USRoadTripper

What??? No Mr. Rodgers Neighborhood Trolley ride??? TELL ME you rode that!!! Great TR otherwise! -Julie

May 16th, 2006 Tuesday This day, the only thing on the agenda was our tour of the Alhambra at 5:00. Kevin had spotted an add for an English speaking walking tour of the city, so we decided to do that. Before the tour started, we both grabbed a bite at Pans and Company again. The tour was decently interesting, though I wish we had covered more ground than we did. We did a lot of "walk a block, stop for 10 minutes, walk two blocks, stop for 10 minutes." At one point, we went into a cathedral, and having already decided that I don't like religious buildings as tourist sites, I was hesitant to go in. But I did, and was completely apalled when someone said "Look! A nun's over there praying!" and everyone proceeded to take her picture. What a truly disgusting display of disrespect. Once the tour was over, Kevin said he wanted to go into the main cathedral in town, where Ferdinand and Isabella are burried. I thought about going, but ultimately decided not to, so he did that while I did some shopping. My quest to find a ring with a bull on it turned out unsuccessful. When the tour was done, we had lunch at McDonalds, then got online for a bit so we could cool off inside. At about 3:00, we were able to get into two parts of the Alhambra, so we caught the minibus up there. We wandered through the Generalife Gardens and the Alcazaba, which were both gorgeous and offered breathatking views of the entire city. The only downside was that we were absolutely roasting in the Spanish sun, and had to keep stopping in the shade to cool down. At 5:00 we entered the Nazarid Palaces, and again they were gorgeous. We took our time wandering around, taking pictures and listening to our audioguides. All told, we spent four hours in the Alhambra! And aside from the blazing heat, it was one of the highlights of the trip! We stopped at a restaurant for dinner, but even after telling the waiter exactly when we needed to leave (just as Rick Steves says) the service was too slow. He hadn't even taken our orders 15 minutes before we had to leave! So we ended up back at Pans and Company for dinner. We caught another cab back to the train station, and found our "Trenhotel" that we'd be sleeping on that night. Our couchette was small but reasonably comfortable. In order to have more room, Kevin stowed the upper bunk, and folded up the lower bunk to reveal two train seats. But when he tried to lower the top bunk back down, he couldn't. So when an employee came by, we asked how we were supposed to let the top bunk back down. She just kinda smirked and said "Normalmente, people don't do that" and walked away!! hahahaha We were pretty much laughing hysterical for a while after that! Eventually, Kevin figured out how to lower the bed back, and we both went to bed. It wasn't a very restful night of sleep, but it was definitely better than sitting up in a regular train seat! Yeah Kev, normalmente people don't dump their Pringles all over the floor either! Kevin: "How do I get the bed back down? I just stowed it so we would have more room!" Lady: "Normalmente, people don't do that!" For my first overnight train ride, we chose the TrenHotel! So yeah, when I saw the random baby laughing and giggling at the random cat, I thought it would make a randomly good photo! I have entitled this photo "Cat with Albaycin" Three archway windows in the palace Another shot of the Albaycin Kevin got a little uneasy with the heights a couple of times! Two windows in the palace An arch in the Nazarid Palaces But when you can get photos that look like this, why *not* photograph it! This is my favorite picture from the whole trip. Finally we enter the Nazarid Palaces. This is the most photographed area of the Alhambra...El Corte de los Leones (The Court of the Lions). Kevin at the bottom of one of the towers The Alcazaba Kevin enjoys the sweeping views from the Alhambra's lookout tower. Wow. Now *that* is the best view I've ever seen! This view went on for miles and miles t oyour right and left. I couldn't even get 1/10th of it in a photo. Time to leave the gardens and head to the Alcazaba. A hedge arch in the gardens. Another one of my favorite photos from the trip. The water staircase...my favorite thing in the Alhambra. This was like ice water. It was so cold that you could barely keep your hand in it. Felt perfect when roasting in the sun. Sacramonte Kevin's backside in the gardens An arch, with Sacramonte An arch, with the Albaycin The Nazarid Palaces as seen from the gardens When we arrived at the Alhambra, our first stop was the Generalife Gardens. Me with the man I was happiest to see in all of Granada! Time for lunch. Finally I can get a meal without pork, bleu cheese or squid! Shops in the Alcaiceria (silk market) A home in the Alcaiceria in Granada

