TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Last night we wandered the streets of Caceres, soaking up the atmosphere of the little spanish jewel.  Plaza Mayor was bustling with tourists and teenagers and everyday folks going about their business. But if you wander off the main square you’ll find shops, bars and cafes aplenty.
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Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.
So twice five miles of fertile ground
With walls and towers were girdled round:
And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,
Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree;
And here were forests ancient as the hills,
Enfolding sunny spots of greenery

O.M.G. this city is amazing!

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If you think you are beaten, you are
If you think you dare not, you don’t,
If you like to win, but you think you can’t
It is almost certain you won’t.

If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost
For out of the world we find,
Success begins with a fellow’s will
It’s all in the state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are
You’ve got to think high to rise,
You’ve got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.

Life’s battles don’t always go
To the stronger or faster man,
But soon or late the man who wins
Is the man who thinks he can

Our little cell was very comfy.  One of the best things about staying in convents and monasteries is that they are super clean and tidy.

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Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run;
To bend with apples the mossed cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o’er-brimmed their clammy cells…

After resting awhile in our beautiful room, Maggie disappeared for a relaxing massage and I for the hot baths.. when in Rome and all that!

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Dance me to your beauty with a burning violin
Dance me through the panic ’til I’m gathered safely in
Lift me like an olive branch and be my homeward dove
Dance me to the end of love

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Look to this day
For it is life, the very life of life.
In its brief course
Lie all the verities and realities of your existence.
The bliss of growth,
The glory of action,
The splendour of achievement
Are but experiences of time.

For yesterday is but a dream
And tomorrow is only a vision;
And today well-lived, makes
Yesterday a dream of happiness
And every tomorrow a vision of hope.
Look well therefore to this day;
Such is the salutation to the ever-new dawn

Yesterday we explored Merida just a little.  We saved the big stuff for today but we enjoyed watching the world go by from behind a glass of something cool.

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Oh, my friend, it’s not what they take away from you that counts. It’s what you do with what you have left.

One great thing about a life of positivity is that it comes with no regrets. So what is stopping you from giving it an honest try?  For every minute you are angry, you lose sixty seconds of happiness.

Life is not happening to you.  Life is responding to you.

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No one expects the Spanish Inquisition! Our chief weapon is surprise, fear and surprise; two chief weapons, fear, surprise, and ruthless efficiency! Er, among our chief weapons are: fear, surprise, ruthless efficiency, and near fanatical devotion to the Pope!

Last night we stayed at the Albergue El Carmen in Villefranca de los Barros. The Albergue was lovely as was the hospitalero.  She suggested were we should stay next and she also recommended last night’s restaurant… which I have to say was one of the worst we’ve had… sadly I would suggest you go somewhere other than Purple if you’re in town.

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Che bella cosa ‘na jurnata ‘e sole
N’aria serene doppo ‘na tempesta
Pe’ll’aria fresca pare già ‘na festa
Che bella cosa ‘na jurnata e’sole

Ma n’atu sole
Cchiu’ bello oi ne’
‘O sole mio
Sta ‘nfronte a te
y sun

In English this translates as…

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