25 May 2008

We leave Spain for Mobile today. It is a nine hour flight to Atlanta and then I we have a three and a half hour lay over for our flight to Mobile. I didn't take any photographs of us leaving and everyone was in quiet anticipation for our arrival to Mobile. Not to mention it was early in Toledo when we left and we were not looking forward to the many hours of waiting to come. 

24 May 2008

Today is our last day and we leave tomorrow morning. I went with Kathleen and Amanda to the train station to take some pictures. I convinced them to take the bus back instead of walking and Amanda agreed. It is a good thing I took the bus because I met a photographer that shot bull fights. He asked my if I liked the D300 (it was hanging from my neck) I replied yes and we continued talking on the bus. When he mentioned that he photographed bull fights, I asked if he mind if I tagged along. Amanda later asked if she could go. This man and his friend were from California and they both spoke Spanish. He took me to the ticket counter and we bought our tickets. Later that evening we went to the fights and I told Amanda that if she was grossed out that she had better keep it to her self because I didn't want anyone to ruin my good time. We squeezed in to our seats and watched the fight. I mostly watched from my view finder, something I can't do when I shoot Chris' ballgames. We left early because it started to rain and since Nikon and rain don't mix, we gathered our stuff and left. It was a neat experience and I am glad that I can say that I've seen it in person. 

23 May 2008

We went to Consuegra and Orgaz today. At Consuegra we went to see Don Quixote's windmills. The windmills made for great pictures but once again the tourist got in the way and everywhere we went in spain there was a crane being used to remodel or refurbish. 

Orgaz was quite boring and I think I have seen all the churches and fortresses that I care to see. I set out on a hike hoping to find an orchard or something. It started raining when I reached the end of town so I had to turn back. The bus was ready and every one was there so we headed back to Toledo. 

22 May 2008

Kathleen, Amanda and myself went to the Al Cazar in Toledo today. We were hoping no one else from photography went so that we could have some photographs that no one else has. This fortress was very well taken care of. There was a net covering the open air center of the building and there were a couple of dead birds that looked like they tried to dive down and got catch in the net. There are so many bird here and they crap on everything, in fact they use tarp awnings to cover the main alleys so that the people don't get pooped on. Anyway, back to the Al Cazar; I got to take some photo's inside of some of the swords and daggers. I wished I could get my hands on them. 

21 May 2008

We went to Madrid to visit more museums today. We saw several master works at two museums.

Congratulations Chris!

Happy Graduation! I'm sorry I missed it. I hope all is well with you.

20 May 2008

Today I struck out on my own and had a great time all by myself. Something I don't get to do to often. It was great, I walked at my own pace, I stopped to take pictures and the only people that were there to tell me to move along didn't know that I don't speak Spanish. I took the bus to the market and then walked to the Bull fighting arena to see if I could get tickets; they were closed. I decided to just keep going and found a quiet little park that when along one of the rivers. I walked forever along the river until I came to one of the old bridges and then I climbed up to the city wall, set the timer on my camera and took a picture of myself looking over the river. Then it was more hiking, uphill, to the hotel. Night time found me on the roof of our hotel were I took some pics of the cathedral and the city of Toledo. I plan on experimenting with HDR for those pics. Now I find myself growing tired and I am going to my room to sleep. Good night.