Paris vs. Madrid

I will say that Madrid's metro system is much newer, cleaner and brighter than Paris's. The cars on the metro trains are more spacious too. But Madrid's underground is heated (or at least it is hot), which may sound good until you realize that many people get sick in the winter because they're going from freezing cold outside to too hot inside. You have to put on scarf and coat and hat and gloves to walk to the metro, and then you have to take them all off when you get on the train and then you stand there with sweat dripping down your back, and of course the sweat cools almost instantly when you step outside and then you have to put all your acoutrements back on... It's a vicious cycle. The Paris metro is pretty much the same temperature as the outdoors, which means you keep all your clothes on and aren't subjected to such extreme temperature changes throughout the day.

The thing that really bugged me about Paris was that I found it impossible to take a picture that could capture the grandeur and beauty of the city. I guess you could say that Paris isn't very photogenic. Even though Madrid is uglier overall (in my opinion), it's still possible to take beautiful pictures. It would take me days, perhaps even weeks, to get the hang of it in Paris. Or maybe it's not possible at all.

One of the realizations I'm coming to about Madrid (and possibly Spain in general though at this point I'm not prepared to go that far) is that the culture is based on blue-collar culture. The food is made from every part of the animal except the good parts, and the cheapest ingredients, such as potatoes, tomatoes and eggs, are the staples of the madrileño diet. Everyone from the 5 year old child to the 90 year old grandmother swears constantly. They smoke everywhere and throw their trash and cigarette butts onto the café floors. For fun people drink cheap beer in their local bars or they visit their family's village on the weekends. They stand around on street corners or in cafés gossiping about their neighbors and arguing politics. It's a culture that values family and friendship and enjoying the present moment while respecting traditions of the past. They don't care much for art or philosophy. Madrid is not a city of innovators; if it isn't broken, they don't fix it. And sometimes they don't fix it even when it is broken if they decide they can get along well enough without it. While I admit that I could stand to learn how to better enjoy a present moment, drinking cheap beer while eating leftover parts of the pig and gossiping about neighbors is not my idea of a good time.

Paris, on the other hand, seems to me more concerned with higher culture. There is something elegant about Paris and its people. They seem to care more about aesthetics, both on the street and in their restaurants. For fun people go out to dinner in clean, well-decorated restaurants or stroll along the river looking at used books or outdoor photography exhibits. They hold dinner parties and stay up talking until 4am. Paris is saturated with creative energy. Historically, the French have been at the forefront of art, fashion and intellectual movements. And whereas madrileños are proud of their cuisine without taking pride in it, the French have turned food into an art form.

In a way it's slightly unfair for me to try to compare Madrid and Paris because I have never lived in Paris. I'm very aware that my observations of Paris may be tainted by a romantic view, and there are many aspects of both cultures about which I am ignorant, but I've stated what I believe to be true. In the end it just boils down to the fact that I am more comfortable in Paris because its culture (or what I perceive to be its culture) is in better alignment with my values and interests than Madrid's is.

the people of Paris

The 40-ish man and his younger assistant at the crêpe place with a yellow awning on Avenue MacMahon, about two blocks from the Arc de Triomphe. He spoke a little English and was eager to try it out on us. Knew the Chicago Bulls. Looked Eastern European to me, but he said he was from a country in southern Africa. A generally pleasant man, but with an edge.

The 30-something woman who owned the restaurant with the clean, dark interior that reminded me of a mill. Dark wood, brick, some iron contraption hanging behind the wood stove. A built-in bookcase with a selection of books for lone customers to read. An adorable elderly gentleman eating by himself at a table by the window, reading a newspaper, smiling shyly at us as he passed on his way to and from the bathroom. The proprietess a stout woman, pretty and friendly. The blue ink of tattoos showing on her upper arms. Clearly well-liked by the neighborhood, as she seemed to know almost everyone who passed and many stopped in for a quick chat.

The small, dark-haired waiter who caught us hesitating outside his restaurant. He must´ve been taking out the garbage. He offered his arm to Shannon, saying in English, "Come on! Let´s go!" I made her take his arm and he ushered us into the restaurant, depositing us just inside the door and calling to the waitress, "Two more!" before disappearing into the kitchen. The waitress seemed a little shy. She smiled and blushed with pleasure when I told her it was the best meal I´d eaten in years.

