Visitors!

Annie and Uma have been here since Friday and Saturday of last week, respectively. It's been really great to have them here together...and to have two of my best friends get along famously, even if they are having fun adventures without me while I'm working.

We spent Friday and Saturday in Madrid. What an incredible city. It's the capital of Spain, a huge sprawling, urban monster, but inviting, clean and walkable. The buildings in the downtown area reminded me of the turn of the century architecture that I saw when I was in Buenos Aires. Once we walked towards the area that had the parks and museums, the architecture started to change into a mix of the old with more modern, sleek buildings. It was really well done and gave the city a feel of tradition and progress. Hopefully you can get an idea from my photos.

We took the high-speed train (Ave) from Madrid to Malaga, and then caught a bus from Malaga to my city. I LOVE the Ave. It goes 300+ km/h and turns a 6+ hour trip into a 2 hour and 15 minute joyride. For all the failures of public planning that I have seen here, the train is pretty awesome.

Since we've been back, Annie and Uma have gone to Gibraltar and Morocco while I was working. I've been able to show them a bit of Algeciras - which they think is pretty - and take them to get some good food.

Tonight we are heading back to Malaga, to stay with my friends Ashley, Jenita and Britney for the night in order catch our flight to Barcelona. I'm really looking forward to this trip since I hear Barcelona, and Cataluña is like no other part of Spain. In addition to Spanish, they have their own language, Catalán, and a culture that is quite distinct.

I'll be a bit more prepared to write once Annie and Uma have gone, so stay tuned.