KyotoAlioto

Oh my gawd -- we are so far behind in blogging it's not even funny! A few updates, starting with our trip to Caceres with Raquel and Enrique to visit Enrique's home town and to see his parents and brothers and niece... They're all such wonderful people. And the old part of Caceres possesses a particular medieval atmosphere without the hoards of tourists that flood other similar cities throughout Europe, although during Semana Santa it's a bit somber.

From there we took a train to Lisboa to breathe some fresh Atlantic air. We were surprised at some of the striking similarities between the west coast of the Iberian peninsula and the West Coast of the U.S. Overall, I'd say the Caceres/Lisboa combo vacation was a success!

Posted by Tyler at 04:41 PM | Permalink

On March 4, 2007, Tyler and I completed the 42.2 grueling kilometers of the BCN marathon in 4:08:23 – a very respectable first-time marathon time. Although we can't speak from experience, we think the Barcelona marathon must be one of the most beautiful in terms of sites. We began the day with a jog past Camp Nou, then up Passeig de Gràcia past Casa Batlló and la Pedrera. We then headed on to Hospital Sant Pau and ran down Avinguda Gaudí toward la Sagrada Familia. We circled around the Torre Agbar over to the Forum following a route along the sea until we reached Plaça Catalunya. We squeaked passed the hoards of tourists at la Catedral over to Sant Jaume via Carrer Ferran to be cheered as we headed up Les Rambles toward our final destination - Les Fonts Màgics at Plaça Espanya.

Posted by Tyler at 11:06 AM | Permalink