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Hi Gang:

Thought I'd better get down to this or it would never get done, the number of days I have to do now is almost insurmountable, but I'll see what I can do. Actually there isn't all that much to tell, this is the more leisurely, less touristy part of the trip, but I'll try and keep you entertained nonetheless.

DAY 5: (I believe this is where I stopped before). This is the day Julie's vacation actually began. Had to be out of the Tours campus by 7:30 am and we sat in a park until Jules finished copying her philosophy paper. Wandered around Tours taking pictures and saw the chateaux at Blois really an impressive place, and they show more of it than in most other places. Spent 3.5 hours in a creperie having dinner, avoiding rain, and passing the time until our midnight train to Madrid.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY M+D! -- Didn't forget, just didn't get the card off
DAY 6: Still on the train until 4:30-5:00 pm (these long train rides can really get to you -- almost [have?] to spend the extra money to get a couchette for the night (three high bunks) so you can get a little sleep and pass the time a little more quickly. Can't count on stretching out otherwise anymore all the Americans plus all the Europeans travelling means all teh trains are quite crowded unless you go in off hours which are really a pain. Madrid metro was a pain -- had to transfer 4 times to get to our destination (listen to the metro expert here). The Madrid hostel could only take us one night, but we met an Australian lawyer who told us about a place about an hour out of Madrid called El Escorial with a beautiful hostel and friendly people so we decided to stay there the next day. This same woman let us choose from her paperback library she was trying to get rid of, so we now each have some reading material