We arrived home safely Monday night to the big hugs of Pop and Grandma Lawrance at the airport. Our only stumble along the way was an hour delay in Detroit. This happened when we came through Detroit in December. They were both mechanical problems with the planes. I've told Ken that we need to stop using that airport as a transfer point.
Our boxes came safely from Germany yesterday. The house is a mess as we try to put everything away and get rid of things that we don't need. "If we haven't used them for a year, do we really need them?" is our guiding question.
I found out my starting day. I'll be starting my new job on March 3.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Friday, February 15, 2008
Days 12 and 13 (Thursday and Friday)- Freiburg
We traveled from Switzerland into Germany Thursday morning. Our southern Germany itinerary was pretty low-key. We wanted to see more of Germany, but we are really starting to lose steam. On Thursday, we spent a few hours walking around Freiburg. There is some interesting mosaic stonework on the sidewalks. Apparently, the pictures on the walks indicate what kind of building/store is there. For example, there was a horse on a pole outside the toy store.On Friday, we took the train into the Schwartzwald or Black Forest. Why is it called the black forest? All I could guess is the tree density. It is a tightly packed pine forest. On a gray, winter day, the woods do look more black than green. The train was a really good deal. A 24 hour train/bus/tram card good for 2-5 people that took us well outside of Freiburg only cost 16€ ($24). This pass got us to and from Titisee, around town, and will get us to the airport tomorrow morning. To get an idea, an in-town, one-way Hamburg subway ticket costs $2.65 per way per person. This does not include regional train services.
As for our opinion of the Black Forest… We saw it. It wasn’t really any more exciting than the lake country of northern Indiana (which we’ll be seeing in a week!!). We took the 6km walk around the Titisee lake. It was cold. Only ½ of the walk was on the lake, so we spent a lot of the time on a road. If you ever go on this walk, go left around the lake rather than right. It is the nicer side. We also looked for a cuckoo clock. They were too expensive. Maybe we’ll buy one on Ebay when we get back.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Day 11 (Wednesday)- Basel
Ines took us to Basel for Fastnacht (Carnival). Ken and I were really hesitant to go after what we’d heard about Mardi Gras in the US. She convinced us that it was nothing like it. She was right. The activity during the after was a parade that was part a drum/piccolo marching band and part Halloween. I’ve never seen so many piccolo players. All the musicians are dressed up in outlandish outfits. They wear masks with mouth holes. In between the marching bands were “floats” with other dressed up characters passing out stuff and throwing confetti on the crowd. We got flowers, candy, a stuffed animal, a vegetable, a number of oranges, Vicks throat lozenges, tissues, and shampoo samples- a random assortment of junk.
I need to then say something about the confetti. It was insane. There were kids shoving it down our shirts. I had it all over me and took it back to Sursee in my shirt.
I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story.
Kristy
Day 10 (Tuesday)- Interlaken to Sursee
We woke up very sore after skiing. To loosen up, we decided to take a walk to see one of the two lakes that Interlaken sits between. It was a pretty walk but very cold because we were in the mountain shadow 2/3 of the 1 hr 40 minute time. The Thuner See was pretty, but we were pooped by the time we got there. We were going to take the bus home. Unfortunately, we walked toward the bus stop to see the once per hour bus drive away. Rather than wait an hour to get another, we decided to walk back. Luckily, the way that we had come was the scenic route. The direct route was only about 45 minutes. We beat the bus back to the hotel while stopping to buy postcards and groceries. We gathered our luggage and got on the exact bus that we would have taken to the train station.
The ride back to Sursee was uneventful. We checked back into a room in Ines’s building. She asked us to go to the store to pick up dinner. Groceries in Switzerland close at 6:30!! She gets off at 6 and lives a 20 minute walk away. Ken and I think that closing time is insane for working folks. We left for the store a little before 6 but ended up taking a wrong turn. We found the store at 6:28 after running to get there. They let us in and we were able to get food for dinner, but not without a little sweat. How do working Swiss do it?
