We awoke after a decent night's sleep, got our continental breakfast. We were NOT taking a taxi!! So we walked 100 meters to the bus stop! When we went to check in, we learned that there is a new 20 Euro ($40) tax for people leaving the country!! So we dropped a quick $80, and boarded our plane.
After a 9 hour flight to Chicago, it was good to stretch our legs a bit! We needed one more flight to get to Madison, and we knew it could be a while because there was a blizzard in Chicago. Looking at the board, over 90% of the flights were either delayed or canceled! We finally got to board, then we sat while the plane was getting de-iced. When we arrived in Madison, Jen's mom and stepdad were there to meet us, and they took us to Rocky Rococo's for dinner (Jen's fav Pizza). We were exhausted, so we went straight to bed and slept great!
We were sure to look over our journal in the few days after our return. We made lists of what we need to see again, and what we can pass on next time. We made notes about packing...what we were glad we had, what we wished we had brought, and what we can leave home next time. If you are planning on taking a trip to any of the places we visited, feel free to ask us our opinions. Anyone who knows us, knows we are not shy to share our thoughts!!! Thanks for reading about our travels, and now we can blog about current life! Here we go!
Thursday, October 18, 2007
The Final Day (Feb 12)
This was our final day of our trip. We awoke at the Reeds, and Jerry had made breakfast... cereal, kiwi, toast, and juice. Familiar food was nice by this point! Nate picked us up before 10:00 to go climb the Torre de Hercules, the world's oldest working lighthouse built in the second century by the Romans! It was really windy, but a great view as enormous waves crashed up onto the shore.
Jen was a little disturbed by the "breastfeeding Buddha", which was really "Caronte" the boatman of the sacred river to welcome visitors. Scary! Then Nate took us to Maria Pita Prazza,
the main plaza. There were so many shoe sales! We just didn't have time to shop!! We headed back to the Reeds for lunch, then Nate took us to the airport and we were off to London. Sad to leave, but it's been a great trip!In London, we had an absolutely ridiculous time trying to get to our hotel, which was about 2 miles from the airport! First, we didn't have the postal code of the hotel, and apparently there are 4 or 5 Hounslow Roads in London! So, we had to call the hotel for the postal code and line up for a taxi again. Then, the driver took us around town, and to make a long story short, by the time we got to our hotel he wanted us to pay $100 for the excruciatingly long ride!! Andrew pretty much said "No way!" and offered him $60. The driver dropped the F bomb in his British accent, and we left the cab quickly! We got into our room and decided we were not even going to leave for dinner! We ate our travel snacks instead... bread, cheese, chocolate, and fruit!
Santiago de Compostela (Feb 11)
We took our final night train from Madrid to Santiago de Compostela, in the Northwest of Spain. The conductor woke Jen up for our stop, but apparently our tickets stuck together so Andrew did not get a friendly wake up! Luckily, he awoke on 
his own in time. When we arrived in Santiago, it was raining, so we decided to wait it out in the train station and journal for a while. Well, 2 hours later when the journaling was all caught up, it was raining harder!! So we pulled up our hoods and headed out!
Santiago is the #3 pilgrimage location in the world, after Israel and Rome. In the morning we visited el Museo das Peregrinacions (written in Gallego, the language of NW Spain). The museum was free on Sunday mornings, and at the end of our travels we were excited for anything free! Nothing incredibly notable at the museum, just nice to learn some history of this spot. We ate lunch at the small restaurant "Los Sobrinos del Padre" where Andrew got clams with his Caldo Gallego. Very traditional.
After lunch we moved to the highlight of this stop... the Cathedral which "houses the
remains of St. James". The story goes that his remains were "rescued" from Jerusalem after his decapitation, put in a small boat, and sailed here by 2 disciples through the Mediterranean and Atlantic ocean in order to hide his bones. They were rediscovered in 813 by a monk led by the stars. At that time, Spain was fighting against the Moors and needed to unite as Christian. Convenient, no?
By this time, it was POURING! So we boarded our last train and arrived soaking wet in A Coruna at 4pm. Nate Finch was there to pick us up! (Remember him? He played and sang at our wedding.) It was raining here too, so he gave us a driving tour of the city, took us to get coffee, then to his place to rest for a bit and catch up. This was our first chance to tell someone about our Europe adventures, so he got more than he bargained for when he asked "How's your trip going?"
