TALES FROM THE RADICAL SABBATICAL
Tales from the radical sabbatical
But you can enjoy a funky sandwich on the island of Crete in the old town of Chania that will definitely put a little smile on your rosy cheeks. This beautimous concoction runs half the price of a Big Mac and comes with 10X the taste and 1/10 of the fat and calories. Easy decision.
Flying Ryan Air is like being swallowed whole by a giant Michigan Wolverine football helmet.
We rolled into Bucharest, Romania knowing little about the place and expecting less. Turns out we were mistaken. Lots of very good stuff to see, eat and drink for small outlay. Nice neighborhoods and friendly people as well. There are worse places to be and live - we know because we have.
Down the coast about 45 miles to the small town of Byala. It's a crowded beach if you want..... with a lot of room if you don't. A nice surprise of a find.
Golden Sands, Bulgaria is a beach resort complex located about 420 miles from Odessa, Ukraine. It is 6300 miles and in many ways light years from Odessa, Tx. But the beer is cold, the veggies are fried and there is no shortage of ginormous good 'ole boys with an accent. Proof that distance does not always equal difference.
Officially known as Pljeskavica, these babies should be available everywhere and not just everywhere in Serbia. This one is from a little shack in Novi Sad, a gem of a city that Lonely Planet named a top destination not long ago. Cost for two with beverage: about four US bucks, and they are a long way from small.
This extremely panoramic view resides not in Italy.... but in Bosnia. There is a lot to see here, and since its a former war zone things are not all this pretty. But there is a lot to see, learn, and think about.
After walking the equivalent of Kansas City to Boston (2025Km / 1258 miles) it seems like a reasonable request to grab some rest. So we are in our favorite beach town of Tucepi, Croatia for the month doing nothing but walking to the beach, laying about, and walking back home.
This is our last night in Spain, and we were fortunate enough to be sent off with this beautiful view of the Cathedral in Santiago.
We have ran with the bulls (kind of), the sheep and yes, even the pigs. The next logical move is of course goats. Now all we have to do is convince a few thousand other idiots to buy in, and then it's festival time!
(Disclosure: no goats were harmed in the process.)
Many decades back it was apparently vogue to have space in your Spanish Hacienda that was all about the fireplace. As in the entire room was a fireplace. Electricity and the conveniences it powers conspired to do away with this genius design which is a real shame. It would almost be worth the nightmare of building a home to end up with one.
This bird did a great job of making sure we were up and ready for our first day of the classic Camino Frances route. 4200 feet up over the Pyrenees, beginning the day in France and ending in Spain. Add 20 lbs of backpack and it makes for a tough but exhilarating day.
After starting in southern Portugal the end of February, we have made it to Santiago via Seville. 1,250 km down and about 800 to go.
This cafe right on the Camino trail is ran by an old school Peregrino. Every pilgrim who stops in is encouraged to write his name on a shell that is then added to the collection. This is a classic example of one of the special things about the Camino that keeps us coming back.
And neither did we. But maybe we should have. Walking 25 km on this type of track makes for not the most enjoyable of days.
The skies are so clear, life’s so easy today. After a few days of rain, things have finally turned for the better weatherwise. It is a most welcome change.
Traveling about we have stayed in these and other venues that often fail to live up to how cool they sound. But this time all was good. We had a good walk to this country castle now serving as a very small and secluded place to bed down for the night. This is a beautiful part of Europe to see by foot.
