It depends on where the raisins are...

We took our breakfast in the dungeon of the castle. They had converted it into a cute little breakfast nook. Sadly, it was our last breakfast in Barcaldine Castle, and we hopped in the car and headed north. We passed by the ruins of Stalker Castle, out on it's own little island, before we hit my favorite place in the Highlands... Glencoe. It is named for the River Coe that runs through it, and is well known for the Massacre of Glencoe in 1692, when the Campbells slaughtered the MacDonalds. People in the area today hang up signs that say "No Campbells Welcome" - so when I'm up there, I don't tell people that I'm descended from the Campbell Clan. Shhhh.

Stalker Castle

The Three Sisters of Glencoe is just the most magnificent mountain range in all of Scotland. Of course, I always end up only photographing two of the sisters. But they are framed so much better in a photograph then trying to fit all three.

My mom and dad spending their 33rd Anniversary at Glencoe

Our next stop was just outside Fort William to see the Glenfinnan Viaduct used by the Jacobite Steam Engine to get to Mallaig. The rest of the world would recognize this bit of architecture as that stone bridge thingy that the Hogwarts Express chugs across to get Harry and his buddies to the undisclosed location of their wizarding school. (Of course Hogwarts is in Scotland! She did base the school off of Edinburgh Castle. Nothing that cool would be English.)  

        
A little bit further north, we arrived at the most picturesque castle in all of Scotland. I fell in love with this castle when I saw it on a postcard three years ago. Last spring, Hollywood grabbed hold of it and made it the destination wedding spot in the film Made of Honor. Eilean Donan Castle is a beautiful site, out on Loch Duich with the bens in the distant background. There's nothing too special about the inside of the castle. I just enjoyed sitting and looking at it.  

Eilean Donan Castle

We stayed in a B&B in Dornie that night. My parents could see Eilean Donan Castle from their bedroom window. Since it was my parents wedding anniversary, we went out for a snazzy dinner in the small neighboring town of Plockton. It's where the TV show Hamish MacBeth was filmed.  I'm quite aware if the fact that no one actually watches that show apart from my mother. We ate at a restaurant called the Plockton Shores, where I had the most fantastic Scottish meal ever: local black angus beef smothered in garlic butter sauce with creamy, buttery mashed potatoes and a lovely sparkling wine. Just thinking about the meal makes me want to go back there right now.  My mother had a hard time deciding what dessert to choose, she wanted to make sure there were no raisins present.  We still have no idea what's in figgy pudding...  

Plockton

Five ferries, two buses, and a puffin in a pear tree

On Day 3 of our Highland Adventure, we visited the Western Islands of Scotland (The Inner Hebrides). It consisted of a series of car rides, bus rides, and ferry rides. First, we ferried past Castle Duart in the rain on our way to the Isle of Mull. There's a saying in Scotland, that if you don't like the weather, then wait an hour. In our case, all we had to do was take a bus to the opposite side of the island where the sun was shining bright. It was so nice that even the sheep were soaking up the sun on the beach at Fionnphort (pronounced fin-a-foot).

Those are my kind of sheep!

We jumped on another ferry out to the Isle of Staffa, which is home to Fingal's Cave. On Staffa, there were volcanic rock, or basalt, formations in tall columns. The same basalt appears on The Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland. Both places were named for the legend of the giant Fionn Mac Cumhaill (Finn McCool). The legend said that the Irish giant, Finn, was building a causeway from Ireland to Scotland, to fight his Scottish counterpart, Benandonner. But Finn fell asleep before he got to Scotland. When he didn't show, Ben went in search of him. Finn's wife put a blanket over her husband and disguised him as their baby son. When Ben saw the sheer size of their "son", he fled in fear of how giant Finn must be - ripping up the causeway as he went. So all that remains now is a bit in Ireland and a bit in Scotland. Still another version of the story said that Finn asked his wife to dress him up as their son when they had Ben over for dinner. She fed her "son" actual tender beef, but fed Ben a rock cut to look like steak. When Ben had trouble biting into the rock and saw how easily the "baby" bit into the meat, that's why he ran and ripped up the bridge between the two countries. I swear that one of the BG's gave a picture book of this tale to either Brendan or Jack, because I remember reading it to them when babysitting. I think it was Bridget, possibly because Finn's wife's name was Bridget and she wrote a little note on the inside cover about it. Kara, help me out here...

