Well the 3 hour flight to LA and then the 14 hour flight to Sydney was not as bad as I expected. We flew on an Airbus 380-800 which is the new two story job that carries 450 passengers. In LA the boarding process was very slick, passengers could board on both levels and thru two doors on each level. We flew "upstairs" which is where first class and premium economy is located. Looking out the window it was a long way down to the ground......and that was before we ...

Off to OZ. Not excited about the 14 hr flight. There must be a reason they keep all the Ozzies on the other side of the world. We will spend the next five weeks unraveling this mystery. Stay tuned!

Spain has a wonderful cuisine based upon an abundance of fantastic ingredients. To start their day a cup of strong cafe con leche or strong hot chocolate and a sweet roll. By midmorning a tapas of Iberian ham or some other savoury to tide them over to comeda, lunch, which is eaten at 2-3pm. From what we saw lunch can be a large meal and on the weekends the restaurants were packed with families and extended families out for a large elaborate lunch meal. Dinner is ...

Madrid has some of the best art galleries in the world. What I have seen here competes with Paris, London, Berlin and NYC. The surprise to me are the impressive late 19th and early 20th century Spanish painters. Not too surprising is the vast collections of their art in this city. My new favourite is Sorolla, we visited his home/gallery today. He was a lucky man as he achieved critical acclaim and financial success in his lifetime. Additionally he was able to kee...

We took a guided bus trip to Avila and Segovia which are two smaller towns approximately 100 Kim's north of Madrid. Both of these towns have very impressive monuments. Avila is in the highlands and was originally settled by the Romans. After the fall of Rome the usual progression of Visigoths defeated by Arabs defeated by Christians etc. etc. etc. In the Middle Ages (1090 ad) the construction of a stone perimeter wall was begun. It is 2500 meters long and enclose...