Man's Best Friend

David and his dog Turi (short for Turandot)... Now, David sings for a living with the National Choir of Spain, so I'm sure you'll figure out where the dog's name comes from... --Kirt

Duet

Evening with Friends

After Juan made us amazing food, we shared photos and events from our lives over the last 22 years! Pictured: David, Juan, Roger, Kirt

High Speed Train from Madrid to Malaga

Today we travelled at a top speed of 185 miles per hour on the two and a half hour journey from Madrid to Malaga. --K&R

Lots of Meat to Choose From

As our last entry today, we share a Spanish Restaurant where you can choose from many different ways of preparing your meat. And in fact the legs are all hanging in the restaurant for your choosing pleasure! --K&R

Madrid - Festival (Puerta del Sol)

Festival in the Streets

Could hardly belive the amount of people on the streets of central Madrid for the local festival! Our hotel is very close to all of this. Tonight will be crazy! --K&R

Bus Tour of Madrid

Bus tour of the best of Madrid. --K&R

A Walk In The Park

Walking with our good friend David in El Parque del Retrio. --K&R

Cathedral in Madrid

A Catholic Cathedral near our hotel. --K&R

Mormon Temple

The Mormon Temple in Madrid. --K

Don Quijote and Sancho Panza with Kirt

Don Quijote and Sancho Panza with Roger

El Corte Inglés

Large department store getting ready for Christmas. --K

David Sings

Subway

Madrid's Metro system is top notch; clean, cheap, convenient, and easy to use. --K&R

Dinner With Friends

David's friends Alesander and Ruben joined us for dinner tonight. We had an excellent time! --K&R

Jardines de las Vistillas

Taken at Jardines de las Vistillas, looking towards Casa de Campo. --K&R

A symbol of Madrid

This is the official symbol of Madrid. A bear eating from a strawberry tree. This statue is in Puerta del sol just a few blocks from our hotel. --K&R

Hotel Lobby

Kirt blogged me... So I blogged him back.

Taking A Break

I wonder what Roger is doing???

Madrid Gets Read for Lunch

The local restaurants are laying out the fresh spread for lunch that will last the next couple of hours or so... then it's off to our "medio dia" nap. We could really get used to this napping in the middle of the afternoon! --K&R

Madrid (Street View)

This morning we went out shopping for a few necessities. Seems every street contains a small grocery store, a pharmacy, a fruit and vegetable store, a bread store, and a small bank. Very convenient for the people who live on the 4 or 5 floors above street level. --K&R

Madrid (Local Transportation)

I think I'll trade my truck in for one of these. :) --K

Madrid (Prado)

Part of the Prado Museum... --K

Madrid (Parque del Retiro)

Similar to Central park in New York, this is a very large park in the center of Madrid. --K&R

Madrid (Banco de Espana)

On the left, the Bank of Spain. Note the gold ball on top. --K&R

Madrid (Correos)

This was the main post office in Madrid, but recently has changed to City Hall. --K&R

Supper with David

Reunitied with my best friend in Spain! This was an amazing day!! --K

Supper (Fresh Meat)

This was part of our supper tonight... This would never pass an FDA inspection, but it was awesome! The meal consisted of Spanish "Tapas" or appetizers. One dish was fried potatoes with fried eggs and pieces of Serrano ham sliced right off of this pig's leg that was sitting behind the bar.

Walking in Madrid

Train to Madrid

Blogging at speeds topping 300 Km/Hr makes me thirsty. I think I'll head to the cafeteria car for a drink. --K

Barcelona (Lunchtime)

Yesterday we stopped at a small little shop while walking through the
narrow streets of downtown Barcelona and had a bocadillo (Spanish for
sandwich) for lunch.

Barcelona (Plaza)

Plaza Catalunya...

Barcelona (Backstreet)

Off the bus...

Barcelona (Military Building)

Gobierno Militar...

Barcelona (City in Distance)

Barcelona Tour

Barcelona (Bus)

The day starts with an apple at a local fruit stand and a bus tour of Barcelona's scenic vistas. --K&R

Day One

At the airport. The start of a very long travel day... actually two days. We are leaving Anchorage on Sat. morning and we won't be arriving in Barcelona until Sun. night.

Winter Wonderlnd

Thanksgiving morning welcomed us with a picture perfect blanket of snow. Anchorage is beautiful this time of year, but it is always nice to take a break from the cold and dark northern winters. Spain is nearing... --Kirt

Anchorage's Newest Highrise

Before we head off to Spain, we will share a few things from around Anchorage... First, JL Towers, Anchorage's most recently built highrise, lights up Alaska's dark winter with a beautiful moving display of multi-colored LED lights. --Roger

And away we go...

Preparations are coming to a close as the date draws near for our trip to Spain. For me (Kirt) this will be a “return” to Spain and for Roger a first time trip! I lived in Southern Spain between 1986-1988, so I’m sure that things have definitely changed… We leave in a couple of short weeks, so stay tuned! --Kirt

Marriage Equality Rally

Marriage equality rally in Anchorage, Alaska. This coordinated effort took place in 8 countries & all 50 states with a total of 300 cities at the same time to specifically protest the passage of Prop. 8 in California.

Wade & Judy Visit Knik Glacier

One of the highlights of any visitor's trip is when we take them to see our good friend Tom for one of his famous Glacier Tours of the Knik area. (Judy, Wade, Kirt, Tom, Roger)

Wade & Judy Visit Alaska

Kirt's Brother Wade and wife Judy make it up to visit Alaska this year. We ran them hard for the short time they were here, but they had some great experiences.

Coastal Trail Bike Ride

Coastal trail bike ride with friends. (Roger, Shane, Harrison & Lenny taking the photo)

Jack & Chris Landscaping

Friends Jack & Chris doing some landscaping in their front yard.

Seattle - Spring Thaw

An unusually sunny spring day on the water in Seattle.

Cancun with Friends

We had a blast spending our time in Cancun with our good friends Mike and Robert.

Isla Mujeres - Zip Line

Roger takes a zip line across the warm Carribean watersoff the coast of Isla Mujeres.

Beach in Cancun Mexico

We managed to escape the Alaskan winter for a sunny break in Cancun Mexico. Here we are at the beach next to our Hotel .

Miners & Trappers Ball

The Miners & Trappers Costume Ball is always a highlight during the Fur Rondy celebration in Anchorage. We won "Best Group" in the "Gold Rush / Period" and also "Best Overall" in the "Gold Rush / Period."