Fingle's Cave

Despite the legends, there were no giants in sight. Our ferry boat dropped us on a small slab of concrete and motored away to drop anchor in the middle of the sea - leaving us to cling to the cliffside. Literally, we had to cling to the sides of Staffa and make our way cautiously around to the mouth of the cave. There was a huge traffic jam from people were trying to go both directions on such a narrow and slippery path. I took a picture of the jam... and then ate it. I don't know exactly how I fell while standing completely still, but I just went straight down. You know how in cartoons, when their legs fly up and they pause horizontally in the air and then just drop straight down like a plank. That was me. Luckily, I didn't hurt myself, or anyone else, or fall into the water... that would have been sooooooo freezing. I don't even think my parents knew that I fell. I didn't want to worry them at the time. I was so impressed that they were climbing around with me that I didn't want to say anything to discourage them. Plus, we all know that I'm clumsy. There was nothing I could have done to prevent it. My falling was inevitable. 

Traffic jam on Staffa 

Another fun fact about Staffa is that composer Felix Mendelssohn visited the isle in 1829 and wrote Die Hebriden (Hebrides Overture Opus 26, commonly known as Fingal's Cave overture).  He was inspired by the weird echoes that can be heard within the cave.

It wasn't enough for us to climb around the sides of the isle, we also had to climb to the top. There was a set of rusty, rickety, old stairs for us to use. They were even more fun than the "non-slip" painted basalt stepping stones around the base of Staffa. Supposedly, there is a gathering of puffins somewhere on Staffa. Sadly, we could not find the puffins. No pear trees either... but we weren't really expecting to see those.

Staffa from the top

Thankfully, our boat came back for us, and then ferried us over to the Isle of Iona. Which, with it's beautiful white sandy beaches and crystal clear blue/green waters, looked a hell of a lot like Rhodes, Greece! Except it was probably 30 degrees colder here in Scotland. Iona was famous for its Abbey. In the Middle Ages, St. Columba landed on Iona and built the Abbey. Just outside the Abbey was the Chapel of St. Oran and the graveyard where 48 Scottish Kings were buried (of Scottish, Irish, and Norwegian backgrounds). It is rumored that MacBeth was buried there as well. However, we have no idea where, because a while back, the Ionians decided they would bring the Kings' tombstones indoors to preserve them... but they forgot to leave post-its behind saying whose graves are whose.  Silly Ionians.  

Iona          

There were more lambs on Iona.  I wrote a song about this one:

Katharine had a little lamb,

little lamb,

little lamb,

Katharine had a little lamb,

And then security confiscated it at the border...

Then it was a ferry back to Mull, a bus ride across Mull back to Craignure, a ferry back to Oban, and a car ride back to our castle. (I just love saying "our castle"). The Campbells knew that we were out all day, exhausted form trekking around in the rain, so they lit a fire for us in the Cozy Room. It was waiting for us when we got back. The Cozy Room probably has a proper castley name like The East Wing, but I call it the Cozy Room, because it was so small, and had comfy chairs and sofas, a wonderfully warm fireplace, and a TV where my Mom and I watched When Harry Met Sally until it was time for bed. Oh Barcaldine Castle, I miss you.

The Cozy Room

It's a freakin' castle!

There's no crying in the Highlands! This was Tom Hank's original line in A League of Their Own, until they realized that the Scottish Highlands have nothing to do with baseball. While we were driving through the Highlands, we kept seeing these road signs of a blue circle with a red X through it and below that, it would say things like "For 2 miles" or "Ends". We have no idea what it meant. I decided it meant that you can't be blue for 2 miles. Therefore, there is no crying in the Highlands. Can you tell that I took a course in Logic in Undergrad?

The Highlands

...so I looked up that sign in the official UK Road Traffic Signs Guide Book and it means: no stopping or standing... so why don't they just put up a sign that says "No Stopping or Standing Anytime" like we do in the States? What's with the colors and shapes? Am I driving, or testing how much I've retained from pre-school?

One of those pesky signs

I am already in love with the Highlands. I think they are the most beautiful place on earth. But the best thing about the Highlands in spring... is baby sheep! The bens were polka dotted with little white lambs. They were so adorable that we stopped at least once an hour to photograph them.  

Lambs in the road

Since I was just in Spain last week and missed out on running with the bulls in Pamplona, I decided to drive with the cows in the Scottish Highlands. We saw many a lonely sheep wandering across the road, but it was hilarious when we came upon 12 or 15 cows that had somehow managed to find a break in the fence to escape out onto the middle of the street, causing a major traffic jam. The funniest part was watching them desperately search for a way back into the fields, and running alongside our car.    

