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Barb and Alan

Barb and Alan

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    • Barb and AlanBarb and AlanEurope 2025
      Vincent Van Gogh - Starry Night
      Vincent Van GoghPierre Auguste Renoir - City Dance Country DanceBal du moulin de la Galette Painting by Pierre-Auguste Renoir1MonetEdgar Degas - RepasseusesPaul Cézanne - Sainte-Victoire MountainMusee d'OrsayBerthe Morisot - The Cradle1Claude Monet Essai de figure en plein-air : Femme à l'ombrelle tournée vers la gauche 1886

      Musée d'Orsay

      Yesterday in France ⋅ ☀️ 73 °F

      Monet, Degas, Renoir, Van Gogh, Cézanne, Morisot…oh my goodness!!!

      Our guide, Blerta, spent an amazing few hours with us! She first gave us the history of Musée d'Orsay, then she shared the background of the academic vs the impressionistic art movements and told the stories of the artists and their pieces.

      Besides the masterpieces we were fortunate to see, my favorite part of today were the groups of tiny little preschool kids being excited to see the art with their teachers. 💕🙂

      Paris has over 100 museums 😲. We are so fortunate to have seen what we could in our time here. ❤️

      Tomorrow, we take the train to Lille to experience the first stage of the Tour de France.      Read more

    • Barb and AlanBarb and AlanEurope 2025
      Sainte-ChappelleSainte-ChappellSainte-ChappellTHE GREAT SPHINX OF TANISVénus de Milo by Alexandros of AntiochThe Winged Victory of SamothraceMona LisaLiberty Leading the People by Eugene DelacroixMichaelangelo's "Captive-Rebellious Slave"Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss by Antonio CanovaLouvre Couture in Napoleon's Apartments - Dior

      Sainte Chapelle and the Louvre

      July 2 in France ⋅ ☀️ 77 °F

      Overwhelmed by the history and beauty we were shown today! The stained glass at Sainte-Chappell was jaw dropping! Commissioned by King Louis XIV in the 13th century with 1113 stained glass panels 😳.

      We also toured through the Conciergerie that was a royal medieval palace that became a revolutionary court and Marie-Antoinette's prison.

      We ended our day with a wonderful tour guide who showed us some amazing pieces in the Louvre. We are SO glad we had a him! He was funny, engaging and he made everything come to life with the stories behind the pieces. We only scratched the tiniest piece of what is there…can’t even wrap my brain around it all.      Read more

    • Barb and AlanBarb and AlanEurope 2025
      1
      23

      Notre Dame and the Seine

      June 30 in France ⋅ ☀️ 91 °F

      Highlights of today:

      Notre Dame!
      Shakespeare and Company
      Seine River Cruise
      Olympic Cauldron in the Sky
      Eiffel Tower Twinkling

      It was 95 degrees today 🥵 so we went to Notre Dame and Shakespeare and Company before 9:00 am. We hid from the heat with a long lunch at an air conditioned Italian restaurant and then did not go outside again until our late night cruise.

      Paris lit up at night along the river is stunning, and seeing the Olympic Cauldron up in the sky on one side of the Seine and the twinkling Eiffel Tower lit up on the other was magical.

      Tomorrow it’s supposed to be even hotter😳 before it cools a bit. SO thankful our hotel room has air conditioning because it seems to not be a common thing.      Read more

    • Barb and AlanBarb and AlanEurope 2025
      Rodin's "The Thinker"
      Rodin MuseumVincent Van Gogh Painting in the Rodin Museum2Rodin MuseumRodin MuseumRodin MuseumMusée de l'Armée InvalidesArmor made for Henry IIINapoleon's TombNapoleon's TombCité de l'architecture et du patrimoineCité de l'architecture et du patrimoineCité de l'architecture et du patrimoine

      Paris - Day 4

      June 29 in France ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F

      Amazing day!

      Our visit to the Rodin Museum in the morning was outstanding! We were in awe of the sculptures as well as the grounds of the museum. Plus, we were so surprised to see a couple of Van Gogh paintings. 🙂

      We then went to the Army Museum and Napoleon’s Tomb. We literally could have spent an entire day there. It was massive! We decided to focus on the medieval section and then headed to the Tomb. It’s hard to describe the grandeur of Napoleon’s Tomb…crazy over the top!

      We finished our day at the Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine which houses wonderful to-scale casts of ancient architecture in France.

      In our short time here so far we have noticed the huge effort to preserve and display the history and art. It is hugely valued and such a gift to generations of people. “Wow” seems to be a word I am saying over and over.🙂      Read more

    • Barb and AlanBarb and AlanEurope 2025
      1Our Room's TerraceMonet's Water LilliesMonetView from Top of Arc de Triomphe2Stairs up the Arc de TriompheArc de Triomphe1

      Paris - Days 1-3

      June 26 in France ⋅ ☁️ 77 °F

      Arc de Triomphe - Climbed 284 steps to the top to look out over all of Paris. Gorgeous view!!

