Farewell to the Emerald Isle...Hola Espana!!!

We're back!  Scott and I didn't intend to go over a week without an update, but sometimes internet access in the hostels and hotels we've been staying at just hasn't worked out.  We are now in Spain, actually off the coast on an island called Ibiza.  We left Ireland on Friday (9/18) after going from Dingle to Galway and back to Dublin to fly to Barcelona.  On our way to Galway, we stopped at the Cliffs of Moher, which is one of the biggest tourist attactions in Ireland.  Once again, very beautiful views!  I would now like to introduce a special guest we have along with us, Flat Stanley.  (See picture of Flat Stanley at the Cliffs of Moher).  My niece, Lily, asked if we would take along Flat Stanley as part of her school project - very nice coloring job by the way!  Flat Stanley really enjoyed his time spent at the cliffs.  The day before we left Ireland, we went north and drove through the Connemara Mountains.  In the evening we caught a futbol game at the King's Head pub...don't worry, Flat Stanley didn't have any beer!  We very much enjoyed Ireland and were fortunate to only have 2 days of rain/clouds, every other day was sunny and beautiful. 

We arrived in Barcelona around 11:30 pm and found our way to our hostel...not exactly easy but we managed.  Wow!  This city is alive!  Scott has already been here before and wanted to show me just how awesome it is.  We walked through the streets on our way to the hostel and came across concerts in the park, street performers, more concerts, and heard people speaking in all different languages.  It took us an hour to find the hostel, but the walk around town was well worth it.  After we dropped off our bags, we wanted to grab a bite to eat (tapas) and see more of the city since we were only going to be here for 2 days.  We found ourselves in a restaurant owned by a Peruvian man, Omar, and sat and chatted with him and the other workers one who was also Peruvian and another Colombian.  There was another patron, Jose, who lives in Los Angeles and he helped translate for us.    What a time we had sharing stories and they even fixed us Sushi rolls and dessert all on the house!  By the end of our time there, Omar had declared to us that  mi casa es su casa!  On Saturday we went out to explore the city more and see some sites.  Scott wanted to show me a church that he had previously visited called the Cathedral de la Sacrada Familia.  This church is huge and one of the biggest tourist attractions in Barcelona.  What is also unique about this church is that construction was started in 1882 and the church is still being worked on.  It is expected to be completed in 2025!

We walked around Barcelona for most of the day.  One thing we're really impressed with is all the great architecture and how ornate all the buildings are.  We walked through parks and little neighborhoods having festivals and concerts.  We even found a friend for Julie and Jeremy's English Bulldog, Gus! (see picture below) 

We left Barcelona on Sunday and arrived in Ibiza on Monday. We are staying in a town called Es Canar.  We arrived hoping for some time lounging in the sun on the beach, but unfortunately it has rained since we got here. :(  We are here until Friday, so we are crossing our fingers that tomorrow will be sunny.  The good thing is that the rain has allowed us to plan out some more of our trip.  We think the next few weeks will look something like this, though it is very subject to change:

- Leave Ibiza on Friday (9/25) and fly to Milan 

- Milan 9/25 - 9/27  (just in time for the kick-off of fashion week, yay)

- Munich 9/27 - 9/30 (Oktoberfest)

- Salzburg 9/30 - 10/4

- Budapest 10/4 - 10/7

- Prague 10/7 - 10/11

Things we've learned:

- So far, at the restaurants we've eaten at have served salad with all the meals as a side

- Most public bathrooms don't have paper towels for drying your hands, only hand dryers

- Planning out our travel too far in advance is not worth it so now we're going to try and be more flexible

- There are a lot more 'old people' in Ibiza than expected (its known to be a party island)

- Skype is a wonderful way to communicate with people back home (set up an account and we'll call!)