Easter Weekend in Barcelona

I know I'm a loser for taking so long to share these pics, but as you have read from a few of my last posts, things have been a little busy for me lately.

So, I'm taking advantage of Memorial Day Weekend to write about my Easter weekend...

As you drive east from Zaragoza ro Barcelona, the scenery changes drastically from desert to green hills and fields.

Along the way, you see several of these giant bulls up on the mountains. They're like big signs that I assume are to show the Spanish love and respect of the bulls.

When we arrived in Barcelona we headed to the harbor.


Walking the streets of Barcelona reminded me of many Italian cities. The small alleys and narrow winding corridors. Laundry hanging from windows.

Our first night in Barcelona took us to an area of town that I swear never slept. I know this picture isn't that great, but the point of it is that it was taken at about 3 o'clock in the morning and there were still plenty of people out partying, eating, and drinking.

Here are some pics from the Flamenco Dancing show. (see previous post)

This show was so cool, it inspired me to create an entire photo album for it alone.





The second day in Barcelona found us doing a little more exploring. This church was near our hotel. A gem that was hidden among the windy streets.

This is a street full of shops and boutiques selling all kinds of stuff.

The narrow streets were full of tourists. I think I heard dozens of different languages being spoken.
Some areas were very reminicsent of Rome, Florence, or even New Orleans.

Another random church as seem from an alley.

Here is one of the houses in a quiter area of town.

La Rambla, the most famous street in Barcelona.

La Rambla was overrun with visitors. If I were a local I would stay away from here as much as possible!

Another nice quiet neighborhood, far away from tourists!

The Sagrada Familia, an incredible work of architechture.

Designed by the famous Spanish architecht, Gaudi, this church was unlike any other I've seen in all of Europe.

The neo-gothic design looks very unique and even a little creepy.

Sculpture was all over it.

This is the view from a park that sits across the street.

The Beach!!!! Too bad the April air kept the Mediterranean water a little chilly.

Now, here is where I would have inserted pictures from our adventurous Saturday night in Barcelona. I would have shown the Irish pub we stayed at until it closed at 3am. I would have shown the two coolest bartenders in Spain, Nicole and Vinanya (sp?). I would have showed the after hours bar they took us to, the English guys we made friends with, the crowded pool table in the bar, and the cocky Spanish guy that thought he owned the pool table and who I almost beat!

But, the problem is that I was having such a good time, I never even thought about taking any pictures. So you'll just have to use your imagination.

Normally I wouldn't have shared so many pics of the drive home, but I thought these were pretty cool. You can see another bull sign in the mountains near an old village and castle.

Next stop... Zaragoza.

See you next time!

The 2 Air Forces

The Air Force is not exactly what I expected it to be. Before I joined, many people told me what they thought or heard about the Air Force. Some said it would be easy. Some said it would be undicsiplined. Some said it was where all the smart people go.

I have discovered that none of those statements are 100% true. In some ways, we are very dicsiplined. Sometimes, life is far from easy. The military is a cross-section of society, so every type of personality is here. There are some extremely bright, motivated, and incredible people I serve with. But there are also some that represent the worst aspects of America. There are dumb people, ignorant people, fat people, arrogant people, lazy people, sexists, racists, biggots, and flat-out idiots.

When I realized this, I recognized that my previous image of the military was not accurate. We are not necessarily the cream of the crop, or the the best America has to offer. To me it seems that there are 2 distinct different Air Forces. It is up to the individual to decide which Air Force they belong to.

They say the more effort you put in to something, the more you'll get out of it. Nowhere is that more applicable than in the Air Force. The Air Force is totally what you make of it. If you want it to make the most out of your life, the Air Force will give you the path to do just that. If you want to be challenged, you will be. If you want to have opportunities that no other employer could match, if you want to become a well-rounded, educated, well-traveled individual with years of life experiences that few others could imagine; then the Air Force, or any other branch of the military is the place for you.

On the other hand, if you are looking for a hand-holder, someone watching over your shoulder to make sure you don't screw up too bad, a crutch to lean on so you don't have to do any real work, or a job that pays you to do the bear minimum to get by; then you too can also be a member of the US Military.

I hate the fact that it's like that but it is.

A good friend of mine who I was stationed with in Korea (yeah I'm talking about you Ernst!) said something that I'll never forget. He said if you want to have a successfull career in the Air Force, all you have to do is have a good uniform, shiny boots, and show up on time.

He was right. CJ was not one of those people who did that, but he was smart enough to see the reality.

I like to think I'm in the first group. As cheesy as it sounds, I actually have pride in my Air Force. I want us to be the best of the best.

Some of the things we do that are routine to us, would make you proud to be an American. We can accomplish things that most other countries wouldn't even try. We can overcome immense obstacles while being undermanned, underfunded, and unappreciated. We might bitch about it when its happening, but then brag about it later.

