Italy Day 1--Cozette's first day in Europe!

We said goodbye to Lee Ann and Ricardo and flew to Rome. We have been to Italy before but what made this trip special is that Chris's mother, Cozette, was meeting us there! This was her first time in Europe and we planned to show her Rome and the region of Le Marche in style. After a delayed flight we got to Rome just in time to eat a late dinner and settle in to our great b&b in the Trastevere neighborhood of Rome, the Arco dei Tolomei. I highly recommend this bed and breakfast. I am very picky when it comes to where we stay while traveling abroad and this place did not disappoint. I found it through my most trusted traveling companion, Karen Brown. If you are not using a Karen Brown guide when traveling to Europe then you are doing it all wrong, I must say. We have stayed at many of her recommended properties in France, Italy and Spain and have never been let down. Her driving itineraries are wonderful too. Karen has my dream job!

Our bed and breakfast was located on a tiny street through this ancient archway

From 12/20/11 Italy Day 1-Rome

The best thing about our bed and breakfast was definitely the owner, Marco. The reason we choose to stay in b&b's is because you get personal interaction with the owners. We enjoy getting insider tips on places to go and definitely places to eat. Marco has lived in Rome his entire life and sent us to restaurants he has been eating at since he was a child in many cases. We have never had such luck with great food in Europe as we did in Rome these few days. The last time we were in Italy we weren't as impressed with the food as everyone told us we would be but this trip made up for it!

All the restaurants Marco recommended were in Trastevere just a few meters from the b&b. By the way--Trastevere is definitely the place we will stay if we return to Rome. Specifically southern Trastevere. It is not very touristy and we loved all the restaurants.

Marco sent us to Ristorante Antico Carlone on this night

From 12/20/11 Italy Day 1-Rome

I had the ravioli with carcofi (artichoke) on Marco's recommendation. Amazing!

From 12/20/11 Italy Day 1-Rome

Kern River Audubon Preserve

Spain Day 3: Segovia and Avila

On our third day in Spain we drove to Segovia for traditional cochinillo at Segovia's oldest restaurant, Meson de Candido (opened in 1786).

From Spain Day 1 and 2, 2011

Segovia is best known for its well preserved 1st century Roman aqueduct.

From Spain Day 1 and 2, 2011

From Spain Day 1 and 2, 2011

Some shots of Segovia:

From Spain Day 1 and 2, 2011

From Spain Day 1 and 2, 2011

From Spain Day 1 and 2, 2011

From Spain Day 1 and 2, 2011

From Spain Day 1 and 2, 2011

From Spain Day 1 and 2, 2011

Shana, there is a store named after you!

From Spain Day 1 and 2, 2011

The Segovia Cathedral, built in the 1500's

From Spain Day 1 and 2, 2011

From Spain Day 1 and 2, 2011

The Alcazar of Segovia

From Spain Day 1 and 2, 2011

From Spain Day 1 and 2, 2011

After leaving Segovia we drove to Avila, which is a town best known for its 11th century walls.

From Spain Day 1 and 2, 2011

Other photos of Avila:

From Spain Day 1 and 2, 2011

From Spain Day 1 and 2, 2011

Spain Day 2: Patones de Arriba and El Escorial, Spain

Our second day in Spain we drove north of Madrid to the little town of Patones de Arriba. Destroyed during the war, there are a handful of restaurants and mostly steep streets made of slate along with stacks of rock that used to be homes.

From Spain Day 1 and 2, 2011

From Spain Day 1 and 2, 2011

From Spain Day 1 and 2, 2011

From Spain Day 1 and 2, 2011

From Spain Day 1 and 2, 2011

We had a delicious lunch and then drove back through Madrid to El Escorial, one of the historical residences of the King of Spain. Today it functions as a monastery, among other things.

From Spain Day 1 and 2, 2011

From Spain Day 1 and 2, 2011

From Spain Day 1 and 2, 2011

A beautiful sunset from El Escorial

From Spain Day 1 and 2, 2011

We walked over to the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial for churros con chocolate. This is exactly what it sounds like: churros dipped in warm chocolate. We need this in the US!!

From Spain Day 1 and 2, 2011

From Spain Day 1 and 2, 2011

As we were leaving for the night I caught these great shots of El Escorial

From Spain Day 1 and 2, 2011

From Spain Day 1 and 2, 2011

Spain with Ricardo and LeeAnn! Day 1

Our friends, Lee Ann and Ricardo de Abiega live in Madrid, Spain. We made a long overdue trip to see them in December 2011. How interesting to see a country from the eyes of a local!

The first stop we made in Madrid was Mercado de San Anton. This was a multi-level market/eating establishment where you go to have tapas.