The ride back to Sursee was uneventful. We checked back into a room in Ines’s building. She asked us to go to the store to pick up dinner. Groceries in Switzerland close at 6:30!! She gets off at 6 and lives a 20 minute walk away. Ken and I think that closing time is insane for working folks. We left for the store a little before 6 but ended up taking a wrong turn. We found the store at 6:28 after running to get there. They let us in and we were able to get food for dinner, but not without a little sweat. How do working Swiss do it?
Kristy
Day 10 (Monday) – Skiing on Kleine Scheidegg
So, first thing to say is that Kristy did not run into a ski shed or do anything else to kill herself. Second thing to say is that she did really, really well, and even had a bit of fun!
For anyone that has skied in the US, European skiing is a bit different. Over here, all the ski slopes actually connect several different towns, rather than one resort feeding the whole mountain. So it is possible to ski from one town to another. Another difference is that there is usually a train or a large aerial tram that takes you from a village below the mountain (often without snow) halfway or all the way up the mountain. You can then ski to any of numerous train stops along the way up, even though the train only comes every half hour. Of course there are also the more traditional chairlifts as well.
After renting our equipment the night before in Interlaken, we took the ski bus from outside our hotel at about 8:45am to a small town called Grindelwald. From there we got on one of the aforementioned trains to the main area of Kleine Scheidegg. I chose this mountain because it seemed to have a large selection of easy runs to choose from to give Kristy some options. We went into the beginners’ park and did several runs down the small area, during which Kristy learned to ski. It was great benefit to eavesdrop on the instructors with ski school classes for tips and pointers. After we finished there we braved going down the rest of the mountain.
Throughout the day Kristy got better and more and more confidence. She only slightly freaked out when we had to go down an intermediate run that wasn’t planned because one of the lifts we wanted to use was out of service. In the end Kristy only fell a handful of times, none major, and all limbs are still operational, though a bit sore.
As for me, skiing was every bit as much fun as I remember (haven’t been in about 10 years), and it was really like riding a bike as I remembered exactly what to do. We got back to the hotel at about 6pm and both had a much needed warm bath (unfortunately, no hot tubs here). Tomorrow we will be traveling back to Sursee to meet up again with our friend Ines.
Ken
For anyone that has skied in the US, European skiing is a bit different. Over here, all the ski slopes actually connect several different towns, rather than one resort feeding the whole mountain. So it is possible to ski from one town to another. Another difference is that there is usually a train or a large aerial tram that takes you from a village below the mountain (often without snow) halfway or all the way up the mountain. You can then ski to any of numerous train stops along the way up, even though the train only comes every half hour. Of course there are also the more traditional chairlifts as well.
After renting our equipment the night before in Interlaken, we took the ski bus from outside our hotel at about 8:45am to a small town called Grindelwald. From there we got on one of the aforementioned trains to the main area of Kleine Scheidegg. I chose this mountain because it seemed to have a large selection of easy runs to choose from to give Kristy some options. We went into the beginners’ park and did several runs down the small area, during which Kristy learned to ski. It was great benefit to eavesdrop on the instructors with ski school classes for tips and pointers. After we finished there we braved going down the rest of the mountain.
Throughout the day Kristy got better and more and more confidence. She only slightly freaked out when we had to go down an intermediate run that wasn’t planned because one of the lifts we wanted to use was out of service. In the end Kristy only fell a handful of times, none major, and all limbs are still operational, though a bit sore.
As for me, skiing was every bit as much fun as I remember (haven’t been in about 10 years), and it was really like riding a bike as I remembered exactly what to do. We got back to the hotel at about 6pm and both had a much needed warm bath (unfortunately, no hot tubs here). Tomorrow we will be traveling back to Sursee to meet up again with our friend Ines.