We picked up Jerry Reed for dinner and had Spanish tortilla, salad with oil and vinegar, white wine, potatoes (french fries), and delicious pork with garlic. After food and wine, it was back to Jerry's to sleep. We were cashed!
his own in time. When we arrived in Santiago, it was raining, so we decided to wait it out in the train station and journal for a while. Well, 2 hours later when the journaling was all caught up, it was raining harder!! So we pulled up our hoods and headed out!Santiago is the #3 pilgrimage location in the world, after Israel and Rome. In the morning we visited el Museo das Peregrinacions (written in Gallego, the language of NW Spain). The museum was free on Sunday mornings, and at the end of our travels we were excited for anything free! Nothing incredibly notable at the museum, just nice to learn some history of this spot. We ate lunch at the small restaurant "Los Sobrinos del Padre" where Andrew got clams with his Caldo Gallego. Very traditional.
After lunch we moved to the highlight of this stop... the Cathedral which "houses the
remains of St. James". The story goes that his remains were "rescued" from Jerusalem after his decapitation, put in a small boat, and sailed here by 2 disciples through the Mediterranean and Atlantic ocean in order to hide his bones. They were rediscovered in 813 by a monk led by the stars. At that time, Spain was fighting against the Moors and needed to unite as Christian. Convenient, no?By this time, it was POURING! So we boarded our last train and arrived soaking wet in A Coruna at 4pm. Nate Finch was there to pick us up! (Remember him? He played and sang at our wedding.) It was raining here too, so he gave us a driving tour of the city, took us to get coffee, then to his place to rest for a bit and catch up. This was our first chance to tell someone about our Europe adventures, so he got more than he bargained for when he asked "How's your trip going?"
We picked up Jerry Reed for dinner and had Spanish tortilla, salad with oil and vinegar, white wine, potatoes (french fries), and delicious pork with garlic. After food and wine, it was back to Jerry's to sleep. We were cashed!
Friday, October 12, 2007
Our Favorites: Madrid and Toledo
Madrid
1: Good, easy to follow metro, but man hallways were too low and Andrew had to walk hunched over!
2: Everywhere seemed close to where we stayed, a short metro ride or walk. Dinner was just around the corner at Restaurante Puerto Rico! Delicious and reasonably priced!
Toledo
1: Stores everywhere selling Medieval stuff... swards, armor, shields...
2: Way more touristy than expected!
3: Like Sienna, a small town on a hill with small, hard to follow twisty roads. One difference? El Greco!
1: Good, easy to follow metro, but man hallways were too low and Andrew had to walk hunched over!
2: Everywhere seemed close to where we stayed, a short metro ride or walk. Dinner was just around the corner at Restaurante Puerto Rico! Delicious and reasonably priced!
Toledo
1: Stores everywhere selling Medieval stuff... swards, armor, shields...
2: Way more touristy than expected!
3: Like Sienna, a small town on a hill with small, hard to follow twisty roads. One difference? El Greco!
Toledo: the Former Capital (Feb 10)
We checked our bags at the train station in Madrid and were surprised to learn we needed reservations for the train to Toledo! So we got some last min reservations and boarded the train 2 min before departure! That's cutting it close for a couple of control freaky first borns!
Once in Toledo we boarded a bus and headed up, up, up into the center of town. We easily found our way to the Santa Cruz Museum, which was free because it was under renovation. There were 15 El Grecos here, and he remains Jen's favorite artist! As Rick says: No painter before or since has captured the supernatural the way he does. Jen likes it because it's not all fluffy and rosy cheeked!
We next went to the Sefardic Museum, which was recommended to us by some folks we met in Sevilla. It taught the history of Jews from Spain, their historical heritage and tradition. It was not amazing, but it was a nice change from art museums!
The moment we realized we were ready to go home was when we agreed on lunch at an Asian restaurant. There we were in the small, romantic town of Toledo, and we were having Asian food. Spanish Asian food tastes the same as American Asian food. :)
After lunch, we went to the Iglesia de Santo Tome, where we saw El Greco's most-loved painting: The Burial of the Count of Orgaz. The painting remains where the painter placed it 400 years ago. The Count of Orgaz was buried here in this church in 1312.
