More photos of the trip will be posted over the coming weeks. I am going to make a real effort to keep this blog updated. We will see how that goes.

An update on the health of the family. Steve and Jon are both getting better with antibiotics. The girls in the family think that they might be catching it too but only time will tell. Right now we are all trying to get lots of sleep in between sights.

When we reached Madrid we happened to get a very talkative taxi driver who told us all about the celebration that was happening near our hotel this evening. The Atlético de Madrid futbol team was celebrating its championship in a large parade through town. Our hotel is right on the puerta de sol which happened to be the ending point for the parade. The players got off the bus and went up into a government building to show off the trophies to the crowd. It was really a cool experience. Everyone was singing the team song, cheering, etc. It reminded me of a Husker football game day back home.

The weather here is cold right now. Today it was about 50F with short bursts of rain and even a little hail. Hopefully tomorrow will be warmer with more sun. We also found our favorite European ice cream bars the “Magnum Bars”, they bring back great memories. I wish that you could get them in the USA.

Today I took a lot of video with the new camera which increased the file count and spaced used for today only to 185 files at 9.26GB for a total of 518 files at 14.9GB. WOW!

Today we went and visited Sagrada Familia a very famous church that has been under construction for over 128 years and is not expected to be complete till 2026 if ever. It as was amazing even in its unfinished state. We also visited a very active open air food market and the Olympic site which held the summer games in 1992.

Expect more lightly processed photos along with blog updates as the trip continues as we are able to find time and an internet connection.

It was really cool to watch all the photos people were posting to Twitter with the #LNK hash tag. You got minute by minute updates on the conditions around town with pictures. @MrWilson has created a cool website to follow the #LNK hashtag at http://inlnk.in/. Also anyone with a twitter account who wants to stay up to date with the weather should consider following these people/companies on twitter who announce current weather as well as any watches and warnings that are issued.

@LincolnNEAlerts is a neat service provided by SWAS Sever Weather Alert System that for most cities in the USA tweets hourly the weather conditions at the official weather station