west side

We know, we know--where in the world have we been? Good question. We've definitely failed of late at keeping you in the loop. Our apologies if you feel like you're not getting your money's worth out of this, and sorry too if we're not better bloggers this month either. We made it to Europe last week, and this continent is expensive! Prices for internet will be no exception, we're figuring. Just a warning. Anyway, an update on us:

Going back in time a little bit, we wrapped up six weeks in Asia by continuing to explore the sights and sounds of Beijing, then last Wednesday we bid farewell to eastern culture as we followed our compass west. So, Portugal is where we've been, Portual is where we are--for now. Tonight we depart for Spain, perhaps Wanida's favorite country in the world, but our time here has also been a favorite. A best friend of Wanida's lives here near Lisbon with her husband and two young children, so for a week we've been babysitting (practicing for parenthood), catching up, sharing some good meals, walking by the water, and going on outings here and there. Last weekend we even joined them up north in Porto for surf camp! We don't surf though.

As we begin our trek back east across Europe toward Istanbul and, ultimately, Amman, I'm coming to terms with the fact that last minute travel through Europe on a budget is a logistical nightmare. Take tomorrow, for example. It's a holiday weekend in Spain (who knew), so we'll get to Granada (in which there are zero beds available) to see the Alhambra (for which they limit the number of daily visitors), and we can't find a place to sleep in the city or purchase advance tickets to see the attraction. We believe we've got a hotel just outside Granada, but I Skyped the front desk, and the woman's report of the room situation conflicts with what we booked on the internet. Nonetheless, we're showing up tomorrow with our reservation confirmation, then we're showing up early Saturday morning to buy Alhambra tickets. Admittedly, in the grand scheme of planning and preparing for this trip, Europe was a minor detail, but now it is not. Flights are expensive, Eurail and trains are expensive and a hassle, and gas--if we rented a car--is painfully expensive (converts to $8 or $9 a gallon, it does)! Start thinking old school, and I'll let you in on what we foresee for the future: tonight, a 12 hour bus ride from Lisbon to Granada (that's right, bus ride); tomorrow night, staying in Granada, hopefully sheltered from the elements; Saturday night, another 12 hour bus ride from Granada to Barcelona. Beyond that, life may be a little easier again. We'll spend probably four nights in Barcelona inventing teleportation before we use it as a new and creative way to get to Nice, France, where we're looking forward to meeting up with my dad next Friday. Watch the news for word of our scientific/travel achievement for the 21st century.