Climbing walls!

To those of you interested in the running of the bulls, here's a little history. I'm actually only going to be there for one running. Our trip is July 10-11.

To those of you who have written me e-mails recently -- I'll get back with you soon, I promise!

In other news of note:

Today I met a friend of Concha’s named Ignacio (another one!) who is a reporter for El Pais, Spain’s leading newspaper. We had coffee at a sidewalk café, with the idea that I would interview him, but I think he asked just as many questions – a true reporter! And his English was better than my Spanish, so we spoke in English...thank the Lord. All this Spanish is exhausting sometimes.

Ignacio’s worked at El Pais almost since the paper started (in 1976) and is now in his late 40s. Now he covers northern Africa, especially Morocco, and goes down to Africa at least once a month! (And my mom worries when I work in Indianapolis...) But he was really interesting and helpful. He is going to send me some more information about the paper.

Change of subject: Yesterday, I took a day trip (by myself, sorry Mom) to the city of Ávila. Partly because I wanted to see the city, but also because I have family in Avilla, Ind.! Victor dropped me off at the train station in Madrid on his way to work. What an experience I had in the train station trying to figure out where to buy my ticket, which train to take, etc.! The place is a bit of a zoo. But I managed.

Ávila is 1 hr. 15 min. by train, and from the train station in Ávila, it’s a 10-minute walk downtown. (Or so my guidebook tells me...It’s more like 20 minutes for people who don’t know exactly where they’re going and are too stubborn to look at the map, trying instead to prove that they really DO have an inner sense of direction.)

But anyway, downtown is impossible to miss, because it’s surrounded by a medieval wall! The wall is huge, and was built by Muslims and Romans in the 11th and 12th centuries. I climbed a rough stone staircase to the top of the wall and walked about a kilometer around the city. It was so cool!!! Not great if you’re afraid of heights ...but I’m not.

After that, I bought postcards and gifts for my grandparents, and stopped by the post office to mail the cards. I had lunch and visited a couple museums of local history, and walked around to admire the architecture. Then I went to the cathedral, which is just inside the city wall and apparently is one of the earliest Gothic churches in Spain. Unfortunately, there is a temporary museum exhibit inside of religious art – which is really interesting, but it covers up the interior of the cathedral itself! I was somewhat disappointed, but what can you do?

Another change of subject. Anyone who knows me probably knows my interest (obsession) with sports cars. Spain’s attitude toward cars is interesting to me. In general, at least here in the city, even really nice cars aren’t well-taken care of. They park on the street and bang their doors into other cars or railings (my personal pet peeve). The most common marques are Renault, Volvo, Volkswagen, Citroën, Peugeot, Nissan, Toyota, Fiat, Hyundai...mostly small, not-so-exciting cars.

However, I see at least two or three Porsches every day! So far only two Porsche 911s, but a lot of Porsche Carreras. There are also many Audis, Mercedes, and a bevy of BMWs, but I can take or leave those. I am pleased to announce that I have seen quite a few Ferraris, including a red convertible today (*huge sigh of longing*). I have only seen TWO Corvettes since I’ve been here…and one was a 4th-generation, painted a sparkly (read: garish) teal, so I’m not sure it even counts.

Anyway...anyone who took the time to read the above two paragraphs had to have been EXTREMELY bored. I salute your devotion to my online journal. :-)