Barcelona and Pamplona

The took the high speed train from Madrid to Barcelona and stayed there for 3 days. After a few days we rented a car and took a day trip to Pamplona to see the running of the bulls.

Our hotel in Barcelona - Vincci Arena



Very elegant and stylish decor



Downtown Barcelona has a hugely popular bicycle loaner company



Amy in the Plaza de Catalunya very early in the morning



We got to go to a very nice market



I wondered why Amy is smiling. Is it because of the Metro?



The Antoni Guidi designed La Sagrada Familia is hard to describe



And pics can't really show how amazing this church is



We went to a bull fight in Barcelona but we both did not like it



Barcelona downtown was quite busy



Hmmm, why am I now smiling so much?



We had to take this picture. Have you ever seen such a big one before?



The next day we took a touristic bus tour after friends recommended it and it was great indeed



The architecture of Barcelona is almost worth a trip by itself



Another building by Antoni Gaudi



And another design by Antoni Gaudi



We are having a great time indeed



We finally were close enough to touch the beach



The entrance to the Guell Park designed by Antoni Gaudi



Nice view from the Guell Park over Barcelona



More cool Antoni Guidi buildings in the Guell Park



Well it may seem that we talk a lot about Antoni Guidi, but his touch is found in many places



We rented a car to go to Pamplona. Wow I can't believe what we got.



A new MINI Clubman and the same color as mine



The view from our hotel that night about 50km outside of Pamplona



The hotel was very neat indeed despite being in the middle of nowhere



The food though was amazing and could compete with the best stuff everywhere



We arrived very early in the morning in Pamplona after getting up at 4:45



We were very much ready to see the run, but have no good pics from it



What happens at the end is funny indeed and none of the bulls and cows get hurt



But some of the "runners" did indeed



We earned a nice Spanish breakfast



After breakfast we were off back to Barcelona



But we made a nice stop at the beach about 30km from Barcelona



The beach and a very white German

More images from Madrid, Spain

On our second day in Madrid we saw several museums including the Prado and the Reina Sofia Museum of Modern Art



Amy also spend some time getting ready for boards



At night we had dinner and saw an amazing flamenco performance at Casa Patas



The next day Amy made a new friend



Plaza Major is stunningly beautiful



We also got to see Palazzo Real and the gardens behind it



Amy and I in front of Palazzo Real



On Saturday morning we caught an early train to Barcelona



Now that is some exciting speed and our train went actually as fast as 300km



Amy loves trains and riding in them

We are in Spain

Earlier today we arrived in Madrid, Spain for our honeymoon and we are really excited to be here. We used the subway system to get from the airport to our hotel Mate Alicia and Amy did a great job organizing this cool hotel and the logistics to get there. After a small lunch and a nice shower we took a long nap to recover from our overnight transatlantic flight, and it was quite clear that we really needed it. After the nap we walked around to check out the area and kill time, a here you don't really eat dinner before 8pm. It is now a little bit after 8pm and we are off to check out a typical Spanish restaurant.

Here are a few impressions of the day.

We are waiting for our bags in the Madrid airport



Out of the subway and on to the hotel



Our hotel Mate Alicia is very nice and modern



The Plaza Santa Ana is right in front of our hotel



Amy on the Plaza Santa Ana



Wow, lunch and dinner is a bit later here than in the USA

Mountain bike racing on Raccoon Mountain

Well, I did not really go mountain bike racing. But Amy and I watched a few of our friends racing mountain bikes on the great trails of Raccoon Mountain here in Chattanooga and we we had a great time doing that. I also realized that I missed mountain biking a bit.
We took a few pics too, but only the static ones worked out.

Our good friends Paul and Anita



Mark McOmie and Peter Woodrow



Mike Skiles, Jim Farmer and Tom Knopp



Tab Tollett



Jeramie Hoff

Moving day

The movers are here and are packing up our stuff. It slowly feels like it is getting real. Bye Bye Chattanooga :-(

Winston-Salem here we come. :-)

No laughing matter

Goooal

Germany wins over Portugal and advances to the semi finals of Euro2008. Enough said.

Happy boy

I am actually very happy and I think this is a great logo :-)

Well it is final now

We finally got the signed apartment lease and that gives us the peace of mind that we indeed have a space to live in Winston-Salem while our house is being built. It is a bit smaller and a floor below than the one we originally thought we would get, but it is a similar style and still pretty cool. So that means the Piedmont Leaf Lofts will be our home for the next year.

Take back the Tour

Yes indeed we all own the Tour, so let us Take back the Tour. Nice little marketing effort of the Versus network, but something that is most likely close to mind of most passionate cycling fans.

Hallelujah

Well, the new 3G iPhone has been announced and will be available in about a month. Hallelujah.

Something is wrong

Seriously. :-)

Microsoft cool?

Fast Company magazine recently pondered the question "Can Hotshot Ad Guy Alex Bogusky Make Microsoft Cool?" My very fast response to that question would be NOPE.
But I would for love Alex Bogusky of Crispin Porter Bogusky fame to prove me wrong.

We can solve it

If Reverend Al Sharpton and Pat Robertson can come together when it comes to the urgency of protecting the planet, I think we all can come together too. Why not sign up for wecansolveit.org and show them that you care for our planet too. Let's make sure our kids and their kids have a beautiful planet left.

Duellanti magazine

I have never had a Duellanti magazine in my hands so I can't speak for its content, but the ads below certainly got my attention. Their site is not even up and I am still curious.

Alright Hillary

It is time to admit defeat. Seriously.

An architect's rendering

We received some better renderings of our new house in Winston-Salem and it really seems to come together now. The plan is to get it LEED Gold certified and if all goes well we should be in it by this time next year. The exterior is a mix of corrugated metal and hardiplank cement siding. Colors are not yet determined.

A view of the front



An angled view of the front



A view of the back



An angled view of the back



Our architect send us also the first rendering of the inside of our new home. Ignore the furniture and colors, but that is roughly what it will look like inside.