Poll Results

Looks like I made a miraculous comeback in the original poll. The correct answer to the Pantheon is... Paris OR Rome, it was a trick question. I didn't know that there were 2 either before the trip! And yes, Morticia Adams was the choice for the last one, although I could have sworn she was a singer ;) Or was that Whitney?! Hey, at least I didn;t think she was Angela Lansbury (cough, cough, wink, wink:)

Home

OK all, we are both back home in CO and this is the last post. Cinque Terre, a national park, was amazing and probably the most beautiful place I've seen in my life. I stayed in the first town, also the smallest, Riomaggiore. I met up with some cool Aussies and did the 5 hour hike between the 5 towns in the park along the coast (see pix!), had some fun nights out, and had amazing food. One night I order spaghetti with lobster and they gace me an entire platter of pasta with a whole lobster placed on top. delicious! So, all the pics should be up now, except for a few last ones on Andrea's camera. The trip was incredible, it's strange to be back home (still a week plus until I start back up work) and thanks for checkin out the blog!

Still Alive!

hey all... so the report since Màlaga (the short and sweet version since internet is 5.00 euros an hour here!) we went to granad and saw the alhambra which was gorgeous and had a pool, then went by train to valencia and had awesome paella and layed on the beach, then spent a few days in barcelona and had good food, sangrìa, stared at some amazing Gaudi architecture, found a great tapas bar and went to a Dali museum, and then went to rome for 3 days. We saw as much as humanly possible in Rome for three days before Andrea had to fly back to the U.S. I went to Pisa after that to see the tower, stayed in a crazy B&B in the middle of nowhere Tuscany (which is as beautiful as Id imagined! in a place called Ripparagio, I think!) and I just arrived in the first town of Cinque Terre- Riomaggiore. It is so beautiful and im about to go on a run between the towns! Google Cinque Terre for pics! I,ll put more up soon, although I may have to wait till i get back. I enjoyed spending money a little too much and am heading back to CO the 21st now! a few more days to enjoy it! Ciao

el 4 de julio en Málaga...

In celebration of the 4th, we decided to go out and have a red, white and blue drink in a few bars and have a cigar. The cigar ended up becoming a photo prop- neither of us could stand it for long- but the drinks were good. We were going to do shots, but that quickly turned into drinks, and we also had to do a re-do of our red shot because we forgot to take pics! The bar tenders "loved" it too... I would go up to one and just ask them to make us a red or a blue drink, whatever they wanted to put in it. They turned out interesting. It ended with me explaining to the last one how to make a "white russian." Guess he thought I was speaking literally, and he laughed out loud when I explained what the mix was. Good times...

Since Lisbon...

OK, I know it´s been a while (thanks Justin!) but we are backpacking through Europe after all... ha

Since leaving Lisbon we spen 4 days in Sevilla, 2 days in Málaga, 2 days in Granada and now are in Valencia. It´s been a whirwind, but fun. I´m downloading a few hundred new pics as I write, so check Snapfish!

The highlights of Sevilla were climbing the Giralda bell tower in the Cathedral ( where Columbus was granted funds to sail to the new world), seeing Columbus´supposed grave inside the church, doing a sangría botellón before watching a Flamenco show and watching a bullfight on Thursday, which was crazy. Check out the pics. One matador got RUN OVER trying to get cute. There are videos which I will try to get on too.

After Sevilla we took the bus a few hours to Málaga- birthplace of Picasso and Antonio Banderas- worked on our tans, swam in the Medeterranean (much nicer than the water in Lisbon) had some drinks on the beach, saw the Picasso museum and ate some good food. It was definitely HUMID! And I realized that I was by far the "white"est white guy on the beach... Andrea was doin ok, but I was a second sun out there. Gettin better though. Made friends with a few of the beach bar tenders too who hooked us up the last night there with some drinks for the beach, even after they closed. The only bad part was that we averaged 4 hours of sleep a night because the hostal was right in the middle of the town. The drunk people (the ones besides us haha) made noise until the poor working saps started the morning commute!