Ken
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Day 9 (Sunday)- Sursee to Interlaken
<-- Kristy on Dramamine
A whole day in the mountain air wore us out, so we slept in, had breakfast with Ines and then took the train to Interlaken. We walked around town and saw some paragliders landing. Not the most exciting day to report in on, but stay tuned to tomorrow’s episode. “Kristy learns to 
ski” subtitle: “Kristy tries not to run into a ski shed or do anything else to kill herself.”
ski” subtitle: “Kristy tries not to run into a ski shed or do anything else to kill herself.”Day 8 (Saturday)- Central Switzerland
Ken had a number one priority to get online to find where to buy a new camera. We found the one that he wanted in Luzern and bought it. We now have pictures again. It wound up being about $50 more than what we’d pay for the same model in the US, but probably worth it to have pictures from the rest of the trip (which will be downloaded daily for the rest our time). 
Ines, Ken, and I took a boat across the Vierwaldstättersee (only tourists call it Lake Luzern) to a small town, Beckenried. There we took a tram up Klewenalp and sledded down. Yes, I said “sledded”. They have a huge sledding trail. You hike about 3 km (1.8 miles) and sled the rest. You end up in another town and have to take a bus ride. It took us 2.5 hour from the time that we bought our tram ticket. It was like an amusement park ride. Amazingly, this was really, really fun. I don’t think we’ll be able to go sledding in Indy again, on the oft chance we get snow, after experiencing this!
Check out Kristy's stylish look! At least I am warm!
Ines, Ken, and I took a boat across the Vierwaldstättersee (only tourists call it Lake Luzern) to a small town, Beckenried. There we took a tram up Klewenalp and sledded down. Yes, I said “sledded”. They have a huge sledding trail. You hike about 3 km (1.8 miles) and sled the rest. You end up in another town and have to take a bus ride. It took us 2.5 hour from the time that we bought our tram ticket. It was like an amusement park ride. Amazingly, this was really, really fun. I don’t think we’ll be able to go sledding in Indy again, on the oft chance we get snow, after experiencing this!
Check out Kristy's stylish look! At least I am warm!Beautiful sunset over the mountain.
Day 7 (Friday)- Barcelona to Sursee, Switzerland
Friday was a tough day. We got up to do some final touring of Barcelona when Ken discovered that his camera was gone. The camera could be replaced, but 4 days of pictures could not. We checked with the tour bus company and the restaurant, but neither found it. Ken was most upset at losing the photos from Gibraltar, including great views of the rock of Gibraltar.
After searching, we visited Gaudí’s last work, the Sagrada Família. It is a cathedral like none other. It is also still under construction. Ken made a good point. All of the other famous churches in Europe were built over 300 years ago. This is the only one that we’ve visited that is being built in our lifetime. Tourists many years from now will see the completed project, but we probably won’t.
We flew to Zurich and took a train to Sursee, a town relatively close to Luzern. A gal from my Hamburg small group, Ines, is doing a phase of her medical internship at a hospital there. She arranged for us to stay in a room in dormitories there. She made us dinner. It was a wonderful treat to have some “gemütlichkeit” or hominess in the middle of our trip. Hotels and restaurants begin to wear on you after a while. We also could do laundry!
After searching, we visited Gaudí’s last work, the Sagrada Família. It is a cathedral like none other. It is also still under construction. Ken made a good point. All of the other famous churches in Europe were built over 300 years ago. This is the only one that we’ve visited that is being built in our lifetime. Tourists many years from now will see the completed project, but we probably won’t.
We flew to Zurich and took a train to Sursee, a town relatively close to Luzern. A gal from my Hamburg small group, Ines, is doing a phase of her medical internship at a hospital there. She arranged for us to stay in a room in dormitories there. She made us dinner. It was a wonderful treat to have some “gemütlichkeit” or hominess in the middle of our trip. Hotels and restaurants begin to wear on you after a while. We also could do laundry!
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Day 6 (Thursday)- Barcelona
Today was a busy day of Barcelona sight-seeing. We started with a walking tour of the Gothic district of town. There were lots of old buildings. I have to admit that I’m starting to get old building burn-out.
There were two main things that I got out of this tour. The first was a better understanding of Catalonia, Barcelona’s “autonomous community”. Spain has 17 autonomous communities and 2 cities. These all used to be separate kingdoms with their own languages until they were united into one country. Catalonia still maintains two official languages, Spanish, Catalan and Aranese. School is taught in multiple languages and most residents are bi-lingual. I had a classmate from Catalonia who spoke Spanish, Catalan, French, English, and was learning German.
