Then October hits...

It's been a big month! In week one I took a trip to Barcelona. I saw friends, talked my way into getting an interview with a cool company, and enjoyed the great weather. I love that city.

In week two I put out a minor kitchen fire, got in a small car accident (everyone's OK), got stuck in an elevator, and was offered a job.

In week three I came to the UK.

...I can't wait for week four.

September Highlights

The parade of new places continued in September. I'm aware that things might have turned the corner into just pure bragging at this point, but I don't think there's any room for apologies here. As long as I'm unemployed I'm going to take advantage of the free time.

• The month started off with a trip to Navarra, a region along the border with France. I saw the city of Pamplona, it's famous walls and of course the bull ring and old city where the bulls are run in July. I was invited to eat at a txoko, a members-and-guests-only eating club. I visited an amazing old castle in Olite. I went to the summer fiesta in the tiny village of Lumbier, where there was a miniature running of the bulls (they all went free afterwards, I asked) and then folk dancing in the streets.

Castle in Olite

• The Vuelta a Espana (the Spanish version of the Tour de France) finished in Madrid with huge crowds.
• Friends visited me in Madrid! I got to play tour guide and see the sites, order the dishes I've learned are the best, visit museums, see the cool neighborhoods, stop for churros con chocolate, etc, etc.
• I spent the last weekend of September in the village of Itero del Castillo, population 50, beside the Camino de Santiago de Compostella. On Saturday we roasted 90 pounds of red peppers, skinned them, and preserved them in jars. On Sunday we walked a bit of the Camino including a bridge from Roman times, chatted with some hikers/pilgrims, and picked endrina, a fruit halfway between a blueberry and a grape.

August Highlights

The month of August was great and I traveled a lot. There was some serious stuff mixed in as well, but the travels included:

• A few days in Lisbon, which I briefly mentioned here previously. The city was fun and accessible and I was pleasantly surprised that could understand a bit of Portuguese.

• A trip to London, during the second week of the Olympics! While I was there, I watched a handful of events that were being broadcast on BIG outdoor screens at Hyde Park. People were proudly wearing the colors (and t-shirts and pins and hats and flags) of so many countries. I recall walking past an athlete wearing official national team warm-ups for the Nigerian basketball team and a clutch of people who seemed to be coaches for some team from Serbia. I met a journalist from Chile who told me crazy stories from life in the Athletes' Village. And there were tons of volunteers everywhere in official, brightly-colored polo shirts offering directions and maps and just generally being cheery. There were even non-official volunteers handing out free bottles of water. Additionally, I got to see the men's marathon and the gold medal match of women's indoor volleyball. It was all really special.
• I traveled to Luxembourg briefly. I went for an interview (which didn't work out) but while there got to see a bit of the city, which is very picturesque. Additionally, I had the chance to see some old family history. 

• Following Luxembourg, I took a fast train to France where I visited cousins in Paris and friends outside the city. Hooray for easy train travel! With the friends outside the city, we spent a day at the tiny farmhouse they rent out to vacationers in a village called Courtieux. And with my cousins I got to catch up as well as see a lot of sights in Paris by bike. Sunny weather and the Velib bike sharing program made it incredibly easy to get around. 
• I also spent a weekend in Bilbao and hung out at some beaches not too far from the city. The city's annual fiestas were going on which meant massive street parties, fireworks, and open water boat races between local school teams.

And when I wasn't traveling, I was spending time in Madrid, where it was incredibly hot for most of the month. I improved my Spanish a bit, cooked a little, and mostly tried to stay out of the heat.