From there we hopped over to Granada, which had some amazingly hilly runs (Boulder meets the northwest) and stayed at a hostel across the entrance from the Alhambra. Granada was the last Moorish bastion in Spain during the Reconquest and the home of Al Andalus´ greatest palace- the Alhambra. It was their version of heaven on earth and it is amazing. The photos cant do it justice! The gardens were incredible. We also had our best find of the trip there on a run... an amazing Cemetary at a mountain top that proved eerie and awe-inspiring at the same time. As we ran through it, we felt like we were on the scene of a day of the dead celebration. Never seen anything like it! It felt like something out of a movie.

And now we are in a hostal in Valencia that would seem it´s only purpose is a place for people from all over the world to sit together in the hostal bar and swap room keys! ha. Not exactly the type of place we´ve been stayin. But we are heading to the beach today after this internet session, gonna lay on the amazing beaches here, and then be off for barcelona tomorrow!! Then next stop, italy!

Hasta ahora!

B&A

OMG!

So... Lisbon was interesting to say the least. Cool beaches and monuments, but other than that... yikes. I managed to get as red as a lobster on the verge of a $200 a week aloe vera addiction while Anna added to her tan. The city also gave us a parting gift , a nice clump of pigeon crap on our heads just as we were leaving to take the night train to Sevilla, Spain! ugh. But we made it... actually Andrea almost didn´t ;)

Our bus made a stop somewhere in Portugal in the middle of the night and she got out to stretch her legs. She got back on the wrong bus which, as I darted to my feet sans socks off our bus to chase it down frantically, started to pull away with her still on it!! I yelled a few choice words which woke everybody on the bus as i flew to the steps, just in time to see the brake lights of the other bus slam on and Andrea fly off it! ha. Portugal didn´t want to let us escape it seems :)

New Pics!

New pics posted on snapfish! we are taking an overnight train to Lisbon, Portugal tonight! Beaches... gimme!! ;)

A Tale of Two Cities...

I am currently sitting in a closet in Toledo, Spain writing this blog! Seriously, my shoulders are touching both sides of the ¨room!¨ ha. After this, we are off to explore, see some El Greco paintings and cool architecture... and hopefully down some more paella. Then, we are going to head back to Madrid, and from there take the first train to Lisbon, Portugal before heading down to southern Spain. A spurt of the moment decision :) And now to the point of this entry...

We were leaving Madrid on Saturday afternoon (I think Saturday, but days don´t have much meaning anymore! ha). This guy next to me was acting weird on the metro and bumping into me while Anna and I were loaded down with our packs (including the blue backpack that i have been wearing on my front which we have nicknamed ¨the baby.¨) Anyway, long story short, a few minutes later I realized he had pickpocket me ,after he had left! But everything worked out and all that was lost were a few Euros and some time on the phone (don´t worry mom!:) Who knew contingency plans were actually useful! ha

We still went to Segovia that night on the bus, but when we got there found out that there was a big festival and all hostals were booked solid and it was already past 8pm. Not fun. Out of options and in bad moods, we gave up and were on the way back to the bus station at 9pm to go back to Madrid when by chance we just happened to spot this immaculate hotel and decided to beg at the desk! Because it was so late at night, we got a crazy reduced price on it (normally $350 a night) and got an awesome suite with all the ammenities during a huge city-wide party! We went out for food and a botellón after (pizza and wine mixed with fresca). After spending the night in our glorious room with an all you can eat buffet breakfast in the morning, we went off to explore. We spent all day hiking, went to the castle, saw the acqueduct, etc.