Driving with the cows

We stopped for lunch at the Dewar's Whisky Distillery in Aberfeldy. Tommy Dewar was a clever man, and very quotable. We continued along the banks of Loch Tay to Killin. I've been there before, by Postbus. Then, a quick stop at The Green Wellie in Tyndrum, where I've also spent a good deal of time. Laura, Rachel, and I were camped out in the Green Wellie for three hours watching Clue on my laptop, waiting for our bus to come, while it hailed and stormed outside. It was much sunnier there this time. 

Me and my dad on Loch Tay

That afternoon we reached the west coast of Scotland to the seaside town of Oban. The weather was absolutely amazing, so we wandered around the town for a bit. The seagulls there were at least three times the size of seagulls in the states. I had a theory that Scottish seagulls gulp down radioactive IrnBru for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and don't forget at tea. But of course at tea they don't gulp - they sip. We even got to see the Parthinian perched atop the hill. What's a Parthinian, you ask? I'm still not exactly sure, but my Mom was pointing at the Colosseum when she said it, so I'm guessing it's that.     

My mom and me in Oban

Then came the biggest and best surprise of all time. We drove to our B&B, which was located well outside of Oban, practically on a remote island. As we were driving to it, I kept asking: "why are we staying so far away from the town center?" and my Mom just kept shuffling off my questions with: "there were no availabilities in Oban" and examined her map. Then, we pulled into a private driveway, and behind the trees appeared... a castle! I lost it, I just kept saying: "it's a freakin' castle!" We had the Campbell's castle all to ourselves for two nights. Well, except for the lovely couple that lived there who fed us amazing breakfasts, and provided us with wine and cheese and crackers, and lit fires for us. They were like our staff. I had my own room... in a castle! I felt like royalty. But the realtor insisted that "it's just a family home". Sure it is, if your family is a long line of Campbell Earls!  

Barcaldine Castle

That night we ate dinner at a restaurant near the water that had the New York City skyline painted on its walls and played Shania Twain's album Come On Over on a loop. (Random fact: Shania Twain was born Eilleen Regina Richards. She's also Canadian.) So, naturally, I would pair her up with a NYC-themed restaurant on the west-coast of Scotland. After dinner, we went to the Skipinnish Ceilidh House to watch some professionals do some traditional Scottish dancing. But we weren't allowed to just watch and soon we swept out of our chairs to dance along with them. "You don't watch a dance class - you dance a dance class!" (a line from Friends when "Monana" is trying to be more like the woman, Monica, who stole her credit cards).  

Make your own breakfast

My parents came back! They've been to Edinburgh before, more than once, so they knew the drill. We only spent a few days in the city doing typical Scottish things: chips and curry and deep-fried Mars Bars at the Clamshell, hot chocolate a la booze at The Elephant House (which is totally what Jo drank while writing Harry Potter there), and catching some bagpipers practicing for the Military Tattoo up at the castle.

Me and my parents grabbing a bite at the Clamshell on The Mile

For some reason it was close to impossible to rent a car in Edinburgh. We've had problems every time.  This time around, Hertz made my parents taxi all the way out to the airport to pick up our rental car. When Erlend, the owner of the B&B where they loved to stay in Edinburgh, heard about this nonsense, he couldn't help but poke fun at the situation. He insisted that since my parents were already running errands all over the city that were part of the services they were paying for, that they should just go ahead and make their own breakfast too.

Driving through the Highlands

My Dad dominated the back roads and single-track roads. This was not his first time behind the wheel (on the right-hand side of a car). He drove like a pro. Our first stop was in Kirriemuir, the birthplace of J. M. Barrie. Everything in the town was named after something Barrie wrote, or one of his characters. My favorite was the Hook's Hotel. They even had a replica of the Peter Pan statue that's in Hyde Park in London.

My dad and I checking out the Peter Pan statue

We actually got to go inside the wee cottage where Jamie grew up with his nine brothers and sisters. There was only room enough for two beds... I'm still trying to figure out where they all slept. Upstairs. there was a bolster for kids to lie across on their bellies.  It was positioned in front of a screen that showed moving pictures of London, complete with a fan that blew your hair back so that you felt as if you were flying over London with Peter. Of course I did it. Unfortunately there was no documented proof because there were no photos allowed inside his house. You'll just have to imagine me squirming on the bolster, swimming my arms and legs through the air as if I were flying. Outside, there was a separate wash house that Barrie used as his own little playhouse where he staged his own plays. He'd charge his friends buttons and sweets for admission. Again, it was so tiny, I have no idea how you could act out a play inside. Barrie must have been a very small child.   