The second was that geese are good guard animals. The cathedral courtyard has 13 guard geese.
After lunch, we got on the “hop on, hop off” Barcelona Bus Turistic. It is a little more expensive than city bus tours in other cities, but it was worth it. They are usually 1-2 hours. This was 4. The bus has two routes through the city (three in summer) and takes you past most of the main sights sights. The blue route takes you around the old city, the Olympic areas, and the harbor. The red route shows you the new city and much of the city’s architectural heritage.
We stopped on the shore. Barcelona has beautiful beaches. I am so used to big harbor cities having dirty beaches nearby. This is not true. Ken did some wading in the Mediterranean.
I am not an art fan. This is not good when most of Europe’s treasures are artistic masterpieces. However, I now have a favorite artist. I really enjoy Antoni Gaudí’s work here. Ken thinks it is gaudy. I have never seen buildings that are so much fun to look at. Sure they are bizarre, but that is fun part. They stand out in a continent of old buildings. We drove by the:
the Battló
the Casa Mila
the Park Güell
and the Sagrada Família (we’re going back tomorrow to tour this one on the inside).
There were two main things that I got out of this tour. The first was a better understanding of Catalonia, Barcelona’s “autonomous community”. Spain has 17 autonomous communities and 2 cities. These all used to be separate kingdoms with their own languages until they were united into one country. Catalonia still maintains two official languages, Spanish, Catalan and Aranese. School is taught in multiple languages and most residents are bi-lingual. I had a classmate from Catalonia who spoke Spanish, Catalan, French, English, and was learning German.
The second was that geese are good guard animals. The cathedral courtyard has 13 guard geese.
After lunch, we got on the “hop on, hop off” Barcelona Bus Turistic. It is a little more expensive than city bus tours in other cities, but it was worth it. They are usually 1-2 hours. This was 4. The bus has two routes through the city (three in summer) and takes you past most of the main sights sights. The blue route takes you around the old city, the Olympic areas, and the harbor. The red route shows you the new city and much of the city’s architectural heritage.
We stopped on the shore. Barcelona has beautiful beaches. I am so used to big harbor cities having dirty beaches nearby. This is not true. Ken did some wading in the Mediterranean.
I am not an art fan. This is not good when most of Europe’s treasures are artistic masterpieces. However, I now have a favorite artist. I really enjoy Antoni Gaudí’s work here. Ken thinks it is gaudy. I have never seen buildings that are so much fun to look at. Sure they are bizarre, but that is fun part. They stand out in a continent of old buildings. We drove by the:
the Battló
the Casa Mila
the Park Güell
and the Sagrada Família (we’re going back tomorrow to tour this one on the inside).
Complicated Comida (food)
(Thursday in Barcelona)
Ken did a blog entry on driving, I’ll do one on our dramatic (at least for us) food day. We decided that we’d grab breakfast on the way to our walking tour. We grabbed a donut at “Dunkin Coffee” in the subway station, but Ken wanted a McMuffin. Fortunately, there were 2 McDonald’s on opposite sides of the Plaça de Catalunya. We went to one- no breakfast menu. We walked to the other- no breakfast menu. By that time, we were out of time for more food.
At the end of our walking tour, we were hungry again. We decided to have lunch at a Barcelona fast food chain, “Pans & Company”. We paid twice as much for half the food as an American chain. Food disappointment #2.
Dinner had to be better. At least it was available in Barcelona at 6:00! We found an all-you-can-eat pizza, pasta, and salad place. Perfect… or so we thought. It turned out that all the pizza and all the pasta except plain spaghetti had seafood in it. Poor Ken. He hates seafood. I had my first shrimp pizza- not bad from my perspective. The salad bar was the best we’ve seen in Europe, so that made up for it. We did not starve. Better luck tomorrow.
