A smattering of photos from Madrid-Sevilla-Granada-Barcelona-Paris.

The main train station of Madrid has a miniature rainforest inside. There were turtles.


Busking flamenco dancer by the lake in Park Retiro.


Nora and I frolick in Park Retiro, like the fairies we truly are at heart.




Please note the daisy crown.


Sevilla was full of these beautiful purple flowers.


Horse-drawn carriages carried all the most sophisticated flamenco dancers to Fería.


The gardens of the Real Alcázar were beautiful and full of knobby trees.


View of the Alhambra and the city of Granada, from the porch of our guesthouse.


It was cold and rainy when we went to the Alhambra gardens, so we wrapped ourselves up to face the wind.




Quality snuggle-time with the guesthouse puppy, a baby boxer who peed and pooped all over the place, and liked playing with my dangly earrings.




Interior of La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.




Jane is a flower princess.


La Boquería market, in Barcelona.


Cathédrale Notre Dame!


View of Paris from the top of Montmartre. The thing sticking up on the far right (right by the greenery) is the Eiffel Tower.


I am kissing the lipstick-smeared grave of Oscar Wilde. It's a tradition.

For those of you who are wondering when I'm coming back:

21 June. For sure. I'll be arriving in Detroit late that night and driving back to Grand Rapids with my dad, so I won't be seeing any of you Ann Arbor folks right away -- but you should expect a visit from me sometime within a week or two of my arrival. Offers of places to crash are quite welcome.

xoxo.

I know you are, but what am I?

Looks like I've made London angry by all the nasty things I've said behind his back, and he's out to prove me wrong. I have never before seen such consistent good weather in London, and have not in a long time spent so much time wandering around out of doors, and reading in sunny parks and squares, as I have the past five days. Today the temperature got into the 80s. Lavender and deep purple lilacs are to be seen everywhere. While my family was here, we had to keep the heater going all night; now, I leave both my windows open all night.

In short, London is trying to prove that he has just as much sunshine and just as many flowers as Spain does -- though, despite the awful, cold weather I had while in Spain, I can't say I'm thoroughly convinced by this sudden show of gallantry. He's doing his best, though.

And yes, London is male. Just because.