Tuesday, May 19, 2009

First Frustrations

(16 May 2009)

The first major disappointment of the trip came our way during yesterday's day trip to Tours, France. But as the resiliant individuals we are, we of course made the best of it. Although some of you would tend to agree with Europe on this, I have become frustrated with the time table wih which cities in Europe run business. Merchants don't open until 10a and close between 6-7p. Food is hard to find after 10p. Eerything seems to close just before I am ready for it.

For instance, Maria and I were looking to taste some wines of the Loire Valley during our over night stay in Tours. Restricted by the train schedule, we finally arrived in Tours at 3:30p. It wasn't until about 6p that we found the bus out of town to the vineyards, having also had to find and check into the hostel. Even though signs for tasting indicated opennings until 7p, at 6p we were being told wine tasting was over. But we continued to wander by the chateaus and community vegetable gardens to find a peaceful retreat overlooking the valley. Surrounded by grape vines, it was quiet except the wind for the first time in a while. O knew the days disappointment would not linger and I could be happy not to rush even if we don't get to experience some things we inteded to on this trip.

We didn't miss out on the wine tasting, either! Shops were keen to make good deals for their local wine. Maria and I enjoyed two different wines over a delicious take away meal at the hostel.

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(19 May 2009)

It has happened to us again. The bus to Sagres from Lagos, Portugal left 15 min before we got to the station. It is okay, though. I have finally gotten an opportunity to get to some internet and write to you. At this point in our trip we are on the Algarve Coast of Portugal. The water here is the bluest I have seen this far north in the Atlantic. We are off to Sagres in about an hour now to get to what used to be considered the end of the world. It is now just the southwest corner of Europe. I look forward to spending the next two days just relaxing on the beach. It is about time to slow down and enjoy the opportunity not to have an responsibilities but to myself and my fiance.

Love you all,
Zack

1 comment:

A said...

Hey dude,
Sweet blog. It looks like you guys are having a lot fun aside from those couple schedule things.

As long as you're in Europe, you probably want to visit the Red Bull headquarters in Austria. You know.. for energy.

Keep it real.