Bienvenue Chez McDo!

We know that our excuses about expensive internet connections are getting lame. Oh well, you get what you get. Some fun and funny stuff has happened in the last few stops:

Bruges

We had several great runs along the canals that surround Bruges, passing castles and windmills along the way. We also saw a lot of swans in the canals all over town. There was a suspicious fence around each area where swans were hanging out, and we thought that was stupid since swans can fly. Then we realized that every swan in Bruges has his or her wings clipped, and thus can't fly or feed outside of the canals. That made the whole swan thing way less romantic. In fact, it was really sad. Do people know about this? Is it like that in other places?

Beaufort, Luxembourg

We originally selected Beaufort over all the other towns in Luxembourg because it had hostel beds available the days we were planning to visit. We ended up being the only ones staying in the whole place. Very peaceful. Did some good running and hiking along the Mullerthal Trail, actually a large network of trails in the area.

Paris

Visited all (or at least most) of the big tourist sites, including a stop by the Louvre on free day. It was packed, but we saw the Mona Lisa and chased a guy through the crowd to get a picture of his Aston Martin Racing shirt, so it was worth it. Other highlights included getting in a fight--a real one, with Jacob pushing and Kelly kicking--with some drunk guys in front of the opera house while waiting to meet Matt and Karla. We won, in case you were wondering.

Barcelona

Last year, when we were in Spain, we discovered a great all-you-can-eat pizza and salad restaurant called Fresc Co. We made sure to visit the local branch while in Barcelona. Jacob ate: 14 pieces of pizza, one plate of salad, one plate of pasta salad, three cups of ice cream, four shots of decaf espresso, one diet coke. Dad, are you proud? Kelly ate: four and a half pieces of pizza, one plate of salad, three plates of chips and salsa, a baguette, a cup of ice cream, four shots of decaf espresso, and a diet coke. Outside of Fresc Co., we visited some tourist sites, bought new running shoes, and got to speak some Spanish.

Nice

We're now in Nice, on the southern coast of France. We spent the day relaxing, sitting on the beach, and getting very dehydrated before our afternoon run. We also paid our first ever visit to a McCafe. We were not impressed, although we were amused by the sign that said "Bienvenue Chez McDo." Also, later our Australian roommates referred to it as "Mackers." They also call breakfast "brekkie" and dinner "tea," as in, "What are you planning to make for tea? We're having pasta." Jim would love it. We're planning to take Kelly to the aquarium in Monaco tomorrow to visit some friends.