Spring 2008: Spain and Italy

So, -this- edition of Charlie's Travelogue will cover Spain and Italy.

I will be landing in Malaga, Spain, on 14 March. Malaga is a moderately sized city (around half a million people), and is the second most populous metropolitan area of Andalucia, the region that comprises much of southern Spain. From Malaga, I will make my way east to the town of Velez-Malaga, where my friend Karen has lived for the past six months, teaching English to Spanish elementary school students. The itinerary for this part of the trip is not yet established, but it will involve Moorish architecture, Phoenician tombs, Morocco, a Saints Week Festival, and, if I have my say, Monkeys. After all, a trip across an ocean would not be complete for me unless I got to see los Monos. Luckily, Gibraltar is home to the only wild monkeys in Europe! Now if only I can convince Karen to go there...

On 22 March, I will bid Karen farewell and board a plane for the Eternal City, Rome! On 23 March (EASTER!), one of my friends from college will be landing in Rome to join me in exploring the country. Coincidentally, she is also named Karen. Our plans involve a few days in Rome, taking in the major sites, visiting the Pope, and exploring catacombs, necropoli, and ruins, before taking a train north to Florence. Along the way, we hope to stop at some of the smaller hill towns in the Tuscany region. From Florence, we will circle back down to Rome, and try to make our way to Abruzzo - a region to the East of Tuscany that is famed for its hiking and mountains. However, much of this beyond the first few days is still up in the air.

As it was last time, I shall endeavor to update this blog as much as possible, and provide pictures and descriptions such that you, Dear Reader, may travel vicariously through me. I can't make many promises, of course, as Karen does not have internet at her apartment in Spain, but I shall do my best. If all else fails, I will do a 'mega photo dump' onto my flickr account once I return.

PS> All my old Japan posts are still here, and I can't think of any good way to clean it up so that posts older than one year are invisible. This seems cluttered, but... ah well.

PPS> Also, my flickr site, for those who may be curious, is here.