Song Ming Ang from Singapore who stayed at our hotel in the room above ours. I´d heard him stomping around and sneezing loudly the night before, but I didn´t know it was him until much later. We met him for the first time at breakfast on Saturday. He broke into our conversation about Cat's Eye with, "Sounds like a good book," and asked if he could join us at our table. He´d studied English literature at George Washington U in D.C.. Tall, friendly, outgoing, a bit of a chatter. Might be the sort of person to ask for just a little more than you are comfortable giving.

Guillaume, whom I didn´t recognize without his beard. His hair much darker, longer than I remembered. He a little thinner. His fingers shook almost imperceptibly, his smile a little nervous. After about a half an hour of conversation I noticed he smelled of pheremones or garlic. Perhaps from the dinner party he´d gone to the night before.

The graveyard shift clerk at the Hôtel Voltaire République: tall, thin, glasses. Looked possibly Middle Eastern, but said he was from Nigeria. On the first night he asked me for my name in exchange for the room key. We spoke in both English and French. I tried to explain that my name might not be written down. I said "She didn´t ask," but he thought I´d said, "You shouldn´t ask," and then I accidently used tu instead of vous, but it took me a while to figure out what had happened. The morning of our departure I disturbed him to ask what time it was. He thought I was having trouble sleeping and invited me to sleep downstairs with him. "What?" I asked. "Nothing," he said. He double-checked the wake-up call for me and asked me what time we planned to check out, and when we weren´t downstairs at 4:30am he called up to the room to check on us. Later we asked him to call a cab for us, and he told Shannon to go outside to try to flag one down but said to me, "You stay here. So I can look at you." He smiled. "No, I am just kidding." He patted my hand, his wedding ring tapping against my knuckle.

Paris

On Thursday night (technically Friday morning) Shannon and I overslept our naps and nearly missed the last train to the airport. We made it by maybe five seconds, if that. Realized that in our rush to leave the house Shannon had forgotten her phone and I had forgotten my PIN so I wouldn´t be able to turn my phone on the entire weekend, which meant a) no watches or alarm clocks, and b) no way for Shannon´s friend Jennings to contact her. The hours at the airport were relatively uneventful, except that Shannon bought us ice cream bars to celebrate our trip that turned out to be enormous frozen marshmallows covered in chocolate. Yuck. Two hour flight to Beauvais and then a bus ride into a Paris traffic jam. Once we got off the bus Shannon & I realized we had no guidebook, no map, and no idea where we were. Oh well. There were more important things, like finding a cup of coffee and a crêpe. Wandered around until we stumbled onto the Arc de Triomphe and a crêperie. Then into the metro (which we were delighted to find working!) to find our hotel, Mary´s Hotel. When arrived discovered that I had made a huge error and booked the hotel for LAST weekend instead, so they sent us up the street to a different hotel, Voltaire Republique, that wasn´t nearly as charming and cost twice as much but the staff were very nice.

Day One was fabulous: spent hours getting lost in the 3e and 4e arrondisements before finally getting our bearings and heading toward Notre Dame. The day was wonderfully cloudy and drizzly. Shannon ate three crêpes and drank an unknown number of glasses of wine. I ate one crêpe and drank an unknown number of cups of coffee. We stumbled upon a fabulous little restaurant somewhere in the 4e arrondisement for lunch and I had a very good glass of wine and a plate of boeuf bourguignon over fetuccine. Wandered around some more, took pictures of Notre Dame, marvelled at how beautiful Paris is and how comfortable we felt there and how lovely the language sounds. Later we stumbled upon another fantastic restaurant by the Notre Dame for dinner and I almost died and went to heaven over my food. It was by far the best meal I´ve had in years. Friday was a great day for eating.

Day Two started off sunny but then became partially cloudy and therefore more beautiful in my eyes. Another day of wandering and admiring the beauty of the city and the sound of the language. We spent the morning visiting the outsides of the tourist attractions we´d already been in but didn´t have pictures of, the Tour Eiffel and the Lovre, and then met up with my friend Guillaume and we had a coffee and a nice long walk with him, and he agreed to say the "She´s a ho..." line for the record. So fabulous! For dinner went to an Italian restaurant by our hotel, where I ordered a sampler plate of three pastas that were all delicious but since I´d stuffed myself silly the day before I couldn´t eat much of it. Very sad. Then we met up with Shannon´s friend Jennings for a drink over on the Boulevard Monmartre. I ordered the hands-down worst margarita I´ve ever had in my life and headed back to the hotel for a few hours of sleep. Slept poorly because didn´t have a watch or an alarm and I was in doubt of the hotel´s wake up call system, but indeed we did get a wake up call at 4am.

