Back in Linköping

After eight days driving across the US, one week in Spain and two weeks in Italy, we are now back in Linköping. It's good to know that we will be in one place for a couple of weeks. There were a lot of things to see and experience on our European tour and I think that we both are ready to just hang out here for a while.  We do not have use for shorts in Sweden yet but spring is definetely on it's way.

There will be more photos as soon as I have that cable for the camera.

In Florence

We are in Florence after three nights in Sorrento. It has been long between internet access and now we just paid for some time in an internet caffé. I also left the cable for the camera in Leon so new photos will have to wait until we get to Sweden.

Florence is sunny and warm. Today we will be going to the Uffizi gallery, and tonight we are heading out for dinner at Baldevino. We have had some great food while in Italiy, and have managed to stay away from the not so great tourist trap restaurants. The wine is ok, but then we are usually getting the house wine so we are not expecting anything spectacular. Maybe we will splurge tonight and get something nicer.

Ok the time is running out here. Ciao!

In Fondi, after two nights in Rome

When flying out from Barcelona (or Girona), probably about 75% of the flights were cancelled. Ours was not. Nor was the airport very crowded. I guess people actually stayed away from the airport if their flight was cancelled. So we arrived in Rome without any problems, feeling pretty lucky considering how many people that was stuck.

Rome was busy. Lots of everything. We had a really nice dinner, in a restaurant recommended by Rick Steves, thank you Rick! But his nightmare description of how it is to cross a street in Rome was quite an exageration. Traffic is busy but drivers are still fairly considerate and are not actually trying to hit tourists.

We are now in Fondi. It is raining. We will see if there is a nice place to have some dinner tonight. I would like to sample some of the local wine, if possible.

In Barcelona

The night train to Barcelona was a surprisingly pleasant experience. We had our own "room" that had a separate bathroom with a shower.

Barcelona has been both very sunny and warm and suddenly very rainy. We saw the impressive La Sagrada Familia among other sites.

It seems like our flight for Rome is still departing on Wednesday. I guess nothing is sure yet but at least it is not among the cancelled flights.

Photos to follow.

Taking the night train to Barcelona

After a few nights in León we are now about to take the night train to Barcelona. It should take us almost 9 hours. Today we also drove north to the ocean and walked on the beach. Driving there, across the mountains, was rainy and gray but upon reaching the coast the sky suddenly cleared up into a sunny day.

Following the news about the volcanic activity in Iceland has made us a little unsure if we will actually be able to fly to Rome on Wednesday morning. We shall see. Alternatives such as taking the boat instead have been discussed. More to follow on this.

Dinner in Spain is usually eaten around 9-10 pm so we are about to go out for some of that before our train leaves.

Some photos from León

Some Photos from Salamanca

Below are some photos from our stay in Salamanca.

In Salamanca, Spain

We arrived in Salamanca in the afternoon yesterday. We missed our connecting flight from Paris to Madrid (due to very thorough and slow security) but managed to get another flight pretty soon. In this way we still got to the airport in Madrid in time to catch the bus to Salamanca.

Yesterday we went to El Pony Pisador, a restaurant I used to go to when studying in Salamanca about 10 years ago. It still looks exactly the same, and has a Lord of the Rings theme. El Pony Pisador means The Prancing Pony for you fellow Tolkien fans out there. Photos to follow. Now onto a proper site seeing in Salamanca!

In Southborough, Massachusetts

After a long drive Friday we finally arrived in Southborough a little after 9pm. It's good to have arrived but it was also a really good trip. The route we choose turned out to be a great sampler plate of this enormous country. Our milage for the trip ended on 3608 miles or about 5805 kilometers. The extreme length of Sweden N – S is 1,574 km (978 mi).

We will have a few days here before we head out to Europe. But now it's time for dinner with Ben and Nicki.

Saint Louis - Missouri

We spent last night in Saint Louis, Missouri. Our friend Jonathan gave us a great tour of the city. Below are some photos from our stay there.

Tonight we are staying in Columbus, Ohio, where we just went and had some really good ice cream. The flavors were interesting to say the least, one of the kinds I had had goat cheese in it. How was it? Fantastic!

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We are in Lawrence, Kansas

Today's drive took us through Kansas. After driving over the Rocky Mountains the day before we were now in flat country. Fields stretching as far as the eyes could see. The road taking us in a straight line across the state. We did not take that many breaks today and almost drove all the way through Kansas, stopping in Lawrence where we are going to spend the night. We were just treated to a very nice dinner. Tomorrow will see us taking a short trip to Saint Louis. 
On our drive yesterday, from Moab to Littleton, Colorado, we took this photo in Utah:

Clouds over Kansas.

