That´s All Folks - The End

This is my last day in Europe. I spent 174 days here, visited eleven countries, and roughly thirty cities. I had a blast! Thank you all for reading my blog. The Google people tell me there have been 5,400 page views since this blog began back in early April. Again, I thank you.

As many of you know, I am the self-described "Mayor" of San Diego. After almost six months of travel, I can now call myself the "Mayor" of Europe. :-)  So, I thought I would leave you with photos of a busy square in Madrid called the "Plaza Mayor."

Ham

The Spanairds are heavily into ham. The local specialty is a cured, deli-type ham called Iberico. "The Ham Museum" is a fun restaurant with six locations in Madrid. I´ve never seen more ham in my life.

El Prado Museum, Madrid

This is one of the finest museums in the world. Its permanent collection includes masterpieces from Velasquez, Goya, El Greco, and many others. Sorry, no photos allowed inside the museum.

Granada, Spain

I've been enjoying traveling around Spain with my brother Tony. Here are some photos taken in Granada in the rain. I thought the rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain?

1992 Summer Olympics

Barcelona hosted the Olympics twenty years ago. Here are some photos of the stadium and surrounding area. The yellow columns are for design and the white structure is a television tower.

Tapas Heaven

Here are some photos of the legendary tapas bar "Quimet y Quimet" in Barcelona. Members of the fourth generation of the Quim family run the place and improvise more than a hundred types of delicious tapas dishes every day.

Barcelona: Non-Gaudi Architecture

Winding It Down - The End Is Near

You may have noticed my posts are becoming more infrequent. There are two reasons for this. First, I am revisiting cities, so there's not much new to share. I returned to Rome to meet up with some friends from San Diego, and I'm now in Spain (again) to meet up with my brother Tony from Miami. Second, my European travel days are numbered. I will be returning to the States (NYC & Chicago) on October 1st.

So, the posts will trickle in for the next week or so. This means you will have to find something else to do with your time. For all you idle rich, it means returning to your daytime TV programming, i.e., The Women's Channel Movie Station (you know who you are). For all you 47%, it means getting out of your nursing home and Veteran's Hospital amputee ward and finding a job so you can pay some income tax, for cryin' out loud. For all of you who have jobs and read this blog on your employer's computer, get back to work! I recently met a Chinese woman at the airport who teased me that Americans don't work hard like they do in China. No worries. I got back at her by asking her to carry my suitcase, Miss Smarty Qipao, err, Pants.

The Backstreets Of Rome

That's What She Said

Check out the huge sausage! It's actually called "mortadella," which is an Italian specialty made of cured pork. It also contains small cubes of pork fat and is flavored with various spices including nutmeg, myrtle berries, pistachios, jalapenos, and olives.

St. Peter's Basilica (Interior: 2 of 2)

St. Peter's Basilica (Interior: 1 of 2)

St. Peter's Basilica (Exterior)

Devotion With A Capital "D"

This woman crawled across the cobblestones of St. Peter's Square, stopping only to pray.

Impure Thoughts

God, please forgive me for having impure thoughts about these four hot women in St. Peter's Square. You see, God, I attended Catholic school where sexual fantasies were rigorously suppressed. They are now bubbling to the surface in middle age. Pray for me.

St. Peter's Square (Piazza San Pietro), Vatican City

The square, in front of St. Peter's Basilica, was designed by the Baroque artist Bernini in the mid 17th century. The 4400 year old obelisk came from ancient Egypt.

Campo de Fiori (Field Of Flowers)

This place was once a meadow in ancient times. It is now a popular square in Rome where a colorful outdoor market is held each day.