france

Hello all
Hope this all finds you well. I have met up with my brother in Barcelona (for those that know the family, Luke came up from Singapore where he has 3 weeks off from teaching..and he chose to spend them in Europe with me). We stayed there for 2 days, then we were off to San Sebastian, at the north of Spain, in the Basque country and right by the France border. It is a magnificent place and honestly, if anyone is near the border, or even in Madrid for a few days, head on up there. Fantastic city, great beaches, lots of cool things. Overall, a great place. Would love to go back and probably in my top 3 places in Spain that I have seen. I would recommend it to anyone to make the venture up there. Great food too...
You can get by on Castellano Spanish too, although it is in the Basque region. Most of the signs are in Basque and Castellano Spanish, yet, hardly anyone speaks it. Quite a different dialect too...very few similarities to either Castellano or Catalan (Barcelona region) Spanish spoken throughout the rest of Spain that I have been exposed to. Very interesting to see though..

We're now in Bordeaux right now, staying with a friend of Luke's from Singapore. It is really nice to be relaxing as I know the next 2 months will be non-stop. Headed to Paris tomorrow for 4 days and then off for our 1 week tour of Spain after that...so we're really doing nothing here except hanging out.

Weird to be in a French environment now..I find myself always answering or thinking in Spanish, evident by my kebob incident yesterday of trying to order. What a mess...tough when the brain is always thinking in another language! I am by no means a Spanish expert now, but I have been in the habit of always functioning in Spanish so it is different to be conversing in French.

Quick note, I read the confessions of an economic hit man by John Perkins. Absolutely intriguing and thought-provoking. Finished in 4 days, amidst all the train rides we had. Very interesting book on the globalization, commercialization of the world as a whole by the super powers, and in most cases the U.S.A. I recommend it to anyone out there interested in those ideas...

Take care and until the next time,
Adam