We stood for a while and took it all in. Finally, we went to the Catedral de Toledo. There was art by El Greco, Caravaggio, Velazquez, and Bellini. Sound familiar? They did to us by now! This was a Gothic style church, and great to walk around.
Once in Toledo we boarded a bus and headed up, up, up into the center of town. We easily found our way to the Santa Cruz Museum, which was free because it was under renovation. There were 15 El Grecos here, and he remains Jen's favorite artist! As Rick says: No painter before or since has captured the supernatural the way he does. Jen likes it because it's not all fluffy and rosy cheeked!
We next went to the Sefardic Museum, which was recommended to us by some folks we met in Sevilla. It taught the history of Jews from Spain, their historical heritage and tradition. It was not amazing, but it was a nice change from art museums!
The moment we realized we were ready to go home was when we agreed on lunch at an Asian restaurant. There we were in the small, romantic town of Toledo, and we were having Asian food. Spanish Asian food tastes the same as American Asian food. :)After lunch, we went to the Iglesia de Santo Tome, where we saw El Greco's most-loved painting: The Burial of the Count of Orgaz. The painting remains where the painter placed it 400 years ago. The Count of Orgaz was buried here in this church in 1312.
We stood for a while and took it all in. Finally, we went to the Catedral de Toledo. There was art by El Greco, Caravaggio, Velazquez, and Bellini. Sound familiar? They did to us by now! This was a Gothic style church, and great to walk around.
Chicago Marathon Oct 7 2007
Let's start at the very beginning.... a very good place to start... (recognize that from the Sound of Music?)
Sometime on the road trip last fall, we decided to run the Chicago Marathon. We signed up in January and began training in March after settling into our new home here in Chicago. We began to get ready before the official "Spring Training" because spring training required us to run 2-3 miles. After gaining 20 lbs with 5 months of travel, 10 min (one mile) seemed impossible to Jen! So we started on the indoor track at the university running laps and trying not to get discouraged when 3 miles seemed an insurmountable task.
After 12 weeks of "Spring Training", Andrew was recovering from a collapsed lung, and we could both run 6 miles in about an hour. Now it was time for 18 weeks of official training. We ran 4 times a week including the long run on weekends. Usually we only ran together for the first half of these long runs. Once we had completed our 18 mile long run in early September, we ran the "Banco Popular Chicago Half Marathon" to prepare ourselves mentally for race day. Jen's longest race until now was a 5k in college, and Andrew had run a 25k in college, so we needed this "practice run". We woke up at 4am with Jen's friend Diane, and took public transportation to the race. It was good to line up at the start and not cross the start line for several minutes. There were 13,000 runners in this race, and it was great for our confidence and prepared us for the motions and emotions of race day! We both had a great race and felt inspired and pumped up!
Then we completed the 20 mile training run in 3:45 and began to taper to prepare for the Marathon. The week before the race was full of rest, carbs, and intentional water retention! Race morning we pinned on our numbers, rubbed Body Glide on all friction spots, grabbed our Gatorade and headed to the trains. We lined up on the starting line (or 300 yards behind it) with 40,000 runners and it was already 80 degrees. Both of us felt great the first half of the race.
However, Jen started to notice problems at the first 2 aid stations... they were out of water and only had Gatorade. So by mile 5, people left the road and jumped in a fountain in the park, then they drank from it. Then all was well until about mile 14 when we left the shade of the tall buildings and were hit by direct sunlight for the first time. When Jen reached the aid stations at mile 15 and 17, they were completely out of water AND Gatorade!! People were desperate shouting things like "We're DYING out here!" Spectators started to bring out pitchers from their homes and fill people's cups and bottles. (Jen was thankful she carried a bottle during the race.) Some people picked up dirty cups off the ground to get a drink.
That's when people started collapsing. Jen saw people go down, and like the Red Sea, runners parted to go around them. Medics were on them immediately, and ambulance sirens rang out almost constantly. More and more people were walking, so it was difficult to run around them all. By Jen's mile 17, Andrew's mile 19, we heard rumors of the race being canceled and someone told us to walk. We were confused and mumbled amongst ourselves and decided to keep running. 2 miles later, police were lined up across the road and announcing from the car's megaphone speakers that the race was canceled and we were "urged" to walk. One man was shouting "Stop running! We're out of ambulances!" Andrew was allowed to finish all 26.2 miles walking, but Jen was told to take a detour or get on a bus to the finish line. She took the detour and ended up with a total of about 24 miles. We later learned that 45,000 people registered for the race, 36,000 showed up that morning, and only about 24,500 finished.