I think things are too lenient in the Air Force sometimes. I think people get away with too much. And I have found many others that feel the same as I do. So have faith America! We will do everything in our power to push the slackers out!!!

After a rough week at work, I had to vent a little. And this is probably as close as I'll ever get to bitching about my job. Thanks for listening!

Tests, Trips, and Tribulations

Since I've been back from Spain, it seems that I just haven't had time to get caught up on anything! Since blogging is not the highest thing on my to-do list, I am very behind on stories. Especially considering that it has now been over a month since our weekend in Barcelona and I still haven't been able to get those pics organized!!!

In any case, here are some of the highlights of my 3 weeks since I've been back in Italy (in no particular order):

I tested for promotion. I'll find out in August if I get to sew on a new stripe.

I took my final exam for my wireless telecommunications class. Got an A on the test, and a B in the class. Good enough for me.

I finally received my Associates in Applied Science degree in Electronic Systems Technology from the Community College of the Air Force. It's about freakin time since I've been in college classes for like 10 years!

My friends, CJ and Forrest came to visit us from Fort Worth. We had a great time showing them around Italy. We went to see a soccer game in Milan, and spent some time in Venice and our local area. They also travelled down to Rome and Siena on their own. Pics from their visit are also forthcoming...

I've spent seemingly countless hours replacing car batteries. You see, I was entrusted to be the caretaker of 3 of my buddies' cars while they were away in Iraq/Qatar. Unfortunatley for me, all 3 of them had apparently sat idle for too long and their batteries died. I've got one more car to finish up and 4 days to do it before the owner gets back!

My wife, Susan, left a few days ago for the states. She'll be there for a couple weeks to visit family and go to our friend Heather's wedding in South Carolina. Wish I could have gone with her. But instead at least I get to live like a bachelor for a little while. Its funny how all those veggies in the fridge seem to slowly morph into beer and microwavable pizzas.

So what's there to do this weekend? If weather permits, me and some friends will be on a beach on the Adriatic coast drinking granitas with rum and watching fat hairy guys in speedos try to pick up topless fat hairy women. Ummm,... ok that last part doesn't sound so great.

BULLFIGHT!!!

It was our last weekend in Spain and we had bought our tickets to the bullfight in advance becasue I couldn't wait to see it. Fair warning to anyone who likes animals... you may not like this story. Yes, the bulls die.

We saw 3 matadors. Each matador fought 2 bulls. None of the bulls had any chance. To call this a bullfight is not quite correct. The matadors always win. Everyone knows this.

You realize this is the case when you see that the matador does not fight the bull alone. He has help, lots of help. There are about 6 assistant matadors and 3 guys with spears on blindfolded horses that 'weaken' the bull before the matador even starts. By the time the matador actually starts 'fighting' the bull, the bull has been stabbed at least 6-10 times. Not exactly a fair fight.

You have to understand that the Spanish culture is quite different from ours. The Spanish have lots of respect for bulls. It is considered honorable for a bull to die in a bullfight. I guess its better than being run through a slaughter house. I knew all of this already, but it was still pretty disturbing when we watched the first bull be killed right in front of our eyes.

This first matador was named Pablo Hermoso de Mendoza, he is one of the top matadors in Spain. He is one of the few matadors that fights the bull on horseback. It was such an amazing thing to watch. This guy was so in sync with his horses. The horse would taunt the bull, almost like he was mocking the bull. The horse would juke the bull, dance around the bull, and was always one step ahead.


This is Cayetano. He was a showman. He is not a full-fledged matador yet. So he has to be more flashy, flamboyant, and take more risks because he's working his way up.

Here is Mendoza again. You can see how close the bull comes to catching the horse.

Cayetano again. This guy was pretty amazing. It was just like how you see in pictures. The stances, the outfits, the cape and sword.

Here is one of the assistant matadors. They are pretty good themselves.

So we saw 6 bulls get killed in cold blood. The first one was pretty uncomfortable to watch. I found myself routing for the bulls. I guess you get desensitized after a while. These bulls are raised on farms specifically to die in the bull ring. Once you realize that the bull's purpose in life is to die in the ring, I guess it gets a little easier to accept.

As always, I have LOTS more pictures of this. I didn't put many on here because of all the blood and death. But if you're into that kind of thing, and/or want to get a really good impression of what the whole thing was like, I have a link to more pics and video below.

BULLFIGHT!!!

Catching Up

So, I'm way behind on my blogging. I've been back from Spain for over a week now. My friends, CJ and Forrest are visiting from Texas, and we all went to see a soccer game in Milan. And I'm just now getting around to editing pictures from Zaragoza, Barcelona, and most importantly, the bullfight!

Stay tuned for some very cool pics...