Day 5 (Wednesday)- Sevilla to Barcelona
We had to turn the car in by 11:30, but our flight wasn’t until 7:15. We checked with the Vueling ticket counter to see if we could get on an earlier flight. It would have cost at least 70€ (about $105) to change flights. We decided that we could wait. It was actually really good for us. We had wireless internet, reading material, and a deck of cards. Not too bad of way to slow down and relax.
We arrived safely in Barcelona. For my family and high school friends, you’ll be proud of my husband. He got us reservations in the Silken Concordia hotel.
We arrived safely in Barcelona. For my family and high school friends, you’ll be proud of my husband. He got us reservations in the Silken Concordia hotel.
Day 4- (Tuesday) Gibraltar and Ronda
We proved our worth as American tourists on this day by going to 2 cities in one day. We first drove to Gibraltar along the Mediterranean Sea. The weather was beautiful. Have I mentioned that the weather all week has been gorgeous? We’ve had sun and bright blue skies everyday. The temperatures have been in the 60’s. (Low 60’s in the mountains and warmer at sea level.)
We went to Gibraltar, which is actually a British territory. We could speak English and not feel guilty about it. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a stamp in our passports crossing the border. We had to show them, but didn’t get my desired stamp. Gibraltar is a vase-shaped peninsula with the neck of the vase connected to the mainland and the base covered by the Rock of Gibraltar with buildings surrounding it at sea-level. To get to the rock, we had to take the only road, a road that crossed the airport. It was strange driving over a runway. I suppose they have to make use of the only piece of land big enough for planes.
Once there, we took a cable car to the top of the Rock. We could see Africa, only 14km away. Another interesting feature of the Rock is a population of approximately 230 Barbary Macaque monkeys (though they are call apes there). We had fun watching a family of four. The father sat picking bugs out of the mother’s fur while she nursed both an older and a younger baby. Another monkey got close to the family and daddy got defensive. It was fascinating.
After that, we drove to Ronda. Ms. Garmin Nuvi (our female Australian-voiced GPS system) chose to take the shortest route. This also happened to be the route that went up and down the mountains. I felt so sick. (For more about this, see Ken’s entry “Driving in Spain”) Ronda is a cute, historic town. The historic district is cut in half by a large gorge. Our parador was right on the edge. It was almost like being on the edge of the Grand Canyon. We were able to walk around the entire historical area in about an hour. If you choose visit there, don’t plan more than a half day there.
We went to Gibraltar, which is actually a British territory. We could speak English and not feel guilty about it. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a stamp in our passports crossing the border. We had to show them, but didn’t get my desired stamp. Gibraltar is a vase-shaped peninsula with the neck of the vase connected to the mainland and the base covered by the Rock of Gibraltar with buildings surrounding it at sea-level. To get to the rock, we had to take the only road, a road that crossed the airport. It was strange driving over a runway. I suppose they have to make use of the only piece of land big enough for planes.
Once there, we took a cable car to the top of the Rock. We could see Africa, only 14km away. Another interesting feature of the Rock is a population of approximately 230 Barbary Macaque monkeys (though they are call apes there). We had fun watching a family of four. The father sat picking bugs out of the mother’s fur while she nursed both an older and a younger baby. Another monkey got close to the family and daddy got defensive. It was fascinating.
After that, we drove to Ronda. Ms. Garmin Nuvi (our female Australian-voiced GPS system) chose to take the shortest route. This also happened to be the route that went up and down the mountains. I felt so sick. (For more about this, see Ken’s entry “Driving in Spain”) Ronda is a cute, historic town. The historic district is cut in half by a large gorge. Our parador was right on the edge. It was almost like being on the edge of the Grand Canyon. We were able to walk around the entire historical area in about an hour. If you choose visit there, don’t plan more than a half day there.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Day 3 (Monday)- Grenada
(Will add pictures later....)
The morning started out with a drive from the plains into the Sierra Nevada mountains. Ken mentioned the olive trees. They were EVERYWHERE. They were even on the sides of cliffs. Since these trees can grow for centuries, I was envisioning crazed farmers in the olive heyday planting every open inch of their land with the “gold” of olives. (Yes, Kristy is still in her fairy tale world.)