Ugh, my power blinked after I had this entire segment of the report done, so I lost it all. Here I go again. A shot of the decoration in the cave. The ceiling was so low that I could have touched it. I also understand that the families with these types of shows live in the same cave they perform in. All the men of the family Quite possibly the two most beautiful people in all of Spain, though they don't look it in this photo! This girl was amazing. Simply amazing. Through my broken Spanish, I understood these two ladies to be sisters. The youngest family member, at only 8 or 9 years old. She did a great job! The matriarch of the family with the lady who danced so fast that her feet blurred. We ended the night at a Maria La Canastera Zambra Flamenco show. I love this photo We also encountered this wall, with barbed wire and glass cemented into it to prevent people from climbing over the wall. I could stand to wake up to that view every morning! We found the local Disney fan! Narrow cobblestone pathways between two homes, with the Alhambra in the distance. A home in the Albaycin The journey back down the mountain led us through the Albaycin, or Moorish Quarter of the city. Me with the Alhambra. We spent the better part of half an hour here just enjoying the view. Kevin enjoys the view that he has travelled so far to see. Next time I'm in Granada, I'm all about the Burro Taxi! As we walked up Paseo de los Tristes, a large portion of it followed the River Darro, a river that runs under the city.

Ok, I've decided that I am just going to keep the text parts of these reports short and sweet, since that is by far the most time consuming thing about posting this TR. Not many people read them anyway, I'm sure, so I will write longer text parts later as time permits. May 15th, 2006 Monday This was the day that we were travelling from Tarifa to Granada. We got up around 7:30am, and found nothing in the entire city open for breakfast! We wandered a bit, then packed up and headed to the bus stop. There was a gas station next door where we both ended up picking up some snack stuff for breakfast. The train to Granada was very enjoyable. We passed some of the most beautiful countryside I have ever seen! There were mountains, valleys, rivers, tunnels and little towns dotting the entire four hour train ride. When we arrived in Granada, we took a cab to our hotel, which was on the street that leads up to the Alhambra. Our room was small but sufficient, and had an Alhambra view! The first order of business was to get a bite to eat so we both stopped at the Pans and Company next door for a bite to eat. After lunch, we walked up Paseo de los Tristes (Walk of the Sad Ones), which is a street that was used for funeral processions leading to and from Sacramonte in the past. The walk was uphill, so it was fairly tiring, but was well worth every step! At the top of Sacramonte, we were treated to a GORGEOUS view of the Alhambra! At the time, I thought it was one of the nicest views I'd ever seen, but that was only because I hadn't been inside the Alhambra yet! We decided to get off the beaten path and stroll back down the mountain through the Albaycin, or Moorish Quarter. The houses were lined up with these little cobblestone paths between them, with most balconies having flowers cascading from them. Wow, it was so picturesque that I wish I could post every picture I took since they all came out great! Back at the bottom, we popped back into the hotel, where I showered and Kevin grabbed another bite to eat. We'd decided on a flamenco show that night, so when I was done, we hailed a cab and rode up to the top of Sacramonte again, and found the cave in which the show was set. The show we'd decided on was a Zambra flamenco show, which is a type of flamenco done by gypsies. We arrived a bit late since the times the tourist office gave us were wrong, but we were greated warmly with a glass of wine and shown to our seats. To say that I enjoyed the show is the biggest understatement I have ever made! I was truly captivated by this show! The clapping, stomping, singing, snapping and click of the castanets was almost deafeningly loud, but had me absolutely mesmerized. I really can find no easy way to describe it...being in a tiny, hot cave with dozens of other people, watching gypsies dance at blurring speeds while drinking wine, clapping along and trying desperately to soak every second of it in...it's something that I will remember for the rest of my life. After the show, we rode the minibus back down the mountain, and tried to find something to eat. Being a picky eater reared it's ugly head when I couldn't find anything for dinner. Any place that was open didn't have anything I'd eat, and any place that had something I'd eat was closed. So I ended up with a cookies and cream ice cream cone for dinner. Then we headed back to our icy cold room (the only room of the trip with air conditioning, and it was set at about 60 degrees!) and went to bed. -Julie This was our room. It wasn't a bad size, but the beds were much shorter and uncomfortable than any others on the trip. Too bad since this location was prime. This was the view from our hotel balcony. The brown building way up at the top behind the trees is the Alhambra! Hostal Austria, like all our other hotels, is very picturesque. Hostal Austria, our home for the night. We also saw plenty of these "bullboards" dotting the countryside. "What country am I in again? Bull! I'm still in Spain!" Isabella, a little German girl, ended up being the in-train entertainment for most of the trip! We both enjoyed the view greatly, and spent a lot of time switching sides of the train to get the best pictures. Kevin enjoys the view. Somewhere in the Spanish countryside between Tarifa and Granada. Leaving Tarfia, we took a bus for a half hour to get to Algeciras, where we'd catch our train. This was about the nicest thing I saw in Algeciras to take a picture of! It was pretty gross. Kevin tried out the ham chips. So did I actually, and yes, they tasted exactly like ham! One at the bus stop, I perused the gas station next door, and decided to have a "triangle filled with cream" for breakfast. That's also the bracelet I got in Morocco for five euros. 8:00am on a Monday morning, and we can't find a single restaurant in Tarifa that's open! I'm beginning to like the Spanish lifestyle more and more. Before leaving our hotel in Tarifa, we indulged in a bit of Bob Esponja.

