Esto es la vida.

This is the life, in my bad (but somehow improving), Spanish. It is most wonderful to finally be out of the US and on the road. Our stay in Spain so far has been super relaxing. Our friend´s Sarah and Josh are wonderful hosts and have a beautiful house (and back garden!) that is so cozy.

We spent yesterday in the small, narrow streets of the Gothic section and ended up at a cute little bar where I got to have a real Cuba Libre´ (actual Havana Club).

All the relaxing aside, those who also wish to go 'on tour' should remember that real life tends to follow you wherever you go. A fair amount of my time has also been spent getting hotels figured out, accounting for the rather alarming amount of money travel in the Euro zone requires, and dealing with off all things, health insurance nonsense for our US policies. A word to anyone planning a long trip, or carrying individual health insurance (read: not through an employer) - start the application process long before you need it.

One more piece of advice if going on the road for a long time: plan on having an at-home support crew. A monster, massive thanks to my parents who have been helping keep 'real life' in touch and organized for us via dealing with our snail mail and helping with banks, phone calls, etc... I´m not sure how I´d be relaxing without their help!

All said, being on the road is a dream and finally feels real. We feel very lucky every day we are getting up late, drinking tasty Spanish cafe´ solos, and wandering these super beautiful streets. More soon, including photos...

-Jonathan