to the Azores!

London is depressing. Probably because the dollar is so weak to the pound ... 100 american dollars equals 48 british pounds. so i literally cannot buy anything. even a small meal is exorbitantly priced. I got a sandwich for 6 american dollars which wasnt bad, but to ride the damn tube it was 10 dollars (5 pounds). Shit. and for an hour bus ride from the airport to here it was 20 dollars (10 pounds). To say the least, I am not happy. I am hungry. And i am tired. And it cost 15 dollars to check my baggage this morning. I have spent more today than it seems like i would spend in a week in portugal.

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.

This was my time on Pico Island. My favorite place was Lajes. They had a nice little restaurant and place to stay. I painted there and met some people to talk to and had a couple glasses of wine.

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...

The azores are an amazing place. A mix of good and bad qualities. I have tons of pictures, but I cant post any of them because either internet here is $1.50 for 15 minutes, or you arent allowed to upload anything (us a USB cable). I have a few things to say to lead up to when i do post my pictures...

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.

I went to the Mezquita yesterday. I HAD to squeeze it in between two bus journeys because I think the Alhambra is all booked up in Granada. This was one of the most, maybe the most, amazing structures I have ever seen. Just to think all the history and time and energy and faith put into the ideas that are the ground floor for this building. Truely phenomenal!

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!

Hola from Valencia, Spain. The keyboard takes a little getting used to. I like this city a lot. It is very old, and has many interesting sites. I went and saw a beautiful botanical garden yesterday. I must have wandered for hours. It was very relaxing, and they had plants from all over the world!

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