Eric, what a wonderful TR! Some of your photos, especially the ones of London and a castle in one of the parks, are just gorgeous! I hope lots of those are finding their way into frames for your walls! -Julie

Great report! It makes me miss Stampida And of the two, I think I prefer Poseidon. Obviously I can understand everything said in Poseidon, plus it has the awesome water portal. If Templo del Fuego has a water portal, I'd call them even. -Julie

I'm with those that fly whatever's cheap. Nashville to Orlando is generally the least on Southwest or Delta, in which case I would choose Delta if they were the same price. I flew US Airways to Spain, and while the flight over there was pretty uncomfortable (very hot, box affixed under the seat in front of me so I couldn't extend my left leg or put my bag under the seat, very bad food!) the flight back home was really great. The seats were bigger, it was cool enough to put a blanket over my legs, the meals and snacks were great and best of all I had an empty seat next to me! I'd fly them again if they were cheapest, but I wouldn't pay more to be brand loyal. -Julie

I've also done the CPR/AED/First aid training, and AEDs are almost fool proof if you speak English. You just activate it, it tells you to follow diagrams for placing the shock pads, then it listens to the heart and advises you to hit the shock button, or not hit the shock button and continue CPR. My local news had a "local expert" (a pediatric cardiologist) talking about it, and while thankfully he made it very clear that the ride itsself didn't cause the boy's death, he did say that his condition could have possibly been helped had an AED been there and been used quickly. I don't think it would be unreasonable for Disney to add a bit of AED training into Traditions or some other training if they are going to start putting AEDs throughout the parks. -Julie

Agreed...Powerpark looks much nicer than Beech Bend. Which would you say you liked better, Thunderbird or Kentucky Rumbler? -Julie

I never posted pics of my cats, so here they are! And both of them together. They are both about 4 years old. And my boy Kumba posing for his portrait. My girl Raven. She looks so cute and comfortable sleeping on my pillow. Too bad I woke her up immediately after I took this since I don't fancy sleeping on cat hair.

Since I saw the first Spiderman, Spiderman 2 and 3 have been the only movies that I have truly anticipated. I thought 1 and 2 were both phenomenal, and are 2 of only 7 DVDs I own. I'll be there on opening day, no doubt. And hey, my friend Mageina is gonna be in it! She's the landlord's daughter in 2...the one that shares cake and milk with Peter Parker. We went to high school together, so it's cool to keep up with a friend's career. -Julie

Sorry for coming in five whole pages late with this question, but I don't look at this thread very often. Derek, were you able to bring the Absinthe back to the US or no? I was under the impression that it was illegal here. -Julie

After working at Body Wars and Universe of Energy for a total of about a year and a half, I only remember one call for paramedics, and that was for an employee having a hemmoraging nose bleed...completely not ride related. I do think it would behoove Disney to put a defibrilator somewhere in the ride since it does put a lot of stress on the body. And AEDs are very simple to use, like Joe said...it tells you exactly where to put the shock pads, and will only shock if the heart has a certain rythm that would be helped by the shock. Anyone who sees one (ok, I guess you need to speak English too) can use one. It'll be quite interesting to watch how the case turns out. I wonder if it will look like admitting fault since Disney has added the "mild" option to the ride. -Julie