We visited the Alhambra in the afternoon. Rapunzel has changed her mind on which castle she wants. This one wins. It is a fortress with a series of palaces and gardens inside. It was beautiful in winter. I would love to see it when all the flowers are in bloom. So far, this is my favorite historic sight from this trip.
In the evening, we went to see flamenco dancing. It is a dance accompanied by a guitar and hand drum. Most of the “music” comes from singing, shouting, hand-clapping and stopping. It reminds me of a mix of tap dancing and belly-dancing (fully-clothed, though). Unfortunately, since the show didn’t start until 10, Ken and I were almost too tired to enjoy it. Afterwards, the tour guide took us up higher on the hill and we could see the Alhambra at night. It was gorgeous view.
The morning started out with a drive from the plains into the Sierra Nevada mountains. Ken mentioned the olive trees. They were EVERYWHERE. They were even on the sides of cliffs. Since these trees can grow for centuries, I was envisioning crazed farmers in the olive heyday planting every open inch of their land with the “gold” of olives. (Yes, Kristy is still in her fairy tale world.)
We visited the Alhambra in the afternoon. Rapunzel has changed her mind on which castle she wants. This one wins. It is a fortress with a series of palaces and gardens inside. It was beautiful in winter. I would love to see it when all the flowers are in bloom. So far, this is my favorite historic sight from this trip.
In the evening, we went to see flamenco dancing. It is a dance accompanied by a guitar and hand drum. Most of the “music” comes from singing, shouting, hand-clapping and stopping. It reminds me of a mix of tap dancing and belly-dancing (fully-clothed, though). Unfortunately, since the show didn’t start until 10, Ken and I were almost too tired to enjoy it. Afterwards, the tour guide took us up higher on the hill and we could see the Alhambra at night. It was gorgeous view.
Driving in Spain
Driving in Spain
Sitting in the Sevilla airport right now with time to kill, so here’s an update…
When Kristy and I decided to come to Spain, we decided to rent a car to drive around the southern part, rather than take the train like we usually do in Germany and central Europe. In all, this has definitely paid off, but not without our share of excitement. Of note:
The scenery in southern Spain is truly amazing. We drove through the mountains, along the Mediterranean coast, in big cities, and in small towns. There were times when we were going up and mountains and one side of the road was totally brown and the other was all green. All the green were olive trees and I tell you that they went on FOREVER! I think southern Spain can meet the world’s demand for olive oil and then some.
I’ve heard horror stories about driving in Rome and Paris, and I think that Spanish cities / towns have got to be just as bad. Each of the cities that we visited were built before cars existed. As such, all the buildings were piled on top of each other, only with so much room for a single horse carriage to go through the streets. I don’t know how many times I had to nearly stop to narrowly squeeze by a parked car on one side and a wall on the other. And the parking garages were just as bad, if not worse.
Roundabouts, roundabouts everywhere! I think there was one time that I went through three consecutive roundabouts within half a kilometer. These things were everywhere! Some of them were at least four lanes wide.
Speeding tickets in Spain suck. Especially when 34 km/hr over the limit nets you a 98€ fine (that’s $150), cash paid on the spot. It would have been 140€ if I would have contested it, and since Spain doesn’t seem like a very corrupt country, I paid it to the officer. Dumb speed traps!
I don’t think Kristy liked going through the mountains too much. I’m pretty sure she almost vomited. Not really, but I know she wishes that she would have taken her Dramamine!
That’s all for now, Kristy will follow with other updates when we get to another internet connection.
Ken
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Day 2- Córdoba
After an early morning run (for me) and then eating really well at the Carmona parador’s breakfast buffet, we packed up and left for Córdoba. It was a little over an hour away, so we were able to check into our next parador mid-morning. The website says that this one is “Located on the ruins of the small summer palace of Abderramán I,” but you can’t really tell. It looks like a hotel. Still, we have a big corner room with a balcony. We can’t complain. The grounds are nice as well.
I didn’t mention yesterday that marrying young did me well. If you have a person in the room that is under 30 years old, you get a pretty nice discount. My young husband is as good as a coupon! (Watch out, dear… The big 3-0 hits this year…)
We drove downtown to be tourists once again. The Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos looks like something out of a “knights in shining armor” story. The thing that I kept thinking w
as, “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair…” when I looked at the tower on the left.
