11.30.07 Friday

Oviedo, Spain

It has been since La Rochelle since I have really been able and felt like really expressing myself with a blog entry.Although I have found that most of my blog entries have been the list of what I have done and what I have seen.What I see and do in one day is astounding enough, now realize that 8 days has past since the last entry and you can imagine the potential length of this entry.So, don't worry I will not bore you with the details, but simply give you some of the highlights as well as some thoughts.Well, maybe some thoughts.

Let's step back to thanksgiving.I hope everyone's was enjoyable.I was on the verge of having to have my thanksgiving dinner at the golden arches with big foot.Well, the heavens shown down and although I had no luck finding turkey I did find a steak and fries, mind you not the best steak and fries I have ever had but it sure beats the Big Mac alternative.La Rochelle was simply beautiful.A port town with loads of sailboats!In retrospect I should have spent more time there and St. Malo.Not only were the cities some of the best I have seen, the hostel and internet situations were ideal compared to what I saw later down the road.

I left La Rochelle to finally stay with a couchsurfing family.This by far has been one of the great highlights of the past 8 days.Guy, Sarah and Kepler were truly amazing and I felt right at home.Guy was from St. Louis and Sarah from Scotland.A little American and a little UK…just like me!I have never met two people that have traveled more.I spent some really good time in their cozy home with their young son who I got along with very well.Actually I felt like a human jungle gym, but hey everyone needs to be a kid.Not only was the welcome warm, the wine good, but Guy hooked me up with 4 movies to max out my lap top memory banks.Let me tell you I never though I would get to the limits.Thank goodness for Guy.My last couple of nights I really just needed to kick back and watch a movie.Everyone please go and see Mr. Bean's Holiday!I know I know only I would enjoy something as silly as that, but I guess it goes back to the jungle gym concept.I could feel somewhat uncomfortable expressing this side of me, but I know that in each and every one of us there is a kid yearning for a bit of good fun, a carefree day, and someone to pick us up and hold us when we fall and laugh and smile when we achieve greatness even if it is building the biggest lego tower imaginable.

Thank you Guy, Sarah and Kepler for letting me be a kid!

I did grow up a little bit when I toured wine country.I have never seen so many vineyards in my life.Chateau after chateau!I intentionally got lost among all the winding farm roads; well I guess I really wasn't lost because I wasn't really going anywhere was I.A great ride and I can only imagine what it looks like when it is all green.St. Emilion is a stunning city with old world charm.Atop a mountain it has an air of sophistication and simplicity.I would not want to be here in high tourist season, but I definitely want to visit again someday.

I left my American/Scottish family with a saddened heart.The first time I had had so much fun I was actually sad to go, but great places and more interesting people lay in waiting.Bairritz on the coast of France and San Sebastian on the Coast of Spain are amazing cities and knock St. Malo out of the number one spot for cities that I have scene.So to give you the ranking so far:

1)San Sebastian

2)Bairritz

3)St. Malo

4)St. Andrews, Scotland

5)Oxford, England (funny that there is a town with no sea)

As far as major cities goes of course how could you not like London although I have not been to Paris yet and I will be in Paris during an amazing time, Christmas and New Years.

As with the other cities I should have stayed an extra day San Sebastian deserved another day not so much to see more because I would never leave without getting the whole feel, but what a great place just to relax a little and catch up on things.After seeing San Sebastian my first real Spanish experience I had high expectations of Spain.Well I have been pleasantly surprised and disappointed at the same time.I think of course my issue with Spain again is the language barrier and the fact that I have not couch surfed since I arrived.

My trip through the mountains and Picos de Europa has been the best day's ride I have had since I bought the bike!The scenery was beautiful; the sky was blue unlike most of my travels in the UK and France and well speechless.I hope you have a chance to view the short video that attempts to show you just how amazing that ride was.After I finished that video it dawned on me just how remote a place I was and believe you me I took it easy.The thoughts of what if my bike broke down, what if I fell off the side of the mountain or worse what if I ran over a COW were now going through my head.The cow thing actually almost happened twice.It is pretty scary to come around a 60 degree corner and bam there is a cow with two huge horns staring back at you.Most of the road there were no fences on either side of pastures filled with both cows and horses.On one occasion a herd was traveling down the road unattended just going for a stroll.The road was littered with poop which I think I hit a couple piles.The small villages that you would just happen upon are from another world.It as if time has stood still for some of these villages.I truly feel privileged to have seen into this little world that I can't imagine many do.

So now we come to today.The city of Oviedo the capital of Asturias a bustling cultural city set between hills with the backdrop of the snow caped mountains I just came through.The first thing I do when I come to any city is find the city center, then find the officio de turismo and get a map.This as well as finding the youth hostel and wifi, are my continuous quests.Of course once I am in a city I hunt high and low for a flag sticker to put on my panniers and a pin to add to my collection of each country.You would not believe how difficult and long it takes to just accomplish the above.I have found that some of the simplest take the most energy to complete in a foreign country.

My Spanish is horrible so thank goodness I ran into an Argentinean girl who I have befriended for obvious reasons.I finally have someone to talk to in English, but I am working on my Spanish and am determined to add both French and Spanish to my repertoire of known languages.

So I spent today just relaxing.I have eaten all my meals at the hostel to avoid having to trek out and find something and spent a good bit of time just catching up on emails and the blog of course.I also realized that I could have spent years planning this trip before I came and still not have everything down.I plan each leg of my trip the day before and sometimes it takes a little more to set up the couchsurfing so I took today to do just that.Put some feelers out for where I want to go in the next week and arrange some places to stay.I am happy to say I have arranged for a place all the way to the middle of next week.So I am finally going to get some real Spanish culture.Believe it or not it is pretty time consuming to decide where to go next.There are so many great places and things to see and cross referencing my travel guide, Google maps and the couchsurfing website is pretty tricky.I went out in the afternoon and just walked around seeing the sights and taking in the air.

I sat on the sidewalk just watching all the hustle and bustle of a major city.It is strange to come from small villages in the mountains to streets and streets of shops and people spending money.It is as if some peoples' sole existence is to go to the highstreet and buy stuff with their hard earned money.

I visited two of the big churches in town and as with my previous big church and cathedral visits; I have found them cold and far from God.Although beautiful architecture and stain glass windows to me they are little more than large caverness monuments for people to gawk at.Church is not a magnificent building, but the people.I sat in this pew thinking of St. Michaels in Charleston and why was it so beautiful to me why was it so great.Why is it that in St. Michaels when I pray I feel Gods presence and peace.Well my friends I realized in a big way that God dwells not in these big buildings but in the hearts of man and when they gather two or three, there God will be.St. Michaels is a beautiful church of people and I would take that over the most magnificent of all cathedrals!

Okay enough of a novel for you all to read.I will work harder at keeping up to date and sharing more thoughts as well as itineraries.From Oviedo I am heading to the major cities of Gijon, and Aviles and then to Santiago de Compostela a major pilgrimage site thought to have the remains of St. James.From there it is south to Portugal, hitting the cities of Port and Lisbon as well as some other UNESCO world heritage cities.Then to the south of Spain with the likes of Seville, Granada and Cordoba before heading inland to Madrid.Then West to Valencia and Barcelona and then back north through Andorra (how could I not add another country sticker to my boxes).From Andorra to Toulouse in the south of France and Straight up the middle to Paris for Christmas and New Years where my friend Amy is coming to see me!Yeah my first visitor I am so excited and what a city to share with someone.