Aug 15, 2007
4:35 Villa Ellicott
Went to fix up the water bill this morning. La oficina est cerrado. You know it is the feast of the assumption. It’s a national holiday. The stores are all closed. In America, every store would be open w/a sale. We need to eliminate the separation of church and state so we can also have more holidays.Walked La Via again in Denia. Tried to get to the castillo. Hoodlums were guarding the gate.
Aug 14, 2007
1:20
Done playing Texas Hold’em. Busted out on nothing. Zack takes it all w/a full house A’s and 10’s. Went to Denia early in the evening w/mom and got some ice cream. It was a nice walk on the promenade. Saw a Spanish episode of The Simpsons. Krusty the Klown’s theme park.7:53 Villa Ellicott
Went finally to Calpe. Swam on the beach for an hour. Then got up and had helado. Ate lunch before swimming w/hamburgeusa con patatas.Been to Mas y Mas again. Spent more time there than anywhere. Bought ceramic plate and an ashtray.
Aug 13, 2007
1:00 Villa Ellicott
Days consist of the same. I wake up earlier than everyone. Wait for them to get up at noon. Eat lunch. Then wait to go wherever. Read my book.7:55
The waiting took the form of staying. Walter had some kind of ailment and didn’t allow us to go to Calpe. He was dizzy and mom blamed it on hypertension. So we stayed and Bernard took them to a hike on the Pinyon d-ifache. That dude sucks. Always taking his good old time. I hate waiting for them.
I wanted to get out of the house. Mostly to see Calpe which is a neat beach. What happened, Walt?
Aug 12, 2007
7:45 Villa Ellicott
Tossed and turned all night. It’s pretty warm in the house. I got up early and went for a morning constitution around back towards Rafol. I woke up some sleeping dogs.Yesterday, I left my hat at the Monte Pego restaurant. That’s one thing wrong with bringing a hat. We also got worried about Bernardo and family who didn’t turn up until 2:00 AM. They’re real spaniards now.
8:15
Showered outside!! First time in days. Fanta for breakfast. It’s got 80% zumo.1:12
Done some swimming in the pool. Drunk some San Miguel. Waiting for the kids to get up. Domingo en España. Let’s do something. Earlier we got some cafe con leche at the Buena Vista apartments. There’s free wi-fi so we have to go back sas not to kill our cell phone bill.9:09 Villa Ellicott
Back from a big disappointing day. First to la cueva de calvera, “the cave of skulls,” in Bendrilieg. Another English lady bartending. There we watched the rain come in. And it rained. Rained out our excursion to Ondara for the toreros. No bullfighting. Dang. Ate in Pego at the chinese restaurant. We have lots of leftovers.
Usually, the bullfight in Ondara is the best thing about visiting the villa. You watch minor league torreadors fighting the bull. You hope to see a pretty girl on a horse, too. Yet, it rained a thunderstorm with hail. Frightening. And the bullfight was called due to a rain out. So we settled for chines food. According to the couple that takes care of our villa, it’s the best in the area. These dudes are british. I doubt they have a sensible palate. I’ll let CapitolSwell write up a review. We had the eight course meal for eight people. Big mistake. Should’ve had the six course for six people. I could’ve done without some of the dishes. I just wanted the sweet and sour pork.
Aug 11, 2007
1:00 Villa Ellicott
Went to the mercardo for some food stuff. How do you say, “A quarter kilo?” Drinking Fanta and San Miguel. We should be moving, up and about, but people are still asleep.8:05 Playa de les Marines
Sitting on the beach after swimming for the afternoon. Drove to Javea earlier through a winding road. It looked like a fun bike ride. Went to the boardwalk there. It was English. Ate at the English Chili’s. Served by an English waitress. Had fake calimaris. Walt at fake shrimp in garlic sauce. Mom had Paella Valencia w/o seafood. Now we’re back near Denia. Parked in a back alley. How do we get out?
“Uno quatro kilo, por favor.” I think.
Aug 10, 2007
6:55 Closing in on Madrid
I couldn’t find a comfortable position to sleep in on the plane. It was pure hell. The best I could do was w/my forehead on the seat in front. At least it kept me cool. Airbus doesn’t have a fan so it was warm and cold all night.
This day we got into Madrid. Got the rental car. I felt all smart with my iPhone mapping out directions to Villa Ellicott. Sadly, It wasn’t long before driving in another country made me feel stupid.
Aug 9, 2007
2:00 Dulles
Waiting. Around early to beat the rush, but way too early that we’re sitting around. There’s not even an Iberia counter open.3:15 Eating @ Nelson’s Food and Spirits
Why? I got the blue cheeseburger and Walt got fish and chips. Again, why?8:20 Somewhere over the Atlantic
Beef or chicken? Beef. I should ask this girl sitting next to me for some help w/Spanish. Only six more hours to go. There goes the lights.
We left from Dulles International on a Thursday, because it was the only airport close with a direct flight to Madrid. Taking off from BWI would’ve meant a stop at JFK. We should’ve done Iceland Air: Baltimore, Reykyavik, Madrid.
We get there way early and sit and wait. And sit and wait some more.
Before 9/11, it would’ve been cool exploring the airport. Now not so much. Plus, Dulles has those buses which are weird and it’s architectural design which is moderne.
The younger me would’ve loved it. Now not so much.
One travel tip: ordering fish and chips at the airport is a big mistake.
When do we go?
Originally uploaded by browsermetrics.
In the early years of this blog, I didn’t know what to post. The best I could do was posting my travel log from the European Cruise I took with CapitolSwell and the Seed.
No body read them at the time.
Since I can’t find the time to think of a post, I am going to post my travel log from this year’s vacation in Spain. I hope it’s not embarrassing or boring. To make it worth your while, I am going to accompany the post with some of the pictures taken while out there.
Should be fun.
Ven y ven
Originally uploaded by browsermetrics.
This picture turned out better than I thought. As the comment says, it is my second favorite of the photos from the trip to spain.
We had to use the bathroom soon after pulling out of the other servicio joint, and we pull into here. This place was located near a wind farm, large windmills generating renewable resource energy. If I had turned around and took a picture, you would’ve seen an homage to Cervantes’s Don Quixote.
If you haven’t received it, I sent out an invitation to view my Espana 2007 photos on my flickr account. I tried telling a photo story about the family vacation. Hopefully, you get the idea about what went on for me on this vacation.
Enjoy.