      Eiffel Tower - Found a quiet bench in the shade to admire this amazingly huge tower 😳

      Musee d l’orangerie - We had tickets for when it opened and we were able to see Monet’s Water Lillies without anyone else around us ❤️❤️

      Tuileries Garden - Enjoyed the shade, sitting by the fountain, and a wonderful lunch. When ordering lunch, Alan said he just didn’t want to end up with raw meat. Well…he ordered what he thought was an angus steak, but it was razor thin slices of raw steak with arugula and a basil pesto dressing. 😂 I wish I had a picture of his face when he saw it! He actually LOVED it!!

      Hotel de la Marine - Wonderful visit of this opulent place. 🙂      Read more

    • Barb and AlanBarb and AlanEurope 2025
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      3212

      Made it to Santiago

      June 24 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 66 °F

      After almost 7 hours of walking and over 40,000 steps, we made it to Santiago - WOoHOO! It was our last day and our longest at over 17 miles (after walking around tonight). My right foot has thrown in the towel with three blisters…good thing we are done. 😂

      We sat in the square for some time to soak in the moment, watched people finish and talked to other Pilgrims we had met along the way. We even used Google Translate to talk to a French couple we had seen almost every day on this journey. 🙂

      Then it was time for food…Hiker hunger is real! We had a huge lunch and then finished our evening with a fantastic dinner…I should say Alan ate a real dinner and I had Santiago cake and ice cream 😂

      We are spending an extra day here to rest and then we are off to Paris.

      The Camino Portuguese is finished. ✅💕      Read more

    • Barb and AlanBarb and AlanEurope 2025

      To Padron

      June 23 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 88 °F

      We definitely are in “just get there” mode. 😂 Hardly a picture taken today. We stopped one time for a snack and then just walked straight to Padron.

      We visited with some Camino friends, took two trips to the bakery, one trip to the store, a shower, a nap, and finished washing some clothes. Tomorrow, we do the final 15 miles to Santiago. 🙂Read more

    • Barb and AlanBarb and AlanEurope 2025
      1Alan posing as a tired Pilgrim
      Camino Friends from Portland

      To Caldas de Reis

      June 22 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F

      13 more miles today was much easier than the past two days. 👍🏻

      Walking into a town for us involves:

      1. Looking desperately for a bar/cafe with umbrellas to sit down in the shade and have something to eat/drink.

      2. Checking the time to make sure it’s late enough the kitchen is open (usually 1:30 or 2:00) but not too late because the kitchen may be closed by 4:00 and not opening up again until 8:00 or later.

      3. If we are lucky to achieve #1, we then proceed to check in to our accommodation.

      4. Shower, wash some things and then get the feet up and rest a bit.

      5. Start thinking about dinner, but don’t want to wait until 8:00 pm. So we end up looking for a grocery to buy something decent to eat.

      Today, we did all of these things but…because it is Sunday, every regular grocery store was closed except one - a Japanese Mini Mercado. Our dinner consisted of instant ramen with a Snickers for dessert 😂

      Tomorrow, we will walk to Padron, our final stop before Santiago.      Read more

    • Barb and AlanBarb and AlanEurope 2025
      Grandson walking the Camino with his Grandmother ❤️
      32Camino Friends Terri and Dave

      To Pontevedra

      June 21 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F

      Usually each evening we will read about the next day’s walk so we can kind of prepare ourselves mentally for what’s to come. Yesterday was supposedly a hard climbing day, but we felt good about how it went.

      Everything written about today, in my opinion, is a lie! 😂 It was supposed to be easier…NO WAY was it easier! We just kept climbing, then steep downhills and again endless climbing. It became somewhat comical. 😂

      We persevered and, as we were in our last miles, we came across a young man walking with his precious little grandmother. As they walked side by side, he held her hand. She had made it up and down those hills! Talk about a spirit lifter! 💕🙂

      We enjoyed a wonderful evening with our Camino friends, Terri and Dave and now it’s time to rest up for tomorrow’s walk to Caldas de Reis. The books say it’s flatter…we will see.🙂      Read more

    • Barb and AlanBarb and AlanEurope 2025
      Bethany and her mom 🙂
      Camino friends: Tracie, Deb, Nancy and Renae2Terri and Dave

      To Redondela

      June 20 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 73 °F

      Best parts of today:

      1. Our legs are much stronger now, so the tough climbing today was surprisingly not too bad. 🙂

      2. The steep downhill to town went fast while we walked with a couple from Louisiana.

      3. It wasn’t too hot for us today…WOoHOO!

      4. Enjoyed hanging out with some Camino friends this evening who gave us some lessons on Australian words for things. Alan may be calling his sunglasses “sunnies” from now on.😂

      5. The best and craziest part of today was Bethany and her mom walking in to have dinner at the same restaurant as us. The coincidence was just mind blowing! Amazing we were in the same town, but out of all the restaurants in this city…it was a pure Camino moment. 🙂

      Tomorrow, we walk to Pontevedra.      Read more

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