid. Notice all the trains that are full "tren completo"... thankfully Madrid let me leave her.

SO that was Madrid.... I would go back during the off season, but not during Semana Santa again!

Ah Madrid, how I still detest thee... remains copyright of the author therook, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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First set of stairs...

Next set...

View from the first level of the gate...

Now view from the very top...

And another...

And yet another... It was such a grand city...

And, what Brian would love the most was this... there was NO railing anywhere to keep a tourist from jumping off, and you could go ANYWHERE on this thing. SO not American.

It was THE most exhilarating experience...racing to, yet trying to savor the climb, to the top.

PS, why are badasses always pointing?

This entire entry is dedicated to Brian remains copyright of the author therook, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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-the train station is intimidating
-I take the metro and when I get off I promptly have a tachycardia attack for half an hour
-I go to the hostel I was thinking of, and no one answers
-I get into the building, and go to the door, and no one answers
-i get STUCK in the building because you need a key to get out
-finally I get out
-A couple who speaks 5 words in english try and help me find a place, they bustle me all over the city
-I find a place. its $82 for the night
-I am back where I started by the metro stop
-next day I find a place for 25 eu. I am relieved.
-i start to feel better and check out some sights.
-I go home to the place and i am thinking I´ll get up early and see some sights
-the place has cockroaches. lots of them.
-i leave the light on all night for fear they will crawl on my face.
-i get no sleep.
-construction at 8 am. I get up and theres a cockroach in my jacket.
-i have now been wandering for 2 hours and I cant find a place to stay for the night. I´m considering leaving this damned city.
-I need a shower. I still imagine cockroaches crawling on me.
-i havent eaten.
-if only i had listened to my mother.
-i´m booking hostels for the rest of my trip.
-there are 2 million words for places to stay here and are very confusing... hotel, hostal, hostel, pension, habitacion, and a few others that i cant even remember right now. send me some best wishes, i need it.

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Last day in valencia remains copyright of the author therook, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Here are some delightful cacti...

To my cebolla...

un gato botanical...

And I pretty much meandered around the city all day. I ate some tastey tapas. I oreder un bocadillo queso y calamares and got 2 sandwiches intead of the calamari separate! Oops! But the place was very friendly, and cheap. I love trying to speak Spanish because it keeps my brain extremely active.

He says, "Learn Spanish, Damnit!"

This was the view from my first hostel. I have since had to move. The Hostel was very nice, and I met a nice French couple who shared wine and strawberries with me.

Also by the Hostel. And I musy say that Valencia Oranges are some of the best I´ve tasted. Brian! Let´s get an orange tree STAT!

I feel like posting all my pictures, so here are two gates into the city.

Alright, that is all for now. I have to eat and make my way to la playa. (the beach) Love to all! -Maggie

The city of Valencia. remains copyright of the author therook, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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HERE I COME VALENCIA! better watch out!

Leaving so soon? remains copyright of the author therook, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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