This morning we almost didn´t find a cab in time and almost missed the bus to Beauvais, but we arrived at the bus station EXACTLY on time. Very exciting and also a mirror of the beginning of our trip. Once on the bus though, the voyage back to Madrid went off without a hitch.

All weekend long Shannon and I kept repeating: "We should´ve moved to Paris. We should move to Paris!" Paris is everything a major European city should be: beautiful, charming, full of interesting & intelligent people and lovely little cafés and arts and music and good food. There is variety and culture there. And it´s possible to go into a café or restaurant and not come out smelling like an ashtray, unlike in Madrid. Contrary to rumor and my expectations, 99% of the people we spoke with there were friendly and helpful and they even let me torture them a bit with my French. I felt completely at home in Paris. If I could live and work there I would. In a heartbeat.

To see more photos of my weekend in Paris, copy and paste this link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=21992&l=4a999&id=595126014

Je suis en Paris et c'est magnifique!

I should have moved to Paris instead of Madrid.

Another glorious rainy day! Luck is on my side. =*)

Am halfway into the second day of the work week and so far so good. I´ve had a freakish amount of free time these last two days as a result of both my lunchtime classes being canceled. Gives me time to lesson plan, run errands, nap and otherwise be productive with my time. Is amazing how much more time I feel like I have for only missing two hours of teaching, but of course is because there are four hours of travel time involved in those two hours of teaching.

Have been thinking a lot about what I want to do while I´m home. Am definitely going to eat lots of the foods I miss: grilled chicken deluxe burrito from Laughing Planet; marinated tri-tip with roasted potatoes and either green beans or asparagus; chicken mole; fresh tortilla chips and salsa; baked potato with cottage cheese; salad with salad dressing; good Italian and Thai. Also want to wander around downtown Portland, hang out in coffee shops, maybe watch a couple movies. Goes without saying that I'm very much looking forward to seeing my friends and family too.

A lovely, cool, grey, rainy day today. Somehow everything seems more beautiful to me on days like this. Colors seem brighter against a grey sky. People and things seem more real. And I love walking through the rain when a warm, comfortable place waits at the other end.

rapidly deteriorating sense of fashion

When I first came to Madrid, I was justifiably horrified by many of the fashion trends that have taken hold of the madrileños. Things like denim mini skirts with black leggings and brown pirate boots. Or outfits composed entirely of different shades of green: olive green pants, kelly green t-shirt, jade necklace with matching bracelet and earrings, and forest green boots. Even when there are other colors in the outfit the madrileños like to monochrome it up. A hot pink t-shirt showing from beneath a garrish red sweater, for example. Boots and purse in different reds to "match," of course. The women are also fond of nylons with patterns on them, such as flowers or criss-cross patterns or even, god forbid, animal prints. Young couples also have a thing for matchy-matchy. You might see a young Spanish woman in skin-tight white jeans, a mustard yellow sweater and heels, and a thick white belt (purely for decoration and not worn through the belt loops but rather on top of the sweater), and you can recognize her mate by the white sweatshirt with mustard yellow accents in it, not to mention the white and yellow sneakers he´s wearing. These are the kinds of outfits that made my eyes bulge and my mind stumble when I first arrived. And while I still know, intellectually, that they are fashion faux pas that would have Stacey´s and Clinton´s heads spinning, I have grown so used to seeing them that they don´t even phase me anymore. Gold leopard-print nylons? Yeah, what of it? A young woman with an 80´s fright wig, dressed all in skin-tight black except that her pants are strategically worn halfway down her ass to reveal her shiny silver underwear? Completely normal. Though the fact that her haircut makes it look as though she has a frightened black cat perched on top of her head is still too much for me.

So here it is mid-November and the leaves are just finally beginning to turn. The weather has been colder, cold enough in the mornings and at night in fact to warrant a warm coat, gloves and a hat. With the cooler weather comes more layers of clothing, so the madrileños have been concocting new and interesting ways to "match" the clothes in their closets. And being short on clothing myself, I am unfortunately finding myself wearing rather interesting outfits. Right now, for example, I´m wearing a sea green boatneck sweater over a pale moss green crew neck t-shirt, so that you can see both greens loud and clear. Intellectually I know that the pairing is wrong; it´s just that I can´t SEE that it´s wrong anymore. Honestly the outfit looks fine to me. Brings out my eyes even. Oh lord am I in trouble!

if you like piña coladas...