Barrie's childhood home

After lunch at the Thrumb's Hotel in Kirriemuir, we got back in the car and headed north. We passed by Glammis Castle. My parents had already visited and seen inside, so we just drove around for me to see the exterior. The castle's main attraction, the ghost of the Grey Lady, is no longer there anyway. It followed my parents back from Europe three years ago and now resides in our attic in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. My brothers were not pleased...

Glammis Castle

My mother found a ruined church that housed stones with Pictish carvings for us to stop at along our journey. There was a cute little corral with two beautiful horses right next to the ruins. One of them came over to say hello. He was super friendly and kept nuzzling me. The horse was also really sad when we left. He stood at the gate resting his chin on the top rung watching us drive away with his sad horsey eyes.  

My new horse friend

What was next on our itinerary... the world's tallest and longest hedge. See, you'd think I was joking, but in fact I am quite serious. First planted in 1745, the Meikleour Beech Hedge is 580 yards long and, on average, is 100 feet tall. It is located about 10 miles north of Perth on the A93. It basically just looks like a long line of giant trees, but when you stop to think that they are just shrubs - well shrubs on steroids, it kinda blows your mind.

The world's largest hedge

Through the Cairngorm National Park, past its ski resorts, we arrived at Balmoral Castle in just enough time to see inside. It's one of the royal family's favorite summer spots, when they aren't hanging out at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh.  

Balmoral Castle

That night we stayed in Aboyne at a Bed & Breakfast called Tigh Na Geald. My parents had stayed here before, and we were welcomed back by the owner Julia with many hugs and smiles. I had a beautiful room all to myself where I was able to get a little bit of writing done. We finished off our first day with a fabulous meal at the Boat Inn in Aboyne. 

My 13th Sense

My parents were here visiting. They were staying at a B&B just down the road from me on Castle Terrace. It's only a short walk back to my flat. But at the end of the night, after our dinner and a visit at their room, my mother was concerned that I was walking back home alone.

 

Kat: "Don't worry, If anyone tries to mess with me, I'll kick their ass."

Mom: "Yeah, that's if you see them coming. What if they sneak up on you from behind?"

Kat: "I have 7 senses you don't even know about."

Mom: "Right, like your sense of irony... sense of humor... sense of propriety..."

There was much laughter.

Annnnnnnnnnd SCENE.  

The rain in Spain falls mainly on Las Ramblas

Kaitlin, Annie, and I arrived in Barcelona Thursday evening. After checking into our hostel, we were starving, and went for dinner on Las Ramblas, the main street of Barcelona. It was such a lovely evening that I suggested we sit outside. In the middle of the street there's a wide promenade lined with tables and chairs for each restaurant. The waiter warned us that it was going to rain. I should have listened. About half way through our meal, the skies opened up and dumped rain down on us. Even though we were sitting under an umbrella, the rain was still blowing in and soaking us to the bone. My dinner plate became a swimming pool. The one upside to sitting on the sidewalk, was that we got to see Bono's doppelganger, sitting at the table behind us.

Spanish Bono

Rain on Las Ramblas

My dinner plate - now a pool of rain water

We made a run for it, across the street, and finished our dinner inside the restaurant. Our drenched evening just goes to show that the Professor had it all wrong... the plains have nothing to do with it.  

        
After getting soaked, I wasn't really in the mood to go out. But a bottle of red wine in our hostel room dried me off and changed my mind. We went down to the bar in our hostel, shared a couple litres of beer, met some new friends, and then all went out on the town. Luckily the rain had stopped for the evening - nothing but dry skies for the rest of the night.  

Friends share (me and Annie)

Our first stop was for mojitos at a nearby bar. Kaitlin lost an earring somewhere in the streets of Barcelona on our way to the next bar, an Absinthe Bar, to light a few sugar cubes on fire. There was a sign that said "No Singing" in Spanish, and I'm pretty sure that as soon as we saw that sign we started to sing something. Then we did Captain Planet/Power Rangers moves with our hostel room keys, which looked like wrist watches. Our third stop was a dance club, but we didn't all make it inside. Kaitlin miraculously found her earring on the walk back. Michael wanted a piggy back ride, and even though I said "NO", he jumped on anyway and we both fell straight down in the middle of the street. I woke up the next morning with giant purple bruises on both knee caps. It was also the second time that two people had sex in my hostel room and I slept through it. Again, not complaining.     

