As tipoff for Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals approaches, I take a quick segway back to happy hour in Madrid three years ago. I was in the middle of a 9 hour layover trying to see as much of the city as possible when I took a break in a backstreet courtyard. Like most of Madrid, it was bustling with people, and as evening neared, most were out for their happy hour stroll. I ordered a beer and joined the merry Spaniards. As I wrote in my journal, I saw a Segway in action for the first time. These two-wheeled mega scooters always looked cheesy in video, but this man had a charisma to spare. He...

When I was thinking about traveling to Spain, someone told me that Barcelona was like San Francisco and Madrid was like LA. Maybe they were quoting Rick Steeves. I’ll ask next time I see him. Regardless, I arrived in Madrid and thanks to my bus companion – a Spanish playwright who spoke English – I navigated the metro in record time. It left me with 9 hours in the big city before spending the night at the airport to catch my Milan flight in the morning. What did I do with so little time? - Walked down the Prado promenade- Bought souverniers- Tried to go to the Museo Reigna Sophia-...

Two of my favorite drives in Oregon are Route 38 that heads southwest through Drain to the coast and Route 58 heading southeast following the McKenzie River through Dexter to Klamath Falls. Both have that mix of green trees, meadows, rivers and twists and turns to make them perfect road trip adventures. I am headed south toward Madrid and not 20 minutes outside of Logroño, I have found a similar road. It curves through tiny wine country villages nestled along creeks and magnificent rock. It looks chossy to climb, but gets better as we get higher. As we rise, the landscape turns to sparkling forests,...

I am two weeks into my trip and am at a crossroads. I took some down time Sunday, returning to Logroño and hanging out in the hostel. I had hoped to have a big breakfast, see a movie, do some laundry. Regular Sunday things back home. But nobody does big sit down breakfasts in Spain. I settled for orange juice and a pastry and walked around looking for a laundromat. I saw plenty of wash on the line, but no place that would do it for me, so it was back to the sink for me. I hung out at the hostel – really a dorm room – and watched my iPod instead of a movie. It felt good to do nothing, but I have a...

After hints of summer in Logroño, I woke up to rain on Saturday morning. I had hoped to go wine tasting to discover more of that good Rioja, but instead decided to head up to Bilbao to see the Guggenheim. I should have trusted my instincts to stay in bed and see a movie. I took the bus, which was a better way to see the country and not as traumatic as Greyhound. But once I got to Bilbao, I was tired, not feeling well and totally perplexed. Bilbao has a strong Basque influence and most people speak Bosque, Spanish and no English. I couldn’t understand what people said, and when I asked my simple...