Had another hard week this week...have been ready to throw in the towel. But have done quite a bit of thinking, too, about happiness and what I need in life. This is a train of thought I have been riding for the last couple of years in fact, since moving back to Oregon from Massachusetts. I think I´ve figured out that there are four basic areas of my life that I need to be going well in order to be content. These areas are: home life, professional life, social life and environment.

Home life: Has not been very happy. My living style is completely incompatible with one of my roommates´ living styles and I´ve felt like I couldn´t talk to her about it, so things have been incredibly tense at home for the last couple of months. Luckily the shit hit the fan this weekend and a solution has been arranged, and I´m very hopeful that things will be much more comfortable around here now. Things are looking up on this front.

Professional life: I really like teaching, and I adore most of my students. I do have one class that has been giving me trouble, but I´m ready to tackle the challenge and find a good way to deal with the situation. If worse comes to worst, I can ask for the class to be taken over by another teacher starting in January. But aside from this one class, I´m happy with the teaching. Could do with less commuting, but now that I have some books and have started reading on the train (a miracle that I don´t get motion sickness!), the commute isn´t SO bad. Things in this area are better than okay.

Social life: Unsatisfying. I have one friend, who also happens to be one of my two roommates. I´ve tried to stay in touch and form friendships with my former roommates, who are Spanish, but it´s hard to make Spanish friends. They tend to already have their social lives sorted. I also only get to hang out with a larger group of people about once a month, and there really haven´t been other people I´ve connected really well with. Except that I went to the TtMadrid graduation party last night and connected with a fellow alum, Alan, who is from Scotland and used to work for the UN and who also likes Murakami. One more friend! There are also a couple of other people whom I haven´t had time to hang out with who might become good friends. Things in this area are looking up.

Environment: Let´s face it, Madrid is no Paris. In my opinion it´s a pretty ugly city, though there are certain streets that I really like. For some reason I love C/ Jose Ortega y Gasset near the Lista metro. And there´s an alley on the walk to the Cercanías from my house that´s very beautiful. Am drawing a blank on other pretty places in Madrid at the moment. This is one need that I don´t expect to be able to fulfill here, though I will see plenty of beautiful places while I´m traveling so maybe that will help make up for it.

I think that if I can get three out of four of these areas balanced out then I have a good chance of making it to July with my sanity intact.

100th post

This is my 100th post on this blog. Feel like I should celebrate or something. Perhaps with a dark chocolate petit ecolier. ;*)

Two important-ish details I forgot to mention about my trip to Nottingham.
1. I bought a block of Irish cheddar cheese and brought it back with me. It was a little greasy on arrival, but a few hours in the fridge resolved that. Yum! REAL cheddar!
2. While I was visiting, Sam helped me get video clips (with my digital camera) of all the people in his family and everyone on our team at quiz night repeating a crucial line from the movie 40 Year Old Virigin. We got everyone to say, in their adorable English accents, "She´s a ho. Fo´sho´." Video clips available on Facebook for those of you who are on it.

I really don´t have much news to report. I´ve been reading Margaret Atwood´s Cat's Eye, which I am enjoying even though it's slightly disconcerting and sad and which makes me feel calm and emotionally steady. Probably due to the simple, straightforward way in which it's narrated. I've also been thinking about what I want to do with myself next (i.e. after Spain). Of course I want to settle in Portland, but I don't think I want to temp forever so I'm trying to figure out what kind of job would suit me. Ideally, it would be something I could wear jeans to and for which I wouldn't have to get up at 6am. Something that involves responsibility and problem-solving skills. Something that has a varied or flexible schedule. Possibly with travel, though not too much travel. I've thought again about teaching college and that does appeal to me, but there are problems with that option. First, I'd have to go get a Ph.D., which would probably entail leaving the state again for four more years. Not appealing. And then it's getting a job once I'm done with my program. Most college professors know and accept the fact that you can't be in the profession and be too picky about where you live. But of course I am incredibly picky about where I want to live. I want to live in Portland, period. That seriously narrows down my chances of getting a tenure-track position because there are only so many colleges in and around PDX. I´ve also thought about becoming a writer, but I´m not sure I have the self-discipline required to actually make money at that. On the other hand, I could always just temp for a while and hope that I fall into something satisfying. Who knows. Could work out.