We then walked along the river. The old water resource manager in me was interested in that. This city is on the Guadalquivir River that flows through Sevilla and into the Atlantic Ocean. In
Roman times, the river was navigable to this point. They still have an old Roman waterwheel and bridge.
After that we went to lunch. We learned a lesson from the day before that we need to make sure that we do not skimp on lunch. I had real Spanish paella, one of my goals for the trip. I have to say that Jenn C’s version tastes so much better. Jenn, can we make a paella date sometime soon?
After lunch, we visited the most famous sight of the city, the Mezquita-Catedral. It started out as a mosque but then the Christians built a cathedral in it without removing all of the mosque characteristics. Because of the multiple architects, the building seems to be 5-6 different churches in one.
That's it for now.
Kristy
I didn’t mention yesterday that marrying young did me well. If you have a person in the room that is under 30 years old, you get a pretty nice discount. My young husband is as good as a coupon! (Watch out, dear… The big 3-0 hits this year…)
We drove downtown to be tourists once again. The Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos looks like something out of a “knights in shining armor” story. The thing that I kept thinking w
as, “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair…” when I looked at the tower on the left.We then walked along the river. The old water resource manager in me was interested in that. This city is on the Guadalquivir River that flows through Sevilla and into the Atlantic Ocean. In
Roman times, the river was navigable to this point. They still have an old Roman waterwheel and bridge.After that we went to lunch. We learned a lesson from the day before that we need to make sure that we do not skimp on lunch. I had real Spanish paella, one of my goals for the trip. I have to say that Jenn C’s version tastes so much better. Jenn, can we make a paella date sometime soon?
After lunch, we visited the most famous sight of the city, the Mezquita-Catedral. It started out as a mosque but then the Christians built a cathedral in it without removing all of the mosque characteristics. Because of the multiple architects, the building seems to be 5-6 different churches in one.
That's it for now.
Kristy
Ken and Kristy’s Spain and Swiss Escapades: Day 1- Sevilla and Carmona
Yes, the Lawrances are on another adventure in Europe. We decided to do some exploring in Spain, Switzerland and southwestern Germany before we return to the US. We don't have internet access everywhere, so we're keeping a Word document with each day and will post as we can. (Hence multiple entries today.)
Our flat was packed up Friday morning and we got up at 3:00 Saturday morning to be on a plane by 5:30. Luckily, we both were able to sleep almost the whole flight to Spain. We arrived in
Sevilla around 11:15 and picked up our rental car. Ken was happy to get a Mercedes B-class instead of the Opel that was reserved.
We spent the early afternoon walking around downtown Sevilla. There were a number of old buildings built with a Europe meets Arabia flavor. My favorite was the Plaza de España. It was decorated with the beautiful colored tile artwork. Around the rest of the city, the tile art was mostly blue and white, but here it was multi-colored. Another special feature of this city are the orange-tree lined streets. All were in full fruit, and they were everywhere!
We headed out of town mid-afternoon. On the way, we were listening to Spanish radio. Both of us took Spanish in high school and college, so we could make out some words. However, in the US, they teach Latin American Spanish. The biggest difference is the soft “c” sound or c pronounced “ssss”. Spaniards pronounce this with a “th” sound. The word for five, “cinco”, is pronounced here as “thinko”.
We then went to Carmona, a town outside of Sevilla. This place has not been polluted by the western world. There are absolutely no chain restaurants or stores. We stayed at the first of 3 paradores on our trip. These are hotels built in 
old monasteries, castles, or palaces. This one is in a castle on the edge of a cliff. The town is tightly packed from the castle down to the farmland below. Almost all of the streets are one-way and very tight.
I’m typing this around 8:15. We are impatiently waiting for dinner. One piece of Spanish culture that we will struggle with is the late dinner hour. The earliest any restaurant opens is 8:30. We tried to walk around from 6 until dinner but ran out of steam. We’re eating in the hotel restaurant tonight- if we can stay awake.
