Destination Paradise

While living in a still-developing nation has its challenges, life in a section of the city like ours gives us almost all of the comforts and conveniences of the US. Below we proudly present some photos of our neighborhood. For more, see the whole album at http://picasaweb.google.com/carlosandamyg/OurLatestHome the view from one of our bedroom windows Standing on the bike path in the middle of the boulevard that goes in front of our neighborhood Amy's school Sunset, as seen looking north-ish from the boulevard Amy Carlos and our present vehicle Sunset view from the top of the boulevard

We never really got around to it, but for those interested, here is the account of our last few weeks in Europe. Firenze After all the glories of Rome, we were a little overwhelmed and exhausted, and Florence was the perfect place to land next. Sunny and slower-paced, we got to enjoy a city where you could walk literally EVERYWHERE without even requiring the use of public transportation. Carlos' highlight was the bistecca fiorentina, which is definitely a culinary marvel. Amy fell in love with the gelato, which was the best we had in all of Italy. Being surrounded by so much renaissance art was also incredible. All the photos can be found [ here ]. Milano We only allocated an afternoon and evening in Milan. This was because 1) it is a ridiculously expensive city, and 2) We wanted to maximize our time in Paris and give ourselves some down time in Brussels before the transatlantic flight to Mexico. The first challenge to our adventure came when our train out of Florence was de...

It has been a little more than two weeks since our arrival in Monterrey, Mexico, and we’ve been through a nonstop whirlwind adventure trying to re-incorporate ourselves into normal, non-vacationing society. The biggest frustration has been the difficulty in getting Internet access, and we really regret the lack of connection. Thankfully, recent developments have made it so that we will soon have Internet in our own home! Read on... First Days in Monterrey Crossing the Atlantic again was a trying experience. Our extremely affordable tickets took us on a Belgian vacation airliner from Brussels to the Caribbean with a one-hour stop in Montego Bay, Jamaica, followed by our arrival in Cancun. This flight lasted approximately 14 hours altogether. Then we waited three hours for our plane from Cancun to Monterrey, which was a two-hour test of patience as we had the fantastic fortune of sharing the plane with an entire high school football team. By the time Carlos’ brother Danny picked us up fr...

Hi everybody! We just wanted to let you know we're now in Monterrey, Mexico. We're currently living with Carlos' brother Daniel in a pretty nice house in the suburbs of the city, and we're pretty happy to be minutes away from a major shopping center, several multiplex movie theaters, PLUS a separate brand-new outlet mall. Amy is slowly adjusting to the diet (heavy in meat and Coca-cola), as well as the heat, which generally hits 100 degrees each afternoon. Reportedly this will decline into fall and then a mild winter starting later this month. Amy is praying this is true. Meanwhile, both of us are pursuing some strong job leads, we'll update on those when they're secure. Also, we will ideally have our own abode relatively shortly, as safe, new housing here is very affordable. Next time, we'll post our photos and descriptions of the marvelous European destinations we visited. Florence, Milan, Paris, and even Brussels were absolutely exceptional places ...

Sorry for the VERY long gap in communications. We were without internet for a good while, which was very frustrating because we've been having a great time and wanted to let everyone know about it. Here's a summary of what's been going on: Change of Plans First of all, without getting too deeply into detail, an explanation. We decided that Barcelona wasn't necessarily the place where we should invest our time, money, and resources trying to establish a future. While Barcelona is an incredible city, you realize after living there a short time that it's a very transient city - everybody passes through for a short time, but eventually moves on to life elsewhere. It's a city focused on tourism, and soon you start feeling like you live in a giant theme park. Barcelona is almost isolated from reality, and it becomes exhausting after awhile. Plus, Carlos and I realized we hadn't yet seen other parts of the world. Therefore, we decided to halt the plans to l...

This weekend we celebrated Mexican Independence (from Spain) IN SPAIN. Which was very strange. To make things stranger, the city of Barcelona actually sponsors the festivities. We celebrated on the night of the 15th in a plaza with tons of Mexicans and miscellaneous other people. The 16th, we ended up in a British pub watching Barcelona play soccer (disappointing scoreless tie), Spain's basketball team play (and lose) the final game of the European Basketball championships, and then thankfully the Bears win over Kansas City. Pretty much a solid, fun weekend. Here are the pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/losguerra/sets/72157602045038596/ Este fin de semana, celebramos El Grito en España. Fue un poco raro porque la ciudad de Barcelona patrocina las festividades. Empezamos la noche del 15 con El Grito en una plaza con muchísimos mexicanos y varias otras comunidades. El 16, fuimos a un bar inglés para ver el partido de futbol de Barcelona (empataron a ceros), el campeonato europeo de...

Some things we have done since the last update: Saw Sagrada Familia Rode a suspended cable car up a mountain Visited a castle from the 1600s Went to the beach, several times Attended a packed-out concert for independence on the day Catalunya commemorates the loss of its independence to Spain Photos and comments: http://www.flickr.com/photos/losguerra/sets/72157601970501746/ Algunas cosas que hemos hecho desde la última actualización: Vimos el templo de Sagrada Familia Montamos en un teleférico a la cima de una montaña Visitamos un castillo del siglo XVII Fuimos a la playa, varias veces Asistimos a un concierto para la independencia, el día en que Catalunya conmemora la pérdida de su independencia ante España Fotos y comentarios: http://www.flickr.com/photos/losguerra/sets/72157601970501746/