Madeira

Madeira is an autonomous region of Portugal on the same latitude as Casablanca, Morocco, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. It was an unplanned destination, offering further proof that you cannot plan too far into the future because life has other ideas.  There are almost two dozen micro-climates on the island and so there are a lot of interesting and variable hikes, many of which follow a levada, or aqueduct.  We went on an amazing 11k hike where the drop-offs were scary but the views were incredible.

Steps at the end of the hike, under the clouds

Lisbon

In an effort to not be one of those people who says they love everywhere they’ve traveled I will admit that Lisbon is not for me.  One nice memory was seeing the Independence Day 2 movie on July 4. Nothing like being away from home to bring out latent nationalistic feelings.  I had just started Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (book 7) and so this life-sized cutout of Daniel Radcliffe was fun to see. (I won’t say what movie it’s from so as not to spoil the surprise!)

Depth perception is hard for humans

The Algarve

Southern Portugal, known as the Algarve region, is beautiful with rugged cliffs and strikingly blue water.  Unfortunately it is also eroding at a faster pace than nature intended.  There are also a lot of abandoned buildings.  Sometimes Portugal feels like it occupies a space between Europe and the developing world.

Spanish Loops

After a delightful, long stay in Sevilla we packed up our bags and hit the road for three weeks.  Destinations: Granada and Alicante before picking Nathan's parents up in Barcelona for a fun, whirlwind adventure through BCN, Figures, Cadaques, Ribes de Freser, Valencia, and Madrid.

View of Alhambra from AirBnB deck

Inside Alhambra courtyard

Sagrada Familia in BCN

Windy day in Cadaques in front of Dali's home

Talented sand castle builders in Valencia

Art exhibit in Madrid (Museo Reina Sofia) that could have been about Nathan

España: Sevilla

We’ve been in Sevilla, Spain for 2.5 weeks so far and every day I think, “This city is amazing.” It is so beautiful, laid back, and has phenomenal markets.  Every other day we shop for fresh olives, bread, cheese, vegetables, fruit, and eggs. One of my favorite Spanish dishes is the tortilla made with eggs, potatoes, onion, and olive oil.  I remember my friend Chris talking about this dish non-stop after his year in Palma de Mallorca, Spain and now I understand why. It’s best on crunchy bread as a bocadillo.

Bocadillo (tortilla on bread with pepper)

View from Las Setas

Flamenco show

Salad (mom's recipe)

Moon over Sevilla

The inflight magazine

Traveling from Thailand to Spain was a long haul. Our flight was delayed by hours and then in general it takes awhile to travel ½ way around the world [Bangkok-Oslo-Madrid]. But there were some fun things along the way. Most notably was an advertisement in the Norwegian Air inflight magazine. The “world’s largest tour company” for Route 66 in the U.S. is apparently owned and operated by a Norwegian who loves that part of the world.  Anyone who lives in the U.S. will likely find humor in this ad, as we know that a “real America” surely is elusive, however iconic these locations are. But this is also the case when a brochure screams, "See the real Spain!" We're seeking that balance of visiting “tourisy” sites (often because they are amazing) but also trying to “live” like the locals.

Seriously, read the whole quote.

Oslo Airport water was magical: clean, right out of a faucet!

It’s Too Hot

I love hot weather. Or I thought I did. Or it’s just too hot and should be called “scalding” instead. The weather folks tell us it feels like 111 degrees with humidity. 
We took a nice stroll around the air-conditioned mall (don’t judge, that’s where the movie theatre is). Usually we pass right on by U.S.-based chain restaurants (and Chinese-based chain restaurants for that matter) and head to the Thai food stalls where a delicious dinner is $3. But at this Dairy Queen (shout-out to my Dad for never missing a DQ) you can order a mango sticky-rice Blizzard. The small size (akin to a kiddie-size in U.S.) was less than $1. The Thais have portion sizes figured out. Anyway, Nathan says it was pretty good, not great. So the next day we headed to the night market for the real deal. Nothing beats eating mango sticky-rice at the night market. I almost didn’t notice how hot it was outside.

Seriously? Hua Hin newspaper clipping

Mango sticky-rice Blizzard at the Mall (see other photo for the WHY)