Have noticed that I am starting to gain some weight back. Possibly my body has adjusted to all the walking here, but I'm sure part of it is due to the fact that I have actually been eating 2-3 meals a day plus snacks, whereas before I was down to one meal a day and 1-2 snacks. I've also figured out how to walk a little less by taking the cercanías more, and I´m more likely now to sit down on the metro or train when a seat becomes available than I was before.

Today I saw a Christmas catalog on someone´s desk and I got that sweet pang in my heart I associate with love and peace and home and good times. I realized I miss receiving catalogs in the mail. Stupid but true. I like to know that there are beautiful things in the world, and I like to think that at some point I might be able afford some of them. Anyway, I could really go for a Christmas catalog about now. To see the snow, however fake, and the lights and green boughs and warm sweaters. I love that kind of stuff. But instead I´ll have to content myself with listening to Christmas carols. At least until I get home.

I´ll be home 5 weeks from today!!!

Full Report on Nottingham

Am back from Nottingham, safe and sound. Had a GREAT time with Sam and his family. Summary: a lovely weekend. Here´s the full report.

DAY 1:
Arrived to East Midlands airport at 8:15am. Was mildly hasseled by English passport control agent, as usual. They seem to hate Americans. Or just me. Sam was there to pick me up, and we made the 40 or so minute drive in to Nottingham, stopping at an ASDA (grocery store owned by Wal-Mart) to pick up ingredients for a Traditional English Breakfast. I embarrassed Sam twice in the store, once by reading aloud in announcer´s voice the names of their laundry detergents--Surf. Daz. Bold. Fairy.--and the second time when a Mika song came on over the speakers and I started singing along. Finally made purchases and drove to Sam´s apartment, where I met one of the roommates, Harriet, lovely girl who´s in law school with Sam. Sam & I made and ate lovely Traditional English Breakfast. Then sat around on couch for a couple hours watching TV, chatting with Harriet, and thinking about taking a nap but deciding to wait until later. Walked into downtown to see castle. Nottingham castle was slightly disappointing: has been turned into an art/knicknack museum. The Robin Hood Exposition was nothing more than a trumped-up promo for the new BBC Robin Hood series. Then went to the self-proclaimed oldest pub in Britain. Was very cute inside, with cozy little rooms and lots of dark wood and even a fire in one of the fireplaces. Had a coffee that was not disgusting and a glass of water, while Sam had a soda water with lime syrup in. Then walked over to the pedestrian shopping area and into the biggest mall in Nottingham, which was very nice and where everyone was ready for Christmas. Felt warm and cozy. Kept thinking of the movie The Holiday. Then it was dark and cold outside so we rode the bus back to Sam´s apartment and had a little nap. Then up and out the door to make our 8pm dinner reservation at a lovely little Italian restaurant in Sam´s parents´village, Radcliffe. Parked in Sam´s grandparents´driveway. Met the grandparents and they were lovely. Restaurant called Piano. I ate penne with salmon in a cream sauce. Yummy! House red wine was delicious. They asked for my ID. Do I really look younger than 21?? Then went to a pub close by called the Horse Chestnut, where we met Sam´s parents, Mark and Hillary, for a drink. They too were lovely. Then both Sam & I were very tired so we just went back to Sam´s apartment and to bed.

DAY 2:
Woke up at 9am without aid of alarm. Very impressive! Felt well-rested. Had slept marvelously well on Sam´s ultra-comfy bed (he was perfect host and insisted I take it while he slept on living room floor). Sam made us crumpets (really just English muffins) and we watched some of Sam´s videos of Camp Nebagamon. Then showers and getting dressed and out the door to go to the Belton House, which is the stately home in Lincolnshire that they used for Rosings Park in the BBC Pride & Prejudice mini-series. Hooray! The house itself was closed for the season, but we did range all over the grounds and even stopped into the restaurant and I had my first ever "cream tea" experience. Cream tea: two scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam, and a pot of black tea. Yummy! More exploring the grounds and then back into the car. Tried to see part of Belvoir Castle on way back but the castle and grounds were closed. Was dark by this time anyway. Returned to Sam´s apartment and joined the roommates on the couch, where we watched part of the British version of Dancing with the Stars. Then out the door again to go to a quiz night that Sam´s parents had helped organized. This particular quiz night is an annual charity event to support crib death research. Had a fantastic time drinking red wine, arguing over the quiz answers and learning how to toss a pound coin properly. Met friends of Sam´s family and they were all lovely. Then home and to bed because we had to get up at 5:45am to get me to the airport on time this morning.