Hostel Friends at the Mojito Bar

Friday morning we were all hurting from our escapades the night before. But I forced my bruised knees out of bed to go be a tourist, since we only had one full day in Barcelona. We saw the Plaza Real (square), Palau de la Generalitat (seat of the Catalan government), La Seu Cathedral, and stopped for a lunch of Paella and Sangria by the sea.  

Plaza Real

Annie and me at the docks

Kaitlin and Annie enjoying their Paella

After lunch we spent some time on the beach (Platja de Sant Sebastia)

Annie soaking in the Spanish sun

Then went hunting for all of Gaudi's beautiful, yet bizarre architectural designs.
Here is what we found:

    

Palau de la Musica Catalana

Casa Batlo, Gaudi's House of Bones (Casa dels Ossos) 

or House of the Dragon (Casa del Drac)

Being monsters in front of the monster house

The never-ending construction of Sagrada Familia

We finished off our day at Park Guell. There was a giant hill that we had to climb in order to get to the park. You know it's a bad hill when there are outdoor escalators periodically along the way. When we finally got to the top we collapsed on the famous tiled benches and enjoyed the view of the city and the water.  

The hill

5 or 6 escalators

Relaxing on Gaudi's tiled benches

Park Guell

Beneath the benches was a whole other whimsical world.

At one point, I crouched down to take a picture of Annie and Kaitlin, but this group of guys wandered into the frame.  We waited for them to move along, but they just stayed there. We got passive-aggressively annoyed at them and started to laugh. They took so long to move, that my bruised knees started to hurt and I fell over. We laughed at the situation, and only afterwards realized that the one guy didn't have a leg. Then we felt like terrible people - that poor guy must have thought we were insensitive people laughing at him. Ugh, karma. 

        
We stopped in a few touristy shops on our way home, and in one of them, Kaitlin rounded the corner to walk down the isle and nearly had a heart attack. There was a cat curled up on the shelf. It was adorable. We also saw some sarcastic graffiti, which I thought was hilarious. Then it was round two of Barcelona nightlife. I took it much easier this time, since I had to fly home in the morning. And by "home" I mean back to Edinburgh. And by "morning" I mean that I had to check out of the hostel in the morning but didn't really leave for the airport until 3:00pm. I just sat in the sun by the docks at Port Vell all morning and afternoon. It made for some fantastic people watching.  

An actual cat nap

Port Vell

I went to Spain and all I got was a Japanese husband

When Annie told me she was coming to Spain, there was no question that I was making the short jump from my island over to the mainland to meet her there. Even though I had just seen her at Houseparty, when she tackled me in the middle of St. Catharine's Street, I can never get enough of Ann. And this was an excuse for us to be our ridiculous selves in a foreign country and have foreign adventures. She also chose a country that I'd never been too that has cheap airfare through Easyjet, which sealed the deal.

        
I arrived late Tuesday night in Madrid, so there wasn't much to do after I got there except go back to Kaitlin's apartment and sleep. Kaitlin is an old friend of Annie's from home (West Islip, NY) who was nice enough to also let me stay at her place, instead of braving a Madrid hostel on my own. Kaitlin was teaching English to young students in Madrid, so she had to get up early and go to work on Wednesday. Annie and I woke up a little bit later and explored the city together. Annie had already been there a few days and knew her way a round quite well, which was awesome for me - less map reading skills required for this leg of the trip.  

        
We walked down the hill from Kaitlin's apartment to the Underground entrance at Plaza de Toros, the Bull Fighting Arena. The coming weekend was a holiday to celebrate the patron saint of Madrid, so there were many bull fights scheduled that week as part of the festivities. Unfortunately, I was in the city for too short a period of time to get to see a bull fight. Even though I'm not one for unnecessary violence, blood and gore, I would have liked to have been able to say that I had experienced a bull fight. Ann and I jumped on the Underground and headed for the palace (Palacio Real).

Plaza del Toros

Palacio Real

We approached the palace through the gardens in Plaza de Oriente. The palace was closed to the public that day, but there was a constant flow of unmarked sedans of the silver and black persuasion driving through the palace gates. There must have been some sort of diplomatic ball going on within the palace walls. Annie and I briefly brainstormed how we could swing ourselves an invite, but after resolving that we weren't willing to sleep with any diplomats to get in, we ventured to the Cathedral adjacent to the palace (Almudena Cathedral). It was also closed. But very impressive from the outside.  