Fields in Kansas.

Sky over Kansas

Cows, field and a dark sky.

Our trip tomorrow to Saint Louis.


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Day 3 - Zion to Moab

The drive from Zion to Moab took us through a widespread, desolate landscape. It's a place where you do not want the car to break down or to run out of gas. Fortunately non of these happened. We were surprised by the amount of snow. The bed and breakfast here in Moab is a really charming place, outdoor jacuzzi, great room and tasty breakfast. Slow internet connection here so more photos to follow. Now onto Littleton, Colorado

Day 4 - Moab to Littleton


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Day 2 - Williams, Arizona to Zion National Park, Utah

Today's drive wasn't quite as long as yesterday's. We spent about 7 hours in the car.

Seeing the Grand Canyon was spectacular. No photos can do it justice. The vertigo. The birds soaring below you. Also very spectacular was the drive north from Grand Canyon to Zion National Park. The Arizona landscape seemed to change character every 30 minutes or so. Desert to pine trees and back to desert again. Lots of incredible rock formations. Driving through Zion in Utah was breathtaking with mountains on all sides.

Tomorrow: Zion to Moab


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In Williams, Arizona

It took us a good 12 hours from Lompoc to Williams. We had plenty of brakes and also took a detour on the AAA recommended scenic byway, right after we entered Arizona. While on this detour the sun happened to set and we were driving up and down windy mountain roads in the dark. This is when you are extra thankful for those new brakes.

We got in to our hotel around 10 pm and went to bed almost straight away. There is a lot cooler here with snow left in heaps. Today we will be going north to Grand Canyon and then on to Zion national park.

Below are some photos and a map showing the next leg of our journey:

Outside Maricopa.

Outside Maricopa

Stop

Fourth Photo

 

The scenic byway on route 66 just before the sun sets.

 

Williams to Zion 

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Road Trip - Heading Out

After a day of packing we are finally just about ready to head out. Tomorrow, Friday, we will be driving from Lompoc, California, to Williams, Arizona. 589 miles or for our metric friends 948 km. It should take us about 10 hours depending on how many breaks we will take.  We are planning on a fairly early start around 8 am. The camera is charged, the mp3 player is crammed with 55 hours of Lord of the Rings, the car has been checked by an actual mechanic, in short: we are as ready as we can be.
Below is a map showing the first leg of our journey.


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A good bye - Some photos from California

These are taken at the La Purisima Mission State Park in Lompoc while walking the beautiful 3 mile loop. 

 

 

Below: Pismo beach in late March 2010.

Guilty Pleasures - Exhibit number one

Yes the song is part of the Eurovision Song Contest. But I like it. So there, it's said.

A State Observed going on a roadtrip

So it's only about a month and a half until we are moving to Southborough, MA. Things are being sold on Craigslist, we will soon be without our last couch. The Spyker, I mean SAAB, will be filled with as much as it can take and then we're heading east. This weekend will see us host a garage sale, a great American tradition.

Below you'll find our planned travel rout across the continent.


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Neil Gaiman at UCSB

We went and listened to Neil Gaiman at UCSB last night. He read a few of his newest short stories in front of what looked like a sold out event. Very enthusiastic crowd. All in all a good evening. We got home from SB late.

I really do enjoy his writing, and he seems to be a very nice person, but does he have to mention Twi%$&%tter quite so often? I guess I just need to go with the times and embrace that whole band wagon, but I'm not drinking the kool aid just yet. Any ways this was his twitterage about the event:

"Just talked writing to UCSB lit students for 90 Minutes. So fun and so much enthusiasm and smarts. And I was hugged a lot at the end."

Santa Maria Pre School Website launched

So the website for Santa Maria Pre-School is finally launched. You can have a look at it here: www.santamariapreschool.com

I've built the site using Drupal. It is at this point only in the initial stage. More content needs to be added and there will need to be some modifications done,  but at least it's up and running.  Have a look.

It's a Montessori school in Santa Maria that's just starting out.

FDR

Part of Franklin D. Roosevelt's message to Congress in 1938:


"The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic State itself. That, in its essence, is fascism — ownership of government by an individual, by a group or by any other controlling private power.

The second truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if its business system does not provide employment and produce and distribute goods in such a way as to sustain an acceptable standard of living."

That was over 70 years ago.