uneventful.

Today has just been a long day. We left Madrid at 9am and stopped an hour or so later in Segóbriga. What's that, you ask? The most boring Roman ruins left. I'm serious. There was a really small amphitheater type area, but it was fenced off because it was being worked on. The museum was a room about the size of my den in Auburn and nothing interesting happened there. I was disappointed that we stopped in Segóbriga, but it's part of our class credit.

Three hours and 60% of a book later, we arrived in Alicante. We checked into a hotel and went straight to your a castle. It was pretty, but the views from the top were better than the actual castle. It's right by the sea and you can see the whole city. Our tour guide showed us where soldiers were imprisoned during the Civil War. A lot of them carved their names and the date in the stone floor. Evidently, Alicante was the last Republican city to fall to Franco.

We walked from the castle back to the hotel, and I decided I'm not a huge fan of Alicante. Besides the fact that I'm not really a beach person, Alicante is kind of dirty, literally and figuratively. The sidewalks aren't very clean, the people don't dress as nice as they do in Madrid, and there are tons of, ahem, non family friendly stores and clubs. Everywhere.

Dinner at the hotel was wonderful. We sat at tables of four and shared a salad without receiving separate plates. We had bread, pasta with tomato sauce, a huge toasted chicken leg and thigh, French fries, and a small ice cream for desert. I'm totally content and really looking forward to breakfast and lunch tomorrow!

I'm exhausted, mentally and physically. Being away from home (which today is Alabama AND Madrid) is starting to wear me down quite a bit. Reed is apartment hunting and furniture shopping in Mobile before he starts his new big boy job and it's killing me to not be there for him. My friend Russel is getting married today. Piper is at a kennel. Etc., etc. I'm looking forward to starting a new class next week and for the trips we have planned, but I'm also ready to come home.

Sorry for being such a downer today. I just need to sleep, and maybe find some chocolate or a doughnut. Or both :)