Almudena Cathedral

0 for 2, and it wasn't even 11:00am yet. Our next stop was Plaza Mayor, the main square. They were setting up for some sort of concert or show for the weekend celebrations in the middle of the plaza, and the immense scaffolding took away some of the square's charm. We decided that if we can't go inside museums and palaces... we can always shop! Annie took me to Sol, the section of town that had fun street markets and shops.   

Plaza Mayor

Plaza Mayor

Kaitlin met up with us for lunch at a restaurant called Chic, and it was exactly that. Beautiful decor, amazing carbonara, and great white wine. We were the first to arrive for lunch. They hadn't even opened yet, and we got there at 1:15pm. The Spainish like their late lunches and their late dinners (9:00 or 10:00pm), and they actually do take siestas. A lot of shops and restaurants close down during the afternoon hours after lunch and don't re-open until 5:00 or 6:00pm.

        
After lunch, Kaitlin returned to school, and Annie and I walked over to a museum that was actually open.  In the Museo del Prado I got to see some famous art work that I had studied at Bucknell, like Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights. We saw a lot of Titian, Durer, Rubens, Greco, and Goya and of course the famous royal midgets painted by Velazquez (more commonly referred to as Les Meninas). There was a beautiful exhibition in the Prado called Sleeping Beauty. It juxtaposed paintings of the Last Sleep of Arthur in Avalon with sketches and paintings of the fairy tale of Briar Rose. My favorite painting was called Flaming June by Lord Leighton. It depicts a young woman curled up in a chair on a balcony, her long auburn locks lay lazy about her face and the sheer tangerine fabric of her long dress wrapped and wrinkled about her legs. The sun glitters off of the Mediterranean Sea behind her. That is the ultimate Katnap, and one day I will take that exact nap. I accept my own challenge. A random amusing highlight: a nude painting of an incredibly obese five-year-old girl, entitled Eugenia Martinez Vallejo, the Freak. I renamed her Pony. 

        
Museums make me sleepy, so Ann and I sat outside the Prado in the sun for a bit, figuring out where we wanted to go next. A group of six or seven Japanese men in suits were sitting next to us. One guy rolled up the pant legs of his suit - super attractive. Another, meticulously unfolded his museum map and laid it out on the grass so that he wouldn't stain his suit when he lay back. Soon they started taking pictures. No big deal, tourists tend to take pictures of museums. Annie and I were looking at a map, and Ann says to me under her breath "they're taking pictures of us." Great. Then one of the men comes up to Annie and asks: "Can you take a picture?" We of course say yes, sure, and reach out for their camera to take a picture of their group. But the man corrects himself: "Can you take a picture with us?" Annie and I look at each other. "WITH you?" I ask. "Are you sure?" The man answers in his Asian/English accent "Yes, you very pretty girls." Annie and I just sit there for a while, not sure what to do. Finally I say, "sure?" and he sits down on Annie's left and another man from their group comes and sits down on my right and their four friends each snap a bunch of pictures of us with their own cameras. So now they have like ten pictures of us - fantastic. Annie thinks they are going to go home and show those pictures to their friends and tell people that we are their wives.    

Our Japanese Husbands on the lawn of the Prado

Then we came across this building (below). Challenge: can you tell me what this building is... Annie and Kaitlin aren't allowed to play. And if you live in Spain or I've already told you what it is, obviously you are not allowed to play either. There will be rewards to the most creative guesses, and of course to whoever gets it right. I haven't decided what those rewards are yet - all I can tell you is that they're awesome!

Mystery building

We ended our afternoon in Parque del Retiro, reclining on two back-to-back benches by the fountain, waiting for Kaitlin to come pick us up. But Kaitlin fell asleep, so we just took the Underground back to her apartment. As we stood up from our benches, Annie said to me matter-of-factly: "Well, I feel obligated to show you the pond." I laughed at her delivery of the line, thinking, jeeze Ann don't do me any favors, and then laughed again because the pond was less than 20 feet to our left. It was just hiding behind some trees. Now I understand her feeling of obligation. It would have been silly for us to leave without me first having seen the beautiful pond, since it was so close. 

The Pond

That night we went out to a Tapas bar for dinner and drinks with some of Kaitlin's friends. We drank tinto de verano (3/4ths red wine, 1/4th soda water) and ate the tortilla and garlic ham on slices of bread and fries in a spicy sauce that topped our glasses on plates. I had four glasses of tinto and many plates of yummy food and spent only €10!  

Me and Annie at the Tapas bar

Liz and Kaitlin being The Stag

Fierce blondes on the loose!

Doing the Alex Face

Only one full day and night in Madrid.  Thursday morning it was off to the airport for Barcelona!