From Spain Day 1 and 2, 2011

We walked to the center of Madrid, the Puerta del Sol, to find that it seemed every other person in Madrid had the same idea. Lee Ann said she had never seen that many people there.

From Spain Day 1 and 2, 2011

From Spain Day 1 and 2, 2011

From Puerto del Sol we walked toward the Plaza Mayor. It felt like Times Square on New Years Eve. Shoulder to shoulder people shuffling along the way!

From there we walked past the Almudena Cathedral

From Spain Day 1 and 2, 2011

Our last stop of the night was at the Palacio Real de Madrid

From Spain Day 1 and 2, 2011

Malibu on January 2, 2012

From January 4, 2012

Riley the fire dog

We recently took Riley to a local fire station. He is usually snoozing in the middle of the day, so he wasn't too photogenic. However, he did love the fireman!

From Riley at the Fire Station

From Riley at the Fire Station

From Riley at the Fire Station

From Riley at the Fire Station

From Riley at the Fire Station

From Riley at the Fire Station

From Riley at the Fire Station

Patagonia Day 3: Ushuaia and Cruceros Australis

Here is a world map showing you where Ushuaia is. Look how close we are to the Antarctic peninsula!

From Patagonia Day 3--Ushuaia and Cruceros Australis

The sun rises at 4am in Ushuaia in December! It was only dark about 4 hours that night. Our b&b had sheer curtains so we didn't sleep very late. We were able to walk to town and leave our bags at the office of Cruceros Australis so we could explore Ushuaia that day before getting on the boat that night. I had planned on going Tierra del Fuego National Park or Estancia Harberton but it wasn't possible for various reasons, one being that it was Christmas Day. I was bit bummed that I had not planned our one day in Ushuaia better. I guess I had focused too much on the rest of the trip.

Every time we have traveled over Christmas we always find that we are so bored on Christmas day because not much is open. When will we learn? Maybe this year when we're in Portugal on Christmas day! We'll be visiting our friends LeeAnn and Ricardo (check out their blog) in Spain and then moving on to Portugal.

It was cold and drizzling in Ushuaia that day which made for an even worse experience in Ushuaia because we had no where to take cover. We were getting good use out of our cold rain gear but I was also sad because the mountains were fogged in this morning.

From Patagonia Day 3--Ushuaia and Cruceros Australis

From Patagonia Day 3--Ushuaia and Cruceros Australis

We made our way to the east end of town to the prison and maritime museum. Ushuaia was a penal colony from the late 1800's until 1947. The prisoners spent much of their time building a train, now known as Tren del Fin del Mundo or End of the World Train.

From Patagonia Day 3--Ushuaia and Cruceros Australis

From Patagonia Day 3--Ushuaia and Cruceros Australis

An old wooden ship in front of the old prison:

From Patagonia Day 3--Ushuaia and Cruceros Australis

From Patagonia Day 3--Ushuaia and Cruceros Australis

There were a lot of brightly colored flowers in Ushuaia which was surprising to us, given the cold and dreary nature of the city

From Patagonia Day 3--Ushuaia and Cruceros Australis

From Patagonia Day 3--Ushuaia and Cruceros Australis

I wished this was our destination

From Patagonia Day 3--Ushuaia and Cruceros Australis

At one point we walked into a gift shop and there was a dog sleeping on at mat right inside the front door. The employees didn't seem to mind but it was so sad for us to see. It was a taste of what we would be seeing a lot of in Chile and Argentina: homeless dogs.

We had lunch at one of the few restaurants open in town which cost about US$60--where is this inexpensive food everyone talks about?

The Yamana museum was the only museum open in town that day. It was a very small but informative museum. The Yamana are the indigenous inhabitants of Tierra del Fuego.

With still a few hours to spare we found free wifi in the tourist office (I've never been in a tourist office in another country in my life) and skyped our family to wish them a Merry Christmas.

It was finally time to board the boat! Our boat is the tiny blue and white boat in front of the cruise ship

From Patagonia Day 3--Ushuaia and Cruceros Australis

From Patagonia Day 3--Ushuaia and Cruceros Australis

Finally!

From Patagonia Day 3--Ushuaia and Cruceros Australis

As we started to pull away from Ushuaia the clouds started to clear

From Patagonia Day 3--Ushuaia and Cruceros Australis

From Patagonia Day 3--Ushuaia and Cruceros Australis

From Patagonia Day 3--Ushuaia and Cruceros Australis

As soon as we left port in Ushuaia, Argentina we were in Chilean waters. We had to make a quick stop on Isla Navarino in Chile to get our passports stamped. In 1978 Chile and Argentina nearly came to war over border disputes in this part of Patagonia. War was avoided by intervention of Pope John Paul II.

Soon we were sailing the famous Beagle Channel on our way to Cape Horn!

From Patagonia Day 3--Ushuaia and Cruceros Australis