When we got back to the main Plaza after a long day, about 7pm, we saw that they were setting up for a race!! We registered about 30 minutes pre-race on dead legs, but decided it would be a cool experience, especially since it was free. I put on my CHS gear and Andrea her Fleet Feet. After rushing back to the hostel, changing, a quick warm-up and some strides, we arrived to the start line 20 seconds after the gun went off! (AND it wasonly a Mile Race!! ha... actually it turned out to be 1470 meters, random and really short?!?!) Everybody was gaping at us and yelling out in Spanish to catch up, like we didn´t know. We caught the back of the pack about a half lap in (2 lap course in the main square lined by spectators), and were mid pack by the first lap. We were no where near the leaders, but finished respectably considering circumstances... Brian 4:47.31 and Andrea about 2 seconds after that. The best part, Andrea still finished first for her age group, second woman overall, awarding her 50 Euros, an enormous trophy and a trip to the top of the podium on a huge stage with a thousand or so people watching! So crazy. She confessed after that, because we were so far behind, if I hadn´t just jumped the barrier and took off she would have scraped it!

So, despite the inauspicious beginnings, it turned out to be a very cool trip to Segovia highlighted by one hell of an experience and some extra party money! Hasta ahora :)

Más citas... ¨Every time I wear the baby I get robbed!¨ "It will cost you 50 Euros or 50 days." "I feel like I robbed them. I don´t even know who the wheelchair guy was." "Tummy time... well, I think I´m more afraid of Andrea time than tummy time!" "Damn uterine pouch!"

Vale pues venga

Madrid was blazing hot but awesome, and we got to rest a little more on this leg. I don´t think we made it out of bed before noon any day here... but we got to experience some city night life, culture and see a lot of my old stomping grounds. I think I also ate enough Spanish tortilla sandwiches to feed a small country. We got to botellón with our vino y frescos, salsa dance and drinkmojitos in a cuban club (Andrea CANNOT follow!! haha ;), visit my old favorite Irish pub, la Universidad Nebrija, and the old apartment in the ghetto!

Our trips to the Prado and Reina Sofia museums were awesome (Dalí, Goya, Velázquez, El Greco, Murillo, Miró, Caravaggio, Picasso, Rembrant, Raphael, Tiziano, Tintoretto... ) and I think we were in the Prado for a good 5 hours. Thank God for marathon legs!!

People did think we were crazy on runs though, which we did mainly between 10 and midnight at Buen Retiro and La Cuña Verde de la Latina by my old place, but we weren´t the only crazies. We got to tour a little on the runs too! We ran (or dodged/played frogger)f rom Plaza Mayor through Sol down a packed calle Alcalá last night through Plazas Independencia and Cibeles (INSANELY packed with people on a Friday night) to Retiro and back. We finished up with a stroll from Sol to El Palacio Nacional and la Catedral de la Almudena at 2am. It was beautiful lit up at night! And now we are off to Segovia, home of one of the coolest castles in the world WHICH just happens to be the one Walt Disney used as the basis for Cindarella´s castle in Disney World. more pics to come so keeping checkin!

thanks for the votes and comments, we miss you guys and hope everybody is doin well...

a few more quotes...
"I don´t know what´s going on but let´s just go."
"I smell worse than that homeless guy right now."
"I never saw a dead slave!"
"They were goin at it in the park while you were watching the porcupine."
"Obnoxious drunk signing is only cool in French."
"Let´s bust."
"It´s the Mona F-in Lisa!" (whispering)
"It´s only cool cus it´s in French."
"Where´s Starbucks?!"
"My face is turning into pizza pepperoni. I must have the camera on red eye. That´s why they don´t show up!"
"HUH? Oh you didn´t say anything. Damn."
"Don´t you worry no pasa nada."
"I don´t believe I´m here!"
"VALE VALE tío!"

a few pics to start

all of the pics so far

snapfish.com
username: brian.matthews@bvsd.org
password: boron7

we are in Madrid now, and staying at a hostel near Puerta del Sol. It´s a lot hotter here, but the sangria, tapas and vino have made it bearable :) It´s cool to be back... very surreal.

