Newburyport boardwalk, circa 1993

Children chasing pigeons is a timeless classic across the globe. O, did these little Spaniards make me smile. They were giggling uncontrollably. Life is beautiful.

Having no expectacions crossing the pond, everything here is wonderful and interesting to me. It isn't 'not what I expected' and it isn't 'unlike typical Spain' because I have no notion of those things. I like this very much.

To-day we visited the pilar, which is the place that the virgin appeared in the first century on the same day that in 1492, Christopher Columbus doomed the advanced civilisations of what is now modern central and south America (named after Amerigo Vespucci). There's a 9-day long fiesta around 12 October here. O, Christianity. There is a huge basilica in the centre of town which is apparently also a pilgrimage site. O, Christianity.

I was actually a little saddened to see such a beautiful church. Churches, to me, are quiet, anxious places in which I never feel quite right (unlike cemeteries, which always calm me and in which I could spend hours). The basilica saddened me because I knew that there had been a beautiful mosque standing there before it, and the church part was just sort of heaped on top. I suppose that that's what happens when one religious group ruthlessly attacks, invades, mirders, and drives out another in the name of the same god, but it still can't help but get me down.

I did kiss the feet of Jesus (don't worry, I put my hand over his feet and kissed that--this isn't the Blarney stone) for all who would have liked to do so in my family, so if you're reading this and won't ever pilgrimage to Zaragoza in your long lives, then consider it done. I was thinking of you.

Before all this, I was approached by one of those beggar women who aggressively reads your palm and then asks for money. I knew what was going on, and was sort of amused by the whole thing, so I let her, instead of practising my 'No, lo siento. No me gusta. No, gracias' as I did (many times) later. I actually understood most of what she was saying, which was nice. I'm a beautiful, strong woman who will have three boys. Score. As she was holding my palm (I like light touch in a calming way), she would kiss her other fingers and point to a part of me like my palm lines or arm, and say, 'Aquí es una mujer fuerte. Aquí es...' She blessed me and gave me a huge spring of rosemary, which 1 I love, 2 is now scenting my clothes, and 3 was totally worth the 2€ that I paid her, because there was no way that I was giving her the 20 that she sought.

We sat near a fountain in the central square that was cut in the shape of Spanish America before walking to the Aljafería, which was magnificent, albeit another amalgamation of ages. Michelle and I imagined how we're going to decorate when we move into it--the only foreseeable problem being the obscene exchange rate. The dollar plummets by the day, and sometimes by the hour; I kid you not. I blame bother Bernanke and everyone else. I digress. I'll apologise with a show.

Go ahead, click it.

Still a chill night. I haven't managed to get to the pool(s), but Kristina and I did suit up with every intention. Right now, we're reading assignments and being comfy. Yay low-maintenance roommates. We have to be up, dressed, ready, and full by 0820. I should sleep. I still have yet to get into town (0,09€ bus fare and a 15 minute ride) for dinner and nightlife. Will do.

ps Mark, I totally did it as we were lifting out of Logan--forgot to tell you.