To see more pictures of my trip, copy and paste this link in your web browser: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=20541&l=539cf&id=595126014

Am off to see Sam in Nottingham! I have to take the last metro train to the airport and hang out until 4:30am to check in because I can´t afford a cab and wouldn´t know where to catch one at 4am in my hood anyway. But I have a Terry Pratchett novel to keep me company tonight. Full report and pictures of Nottingham adventure when I return. Whee!!

The Spanish are already getting ready for Christmas. I guess it makes sense. In the U.S. we move from commercial holiday to commercial holiday, and since the Spanish don´t celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas is next on the list. The shopping mall close to our house already has a big tree of lights erected and Christmas lights strung up over the walkways, though nothing is lit yet. The bakery in the little neighborhood mercado has rearranged its cases to make room for all the Christmas cookies and pastries, and the Carrefour is already displaying huge boxes of Christmas chocolates. Bring it on! Six weeks from today I´ll be on a plane home!

segovia today, tomorrow the world

Today we went to Segovia, and I actually felt like I was in Europe. Probably because we were surrounded by loads of tourists. I acted like a true Hazell by wandering around the streets for a couple hours, refusing to pay admission into yet another freezing cold cathedral and spending the last half hour ensconced in a warm little café watching the Baghdatis-Nadal match on a big-screen HDTV. (FABULOUS tennis today!) I was impressed by the castle but didn´t have enough time to explore it thoroughly so I didn´t go in. I´ve made the girls promise we´ll return to Segovia with the express purpose of roaming all over the castle. I was suprised to get home and see how beautiful the pictures of Segovia are because I think I liked Toledo better, but perhaps that´s because I was grumpy today due to lack of good sleep last night.

Tomorrow being Sunday I will be staying home and working on my lesson plans for the coming week. Am actually looking forward to a quiet, productive day at home. Have satisfied my travel cravings for this week. Though am SUPER excited to visit Sam in Nottingham next weekend. He has promised all sorts of lovely treats: a traditional English breakfast, the Robin Hood festival at Nottingham Castle (as though they knew I was coming!), a drive in the countryside and visits to "stately homes," a pint in the oldest pub in England, dinner at a fancy Italian restaurant, meeting his parents, and a quiz night! Could I ask for a more fabulous English weekend? I think not.

Copy and paste this link to see photos from today´s excursion to Segovia: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=19736&l=be787&id=595126014

recent happenings

Well, Wednesday night, as previously mentioned, we went to a Halloween party at friend Katie´s house. Was fun...way too much fun and I paid for it all of Thursday. Have only vague recollection of post-party bar hopping and one of Miguel´s friends giving me a ride home. Thank God for friends with cars. Did not move from my bed except to use the bathroom and get more water. Ugh. Picture above is me having fun with some poor girl who barely knows me.

Therefore obviously did not go to Toledo yesterday as planned, but we went today instead. Was a gorgeous day (though perhaps a bit too bright), and it was fabulous to get out of Madrid again. Toledo´s Old Town is cute cute cute! All day long Shannon and I turned corners and said, "gorgeousness!" Kez was too busy taking fabulous photos with her super-expensive manual camera to exclaim much. The girls were also much impressed with the cathedral, which I understand is world-famous. Great big nave or something like that. Anyway I enjoyed a quiet hour by myself wandering around the cathedral. Here´s a link to the pictures from today´s trip to Toledo: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=19627&l=9edab&id=595126014

Also, I said I would give you the link to the hike photos, so here it is: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=18987&l=58fef&id=595126014 I had more pictures but I am a genius and told my camera to delete the originals after I´d uploaded them into my photo program and now those are ruined for Facebook because I thought I´d play with the color a little bit and Facebook doesn´t like what I did to them. So there are only nine and they aren´t really the best photos but it´s as good as it´s going to get. Perhaps will post some of them into the blog at some point though. Or you can email me if you want me to send them in an email.