Is it the Parthenon or the Pantheon!?!?

Still no luck downloading pix... but its a week in and we have over 300 already!! Today is the last day in Paris before we fly out to Madrid!!!! home sweet home. we have taken some cool runs along the Seine, gone up the Eiffel tower and stared in awe at it for an hour after... so amazing at night! we had french wine in the trocadero center where the waiters were rude (we would have been dissapointed if they hadnt been! ;) went to the louvre and orsay museums where we saw pieces by picasso, cezanne, monet, manet, degas, loutrec, donatello, michaelangelo, raphael... and of course the MONA LISA! more to come...

Paris, baby!

We officially ended our London adventures with a bus tour of the city and tons of crazy poses at Mme Tussaud's. then we dodged boat loads of people on the streets as we ran back acrosss the city. They all thought we were crazy, but it was a cool run that ened on the Thames path. We remembered to look left most of the time! After a fun night out in Trafalgar Square, and an interesting mix up with the Eurostar train, we finally made it to the most romantic city in the world... Paris! we just got settled in the hostel, took some overdue showers, and are headed for wine and crepes at the eiffel tower! ooo la la

"Good girls go to heaven" - Brian... "Bad girls go to London" - Andrea

We made it, despite the drunk guys on the plane next to me in Philly talking my ear off for hours about the strip club they just came from before the flight and their international brothel adventures! yikes...

We are currently in a posh little neighbourhood with Paul and Daniel called Clapham Junction, "the Clam" to those in the know. We met Paul for a lunchtime pint after we arrive and then had a night out on the town that ended with Andrea snoring like a chainsaw while the rest of us were still telling stories! We spent almost 12 hours yesterday taking in London sites and exploring. We did the Eye, a river cruise on the Thames, Westminster Abbey, BIG Ben and lots more... "Good stuff" as Andrea would say.

We are off to see more sights today, take a run in Hyde Park, and have one more night out in a posh pub in central London with some friends before heading to Paris tomorrow!

a selection of London quotes:
-We're having wine and it's 9am in Colorado!
- For F***'s sake! Bloody rubbish.
- Thursday's are a very posh day to get pissed.
-I think my one armpit stinks more than the other one. It's the left one.
- You're dialing a 9. No it's a 6! this phone has two 9's! so ghetto!
- I need human help.
- I like coffee I can eat with a spoon
- Go Left!!!!
- Please mind the gap.
- I wish I could see through that building.
- Is it the same in Paris as it is in France?
- OHH go that way! Cool stuff!

Go Time!

First stop London, England! We fly out today, and after some time traveling somewhere over the Atlantic, end up across the pond tomorrow afternoon. We are crashing with Paul and Daniel, two of my buddies from when I lived in Spain. More when we get there...

and come on, 55% think she'll kill me... where's the love?! ;)

Bienvenido/Benvenuto/Bienvenue... Welcome to the Blog!

On June 9th, we - Brian & Andrea are flying out to London to start our backpacking adventure through Europe! After London we will go to Paris, Madrid, and then travel south through Spain and back up along the eastern coast, and then take the ferry from Barcelona to Italy and travel around the Italian Riviera before flying back to the States from Rome! That gives us a grand total of 51 days, 50 nights, 300 bottles of wine and 15 showers. (Just kidding... we'll have much more wine than that! ;) ha

We will be RUNNING, riding buses, flying, going on ferries, eating lots of crazy foods, cycling, wine tasting, seeing cool architecture, checking out beaches, staying in hostels, seeing museums, staying with local families and friends, stowing away on trains, taking lots of pictures, meeting other travelers and anything else we can think of to get from place to place while having the most fun possible!

So thanks for stopping by, watch out for updates (and photos if we can get them downloaded), feel free to live vicariously, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, go ahead and post comments!! ;) We'd love to hear from you all and we'll come back with lots of stories!!

B&A