The Wanderers Return - 10 Weeks in Europe - Part 1

Falling in Love with Spain
Although our homecoming from 70 days wandering around Europe is a few weeks old now, it seems that we are just now settling into some semblance of routine and beginning to catch up on projects like reporting on our travels. It was wonderful being back home and seeing all of our “hometown” friends, including Dale who helped take care of our house, Bob and Judy, who had returned earlier from their travels to various points in North America, Jim and Flora, who had returned from their latest world travels, and Jon and Emma, who have now returned from their trip to New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, Washington state, Virginia and various points in between. I saw a picture of Flora playing in her first snow, and I’m sure she was more excited than any little kid in snow for the first time! “Tell me everything,” one friend said upon our return. “What was the most interesting thing about your trip?” another asked. Both queries left me speechless, a condition not normal for me. Where does one begin? For me, it was my very first trip to Europe, a life-long dream. For Gene, it was his first time, except for a few brief business trips a few years back. We were both so excited and had so much fun that we were talking about where we want to go for our next trip long before we returned. And now that we are back in our wonderful home and familiar surroundings, we’re still having that conversation! We have clearly been bitten by the travel bug!
Our Adventure Begins
The countries we visited were Spain, Italy, Austria, Czech Republic, Germany and France.

The vast majority of our time was spent in Italy and Spain. We both fell in love with Madrid, where we started, but then loved Barcelona, too. The art, the architecture, wonderful old neighborhoods to walk, the tapas, the wine, the cafes, the coffee, the chocolaterias! We were surprised at how inexpensive it was to eat and drink (we did lots of it). In Madrid, we stayed at a beautifully renovated old hotel right on Plaza del Sol. We could open the french doors at night and listen the music in the plaza and the sounds of nighttime in Madrid. These people never ever sleep! In Barcelona, we stayed right on La Rambla
and had a wonderful time wandering and watching the mimes, the people, the flower vendors and bird sellers, the constant activity.
One man insisted on teaching me how and where to shop for antelope leather and wanted to make sure that, if I bought leather, I knew to buy antelope, not cow. It’s the most beautiful soft, light-weight stuff, and doesn’t become water-spotted when caught in the rain. Alas! There was no room in my back pack, and I didn’t think I’d get enough use out of it in Costa Rica to justify the purchase! Another man who we met while sitting on a bench on La Rambla wanted to discuss his urinary tract problems and his efforts to go to Florida for treatment! In both cities, we took the double-decker “Hop on the Bus” tours for overviews of the cities and a good look at the neighborhoods and architecture. Then we took off on our own to see the places we wanted to see more of, the museums, cathedrals,
etc. Once, trying to exit the Metro train in a crowd, I got caught when the doors started to close. Suddenly there were two big guys helping Gene pry the doors open so that I could get out. Another interesting experience! Our first train experience was on a hotel train to Barcelona, and we loved it! I could live in Madrid. I loved everything about it. Of course I could live in Barcelona, too! We left by night train for Italy, grateful that we would be returning to Spain at the end of our trip to see more. Spain had stolen our hearts.
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