After 3 days in Seville we started on our big and slow trek north, our final destination will be South fleet in Kent. We spent 2 nights with family in Madrid and then headed off to Barcelona. It was to prove our longest journey yet. It took us 6 hours from the capital to Barcelona, and another 4 hours sitting in Friday traffic, (although it doesn’t compare to our epic 36 hour journey from Aswan in Egypt to Ginossar in Israel, but that’s a website in itself.)
We stayed 60km north of Barcelona near Girona, although if you where to believe easy jet we where in Barcelona ( easy jet , a discount airline flies to “Barcelona” from London for under 50 quid if you book 4 years ahead. They actually land in Girona, so the taxi into the city usually cost more than the ticket.)

Barcelona is Barcelona…profound I know, but its one of those cities that must be visited, along with Paris I guess. For Maria it was her dream come true, being an architect and spending so much time studying the city. For her the highlight was la Sagrada Familia , for me it was the steak we had on our final night, (courtesy of Maria cousin Santi,)

Half a Kg of Angus fillet imported from Argentina put Seville’s tapas to shame.

Renting the apartment in Almunecar was a great move. Traveling can be a bitch at times and it was nice to stop for a week, get all our stuff sorted and do a little work. Seville is renowned for its tapas and its flamenco, and being in Spain we sort of just had to make our way further south and check it out. Winter arrived in Seville about the same time we did, and has remained with us ever since. We did tapas , can’t complain, it was good, but to be honest I’m not too convinced with the flamenco thing. No young beauty, instead an old hag who in my humble opinion was getting strangled by the invisible man. She was accompanied on stage by a fairy in tight white pants…Maria enjoyed it and I guess it was o.k. , and had to be done. Seville in itself is quite impressive, with all its Moorish architecture and the people are pretty friendly. So Seville gets the nod.

Greetings from Almunecar on the Spanish Mediterranean coast. We are here for business reasons…I’m researching 2 website idea’s that I hope will help finance my plans to open a hostel or 3 , somewhere in South America. We left Madrid and drove 450 km’s South to Granada, home of the Alhambra and shadowed by the Sierra Nevada mountains .

We have had nothing but sun for the last 10 days, and I’ve just got back from a bit sunbathing on the beach which is our front garden. We were lucky to spot dolphins just 30 meters from the shore this morning , the sun and sea are getting me right in the mood for South Africa next year. Bring it on.
Granada is magical…a vibrant university city of over 200 000 people. There is a huge Moorish influence here so our evenings were spent in tea houses, drinking flower tea smoking narguila , and having flash backs of our time in Israel and Egypt.

I’d put Granada on my list of places to see in Spain …and there’s the possibility of skiing here in winter as well… which is an added bonus. On the way down we drove through 100 km of Olive groves- 10 % of the worlds olives are grown here, and I’ve just recently acquired the taste..

 We are renting an apartment on the 11th floor of a beach front development for a measly 200 euros a week. My time is spent collecting information, writing and designing websites. Its days like today that I realize that I’m living a good life.  The beauty of the internet is that I’m not restricted to any one country or any one currency, any schedule or routine, I work when I want and can get paid in dollars and pounds.

Saskia Says:
November 13th, 2005 at 2:29 pm
hey sweeties!

wow, i just read the entire journal of your trip. sounds great to be on the road again! you have to keep me updated when you invent websites like these, i was wondering where you were! remember our little get together in brussels? the couch is still made, waiting for it’s guests… i sent a textmessage to the cellphone number you gave me on mikeys and emilias birthday, but now i guess you didn’t bring it on your trip… so a belated happy birthday wish for the both of you! looking at your travels plans it seems to me that you’ll be in london for xmas and newyears. wendy is coming over with matt and i’m thinking about joining them… maybe it would be possible to have a xmas and newyears celebration together!? anyway, enjoy your travels and please don’t hesitate to pass through dutchland on your way back!

love, saskia

Travelling with Mom and Dad Sucks!!
All we do is just drive and drive and look at stupid buildings. Its so boring. I can’t watch T.V , i have no friends , and i miss granny’s cookie jar.
Dad keeps getting angry when i ask ” Are we there yet ” , how would he feel if he had to look at the back of his head for 400 km at a time, and his singing is painful to my ears
Anyway here are some photo’s of my travelling