After months and months of training that took up 10-15 hours a week (or more including recovery time) this was a very disappointing finale. But, we finished, and we finished on our feet. One man died, over 300 got medical help, over 100 hospitalized, and 5 in critical condition still 24 hours later. So if you ever talk to us about it, maybe we won't say we "ran" the Chicago Marathon, but we'll say we "did" the Chicago Marathon. And, we were part of history. This has never happened before, and I hope it never happens again.
Sometime on the road trip last fall, we decided to run the Chicago Marathon. We signed up in January and began training in March after settling into our new home here in Chicago. We began to get ready before the official "Spring Training" because spring training required us to run 2-3 miles. After gaining 20 lbs with 5 months of travel, 10 min (one mile) seemed impossible to Jen! So we started on the indoor track at the university running laps and trying not to get discouraged when 3 miles seemed an insurmountable task.
After 12 weeks of "Spring Training", Andrew was recovering from a collapsed lung, and we could both run 6 miles in about an hour. Now it was time for 18 weeks of official training. We ran 4 times a week including the long run on weekends. Usually we only ran together for the first half of these long runs. Once we had completed our 18 mile long run in early September, we ran the "Banco Popular Chicago Half Marathon" to prepare ourselves mentally for race day. Jen's longest race until now was a 5k in college, and Andrew had run a 25k in college, so we needed this "practice run". We woke up at 4am with Jen's friend Diane, and took public transportation to the race. It was good to line up at the start and not cross the start line for several minutes. There were 13,000 runners in this race, and it was great for our confidence and prepared us for the motions and emotions of race day! We both had a great race and felt inspired and pumped up!
Then we completed the 20 mile training run in 3:45 and began to taper to prepare for the Marathon. The week before the race was full of rest, carbs, and intentional water retention! Race morning we pinned on our numbers, rubbed Body Glide on all friction spots, grabbed our Gatorade and headed to the trains. We lined up on the starting line (or 300 yards behind it) with 40,000 runners and it was already 80 degrees. Both of us felt great the first half of the race.
However, Jen started to notice problems at the first 2 aid stations... they were out of water and only had Gatorade. So by mile 5, people left the road and jumped in a fountain in the park, then they drank from it. Then all was well until about mile 14 when we left the shade of the tall buildings and were hit by direct sunlight for the first time. When Jen reached the aid stations at mile 15 and 17, they were completely out of water AND Gatorade!! People were desperate shouting things like "We're DYING out here!" Spectators started to bring out pitchers from their homes and fill people's cups and bottles. (Jen was thankful she carried a bottle during the race.) Some people picked up dirty cups off the ground to get a drink.
That's when people started collapsing. Jen saw people go down, and like the Red Sea, runners parted to go around them. Medics were on them immediately, and ambulance sirens rang out almost constantly. More and more people were walking, so it was difficult to run around them all. By Jen's mile 17, Andrew's mile 19, we heard rumors of the race being canceled and someone told us to walk. We were confused and mumbled amongst ourselves and decided to keep running. 2 miles later, police were lined up across the road and announcing from the car's megaphone speakers that the race was canceled and we were "urged" to walk. One man was shouting "Stop running! We're out of ambulances!" Andrew was allowed to finish all 26.2 miles walking, but Jen was told to take a detour or get on a bus to the finish line. She took the detour and ended up with a total of about 24 miles. We later learned that 45,000 people registered for the race, 36,000 showed up that morning, and only about 24,500 finished.
After months and months of training that took up 10-15 hours a week (or more including recovery time) this was a very disappointing finale. But, we finished, and we finished on our feet. One man died, over 300 got medical help, over 100 hospitalized, and 5 in critical condition still 24 hours later. So if you ever talk to us about it, maybe we won't say we "ran" the Chicago Marathon, but we'll say we "did" the Chicago Marathon. And, we were part of history. This has never happened before, and I hope it never happens again.
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