France Trip - Day 3

Day 3 - Paris Museums
Today Jen was not the best. She had more stops and was looking pretty bad before we even stepped out the door. But we did managed to get into the long line for the Musée d'Orsay (we only waited 50 mins before we were in the enjoying the museum which was surprising because the line was LOOOONG). This Museum, an old train station, is fantastic! and well worth the wait in outside with all the other eager tourists (for us there were alot of Italian students getting their 'history points'. Such a mix of things to see I had to leave Jen a few times while she rested to see the sculptures and paintings of the likes of Monet, Van Gogh and Degas. From here we had a rest and got some lunch. Then it was off to The Louvre . We got there earlier in the day, but found out that if we came back after 6:30pm Jen could get in for free and I for 6 euros. So, as we have no money, we decided to come back to get in 'on the cheap'. What a massive musuem! this place was huge, but we got to see all the main paintings and art works. A great day to finish off our Paris holiday. Now tomorrow we train it down to the south of France to Nice. 

Here in Paris

Paris and the Eiffel Tower
So as some people may know Jen and I are in Paris. We arrived yesterday and have found a cheap little hotel (31euros/night) near the Pantheon so we were pretty happy living in the Latin Quarter. Jen was a little sick with a cough and tiredness before she came on the trip, but she tried hard to forget about it and see the 'bigger than life' city of Paris. We hit up some sights today which included the Notre Dame, Champs-Elysées, the Arc de Triomphe and of course the Eiffel Tower (at dusk - into night). So a long day, but we got through it with some rest stops, easy walking and lots of crepes & Coke.

Last training for Barcelona Fit

Today was the last Saturday morning training session for Barcelona Fit. We had a solid turnout of 13 members on the coldish morning. The time of running was only 75 minutes and so everyone was back in a good mood and feeling fit for next sundays marathon. Di is injured and so will not be able to run the marathon, which is a huge dissapointment to him but I am sure he will be right for another one in about 5 weeks. I hope so because he has worked hard for this one. Congrats to all who finished the Barcelona Fit training. Stay strong for next week! 

Cadeques & Dali

We (Jen, Sarah, & Matt) travelled up north from Barcelona for the night. We went via Figueres and the home of the Dali Museum. A great side trip to rest the legs and see some strange Dali works. After a snack of bocadillos (con jamon y queso) & coke we travelled the windy road towards the fishing village of Cadeques. We found a place to lay our head for the night, after trying to drive up small, narrow and steep streets. Then we got some beer, cheese, wine and found a seat by the water. After some interesting discussions about God, religion, the universe, and 'if we are really here' we got some real food. On the way home to Barcelona I only went down 1 one-way street because, of course, Barcelona signage is shite! A fantastic 2 days.

Friends In Barcelona

This past few days we have had Matt & Sarah (on the left side of the picture) visiting Barcleona. We worked together in Ludus Torino and they are on a 'tour' of their own around Europe. We have been to some great eating places in town + Parc Guell, where this picture was taken.
We are heading north of Barcelona tomorrow for a few days in the Costa Brava....should be fun! 

Barcelona Fit 32km training

This morning was the last big training run for the Barcelona Fit crew. I ran for the longest I have ever run before, at 2:20hr, and my legs are pretty much SHOT! I am going to work on getting my legs stronger to cover more miles, but after only running twice in the preceeding 2 weeks, I suppose I better get back on the horse and do my midweek runs. The team went well with the biggest turnout of runners in the whole 5 months of the program. We ran at "Carretera de las Aiguas", which overlooks the city of Barcelona and in english means "Road of the Waters". It is basically a flat 8km length of road that is prefect for those long runs. A good surface and marked kilometers (up to 5km) helps is keeping your pace. This week we have meetings about the future of the program.

More Barcelona Fit Videos

Heading home to Barcelona

Jen and I are on our last day here in Torino. We had a great day yesterday at the OrangeFestival in Ivrea (just north of Torino) and are all a little sore today....actually our legs are the sorest part of the body, not sure why but maybe because we were getting low to launch those oranges at the other people. I guess training will get back to normal once we hit Barcelona soil again. We have had a blast in Torino with the Ludus crew and also checking out sports which we might not get to see again for a long time.