I feel the need to say a little something here, since I have had multiple people make comments about the TPR Spain trip to me, since I just got back from a trip to Spain. Please keep in mind that R&E are organizing a COASTER trip to Spain. They aren't organizing a sight-seeing, alcazar touring, paella and gazpacho eating tour. They are organizing a trip that will let you see the theme parks, and probably won't include much historical stuff. Please keep that in mind when deciding to go on that trip. I've had quite a few people look at my Spain TRs and tell me "I've always wanted to go to Spain. It looks like such a beautiful country. This is my chance to go there!" If you wanna see the parks there, I'm sure R&E will organize a really kick ass coaster tour of Spain! But if you want to sight see outside the parks, that trip might not be the best option. I just wanted to remind people of that since I have had so many people liken my recent trip to what R&E are organizing! -Julie

The Lola side of Twisted Sisters, in August of 1998. -Julie

Oh god...why I have I been laughing so hard at that for the last 5 minutes? hahahaha That's priceless! -Julie ("Mannequin head cleanup on aisle six!")

Of Mine and Men very well could be my favorite book ever. It told a very clear story, in very clear language, and was very easy to follow. I have almost always been someone who has hated reading with a passion, so I really do sympathize with Jumboshrimp on this one. When I was a kid, I loved to read! But as soon as I was assigned a book that I hated (a Hardy Boys book in 4th grade), reading became my #1 most hated chore in high school. To this day, I never...and I mean *never*...read for fun. The only book I have read in the last 18 years that wasn't assigned was Walt Disney : An American Original. So yeah...I pretty much think most of the classics sucked too! Occasionally, I will pick up my copy of 1984 and start to read it, but have never gotten past the first page since I'd rather bash my head against a wall repeatedly than read. So quit giving him a hard time! If reading isn't his thing, it's not his thing. It's certainly not mine. -Julie

I've found this whole thread really interesting, and was hoping that someone could post more info on what actually goes on in these camps? Are they religious? And the best parallel I can think of for this would be if I went to an "ex-picky-eater" camp. You could make me eat foods I have always disliked for six weeks, but will that make me like the foods? Probably not. After the six weeks, I'd be the same old picky eater. I didn't choose to be a picky eater...I just am, so it's not something I can just change because someone else wants me to. I assume homosexuality is the same way. I didn't choose to be straight, I just am, so if someone tried to force lesbianism on me, I highly doubt that it would take. Anyway, someone post some good links about these camps, please. -Julie

Well, a freind of mine who works in Imagineering in Florida said that exit polls done at *Magic Kingdom* showed overwhelmingly that the GP was confused as to why Jack Sparrow wasn't in the ride. The polls showed that people thought that adding Jack Sparrow to the ride would enhance the ride. I can't argue with that. Supposedly lots and lots of research went into these projects, and they are just giving the public what they are asking for for once! He said that many people went so far as to say that they were confused as to why Jack Sparrow wasn't in the ride, and assumed that the ride was made after the movie! I know Disneyland is a much different audience than WDW, but what's good for the goose is probably good for the gander in this case. You wouldn't want people to go to WDW and love their Pirates, then go to DL and go "This sucks! There's no Jack Sparrow like in the other one!" Disneyland isn't a museum, and was never meant to be. And from what I have seen, I think this redo looks excellent. -Julie

Awesome TR so far! Keep the pics coming! -Julie (who can't wait to go back to Europe!)

I'm so upset that Revolution was closed! *cries a river of tears* I was looking forward to that onride footage on the next DVD! -Julie

^ YAY! Someone finally got it! -Julie

Ok here is a hint for mine. It's a more drawn out view, and the Coke can is there to give you a perspective on size. The Coke can is not found in this scene in this park. -Julie This photo makes me wanna reach out and touch someone.

I read Grapes of Wrath back in the day, and while it was long and almost exhausting to read, I think it is one of the best books I've ever read. But if I had to pick three, not sure if I'd pick it or not, since it is quite long, has a lot of character development and might be quite cumbersome to remember after the fact. Most people in my class hated it, but I loved it for whatever reason. And though I've never read it, I'd definitely pick the Bradbury book. Best school readings I ever did were Fareinheit 451 and Brave New World. Both outstanding, and worth the time to read. God, I'm so glad I don't have to do summer readings anymore -Julie

Me at age 4 (1984) in the Imagination Pavilion at Epcot -Julie Me, with my Grandma and Pop...and OMG my dad looks like Earl Hickey!!! hahahaha