Spain - Madrid

“Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” ~ Miriam Beard

“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.” ~ Martin Buber

“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

“If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay at home.” ~ James Michener

Old Spanish Proverb

Travel lightly, you are not traveling for people to see you
Travel expectantly, every place you visit is like a surprise package to be opened
untie the strings with an expectation of high adventure
Travel humbly, visit people and places with reverence and respect for their traditions and way of life
Travel with an open mind. Leave your prejudices at home
Travel with curiousity. It is not how far you go, but how deeply you go that mines the gold of experience.
- Old Spanish Proverb

Spain - Lisa Danika BARCELONA!

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” ~ Mark Twain

Parc Guell

“There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign.” ~ Robert Louis Stevenson

La Sagrada Familia

“A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.” ~ John Steinbeck

The Gothic Quarter, Barcelona

“A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.” ~ John Steinbeck

Palau Guell

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” ~ Henry Miller

Spain - Bilbao

The Old Quarter of Bilbao, after a wonderful snack of typical Basque tapas (or pintxos as they are called here) and Idiazabal (sheep's milk cheese that the Basques have produced for centuries) at Casa Victor Montes, Plaza Nueva (which Danika somehow found!)

Santiago Calatrava's Zubi-Zuri Bridge (he also designed the Bilbao airport)

Basque dogs are so cute!

And there are even dogs made out of flowers!

A children's playground inside of the adult playground of Bilbao!

Italy!

I suppose that if Rome hasn't changed much in over 2,000 years I shouldn't be too surprised that it hadn't changed much in six!

Rome with Roberta and Michelangelo

Trevi Fountain

Restaurant at Renzo Piano's Auditorium

Renzo Piano's Auditorium

Piazza Navona

Florence!

Santa Maria Novella and the Ponte Vecchio (Mama's favorite)