(15 minutes later…) We struck out. As is expected, hotel dinners are expensive and here nearly all were fish. The restaurant was also pretty fancy. We gave up. Luckily Ken checked the room service menu. They had ham and cheese sandwiches. We were so excited. I’ve never been so happy to eat ham and cheese.
Our flat was packed up Friday morning and we got up at 3:00 Saturday morning to be on a plane by 5:30. Luckily, we both were able to sleep almost the whole flight to Spain. We arrived in
Sevilla around 11:15 and picked up our rental car. Ken was happy to get a Mercedes B-class instead of the Opel that was reserved. We spent the early afternoon walking around downtown Sevilla. There were a number of old buildings built with a Europe meets Arabia flavor. My favorite was the Plaza de España. It was decorated with the beautiful colored tile artwork. Around the rest of the city, the tile art was mostly blue and white, but here it was multi-colored. Another special feature of this city are the orange-tree lined streets. All were in full fruit, and they were everywhere!
We headed out of town mid-afternoon. On the way, we were listening to Spanish radio. Both of us took Spanish in high school and college, so we could make out some words. However, in the US, they teach Latin American Spanish. The biggest difference is the soft “c” sound or c pronounced “ssss”. Spaniards pronounce this with a “th” sound. The word for five, “cinco”, is pronounced here as “thinko”.
We then went to Carmona, a town outside of Sevilla. This place has not been polluted by the western world. There are absolutely no chain restaurants or stores. We stayed at the first of 3 paradores on our trip. These are hotels built in 
old monasteries, castles, or palaces. This one is in a castle on the edge of a cliff. The town is tightly packed from the castle down to the farmland below. Almost all of the streets are one-way and very tight.
I’m typing this around 8:15. We are impatiently waiting for dinner. One piece of Spanish culture that we will struggle with is the late dinner hour. The earliest any restaurant opens is 8:30. We tried to walk around from 6 until dinner but ran out of steam. We’re eating in the hotel restaurant tonight- if we can stay awake.
(15 minutes later…) We struck out. As is expected, hotel dinners are expensive and here nearly all were fish. The restaurant was also pretty fancy. We gave up. Luckily Ken checked the room service menu. They had ham and cheese sandwiches. We were so excited. I’ve never been so happy to eat ham and cheese.
Kristy
New Job for Kristy
I wanted to let you know that I have a job. I am SO excited about it because it is the perfect fit for me. I will be working for Schaller Anderson (subsidiary of Aetna) on the Advantage Care Select program. Care Select is a program for aged, blind, and disabled (ABD) Medicaid recipients. This program only started November 1 in the Central region and goes statewide March 1. It provides high-need, high-cost clients with a care coordinator. The care coordinator helps them navigate the system and better manage their healthcare. The goal is to try to get them early intervention and preventative care so that they don't need emergency room or other high-cost care later. When I was working for the state, I help design and implement Medicaid Select, the ABD program that preceded this one. I also worked on the early design phases of Care Select. It thrills me to be a part of implementing this new program.
I will be the Community Liaison or at least that is what they have been using as a working title over the last few days. We might come up with something better later. The position is brand-new and designed specifically for me. They needed someone who understands Indiana Medicaid operations and the state's health advocacy and community resource environment. The rough outline of the position has me building relationships with community partners, training staff on Medicaid and community resources as well as some operations project management.
I don't have a starting date yet, but the family reminds me that I do need a little time back in the US to unpack from a year in Europe. I'm just so excited about this that I can't think of anything else but jumping in and getting going.
I will be the Community Liaison or at least that is what they have been using as a working title over the last few days. We might come up with something better later. The position is brand-new and designed specifically for me. They needed someone who understands Indiana Medicaid operations and the state's health advocacy and community resource environment. The rough outline of the position has me building relationships with community partners, training staff on Medicaid and community resources as well as some operations project management.
I don't have a starting date yet, but the family reminds me that I do need a little time back in the US to unpack from a year in Europe. I'm just so excited about this that I can't think of anything else but jumping in and getting going.
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