Snapshots: Hadrian's Wall Path

My daily routine is pretty simple these days:

After a full English cooked breakfast, continue walking east across England, following the line of Hadrian's (Roman) Wall. If available, stop at a tearoom for a pot of tea and cake. At the end of the afternoon arrive at a comfortable bed and breakfast or inn for the night.

Two friends have joined the expedition for a few days. Our friendships total almost 100 years.

The Road to Minneapolis: Mile 1

I'm walking across the narrowest part of England, following the course of Hadrian's (Roman) Wall. Construction of the wall started in the year 122, and some sections remain to this day.

The walk is 84 miles, which I'm comfortably spreading over 7 days. On the 8th day I fly home to Minneapolis.

Planning a Trip to Spain with Kids

Our nephews (9 and 10) attend a school where literacy skills are taught in English, but several other subjects, including math and science, are taught in Spanish.

It's a joy to see the boys use their skills. In 2016, they slipped unselfconsciously into Spanish when speaking with a server from Spain in our Edinburgh hotel.

In 2019, my partner and I will travel with our nephews and their parents to Spain. The trip will broaden our nephews' horizons, and provide them with practical opportunities to develop their Spanish. It will also be a fun, family vacation.

For me, it takes a mental change of gears to imagine a kid-friendly trip to Spain. During the past few days I've had the rather pleasant task researching seaside towns where we would begin and end the trip.

Madonna Writhed Here

I'm staying in an idiosyncratic 12-room hotel in the town of Ronda in Andalusia, Spain. My suite fills three floors in a tower: first floor, entrance and bathroom; second floor, sitting room; third floor, bedroom. I'm going to get a lot of exercise tonight.

I'm pretty sure my bed is the same bed Madonna used in her Take a Bow music video from her 1994 album, Bedtime Stories. Part of the video was shot in the hotel.

You must know the scene: it's the one where she writhes on a bed in her underwear.

[Warning: NSFW below the fold.]