Thursday, April 17, 2014

Where Are We?

Coming down the hill into Las Cruces, New Mexico.  Not that you'd have any idea because this could be any hill in the Southwest, they all basically look the same.

For all you lovers of the western United States, this is for you.

Don't burn your eyes looking at all the beauty.

That was sarcasm just in case you didn't catch it.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2013: Where You'd Go For Camel Repair
2012: The Color Of Happy
2011: Taking Possession Of The Sound
2010: The Bridge People
2009: Knocking Us Off One Candy Bar At A Time
2008: How To Entertain Yourself When Hanging Out With Sight Impaired Adults
2007: Is It REALLY Such A Mystery??
2006: Heading South And Going Country
2005: Sorry, no post on this day. The blog didn’t start until May 2005!

8 comments:

Pablo said...

Hey, but it's beautiful, actually!! The composition of the picture, the green/brown/blue/white when you go up the picture through the horizon... Only the orange things on the side of the road disturbs me.
Thank you, your picture reminded me the road trip I did with my wife, back in 2012: L.A. - Las Vegas - Grand Canyon - Las Vegas - Death Valley - Mammoth Lakes - Yosemite - Napa Valley - Frisco - Big Sur - L.A.
For two spaniards, it was like being in Heaven!!
Greetings from Spain!!

The Daily Rant said...

PABLO: Thank you for commenting. Glad you like the picture! Yeah, the orange barrels are a little distracting - they are doing construction on the road and there was no way around getting them in the photo. I suppose I could have photoshopped them out, but that's too much work. LOL

I'm glad this was a reminder of your time out west - you certainly covered a lot of ground when you were here and got to see some pretty diverse landscapes.

What part of Spain are you in?

Pablo said...

Hi, Salena. Yes, it was a amazingly surprising trip, we never expected such a variety of landscapes. You know, here in Spain we think of California as beach and palms, and it was shocking to find frozen lakes and snow on our way from Mammoth Mountains to Yosemite. On July!!
We follow your blog long time ago, and it's always inspiring, since we love U.S. roads, food and landscapes. We've visited New York (twice), Washington State, California, Nevada and Puerto Rico.

Here in Spain we lived for a long time in Madrid, but now we live in Leon, a small city 200 miles northwest from Madrid. Do you know Spain? The region we live in is the origin of Spain as a country, full of history and remains from Roman Empire and Middle Age. A very beautiful place to visit: good meals, great people, beautiful places, lots of shopping... if someday you plan a holiday trip to Spain don't forget to include it on your schedule!

Best,
Pablo.

Pablo said...

Oh, and please forgive me for my English, I know I make some horrible mistakes :)

The Daily Rant said...

PABLO: California does have everything from skiing to beaches, just hours apart from each other. That's why so many people love that state. Glad to hear you made it to New York (where I was born and raised!) and Washington State is beautiful too.

I have never been to Spain but I do a lot of travel related reading and research. My mother's friend was just in Barcelona, where she got to see La Sagrada Família (said it was fantástico!). Spain is certainly on our list of places to visit - along with Portugal - and if I can have tapas in the place they originated, I'll be happy!!

By the way, your English is great!

Anonymous said...

So, Gaudi's architecture + Portugal + Tapas... Allllllright, you definitively need to include Leon if some day you come to Spain. We've got not one, but two of the best works of Gaudí: the "Casa de Botines" and the "Bishop's Palace" in Astorga (Google them, both are amazing).
About Portugal, we're three-hours drive from Porto, a magic city. And six hours from Lisbon, which is not less beautiful.
And last but not least, Leon is one of the best places in Spain to experiment the pleasure of Tapas, at "el Barrio Húmedo" ("the wet district"), the old historic district, named like that due to the amount of bars and restaurants specialized in tapas (and, the best part, the tapa is free with your beverage). You and Ed will love it, being as you are restaurant experts.
Ok, enough, my wife is telling me that I look like a salesperson at a travel agency!
Best,
Pablo

The Daily Rant said...

PABLO: I Googled "Casa de Botines" and "Bishop's Palace" and they ARE both amazing. Can you believe people LIVED in those buildings?? Just amazing.

I am so inspired by everything other countries have to offer. I wish I started traveling internationally 20 years ago. I have so much catching up to do! When we were in Italy, I was absolutely awed and humbled by the buildings I saw. To touch a piece of marble that a little Italian man touched over 800 years ago when building a church was a little mind-blowing. To walk through an arch that was over 2,000 years old was inconceivable.

We have some cool things in our country but we don't have anything like that. We're such a young country, so you're not finding any churches here that are 800 years old. LOL

And tell your wife if we ever come that way, I might just have to pay you to be our translator and tour guide!! Thank you so much for the information!

Pablo said...

Ok, the last one, I swear:
When we were in California, we visited Hearst Castle in San Simeon. We were amazed of finding the interior of the Castle was furnished with original pieces of spanish and italian ancient buldings, several centuries old. To be concrete, there was a ceiling in a dinner room which was spanish mozarab style, probably five or six centuries old, so you've got artistics treasures there in the US, too!! ;)
Ok, it isn't the same as being in Italy or in Spain, I agree. In Leon, for example, you can visit our millenary Cathedral (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le%C3%B3n_Cathedral), or San Isidoro Church, where the ancient Kings of Leon are buried and where recently found a cup that claims to be the original Holy Grail (http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/31/crowds-flock-spanish-chuch-leon-holy-grail-claim).

Look, if some day you plan to come to Spain (or France or Portugal, which we know quite well too), write us at pablo.g.callejo at gmail.com, and we'll be glad to give you advice and info to plan your trip. And for free, you don't need to pay for ;)

It's the least we can do to thank you for sharing your information on restaurant and places to visit in the U.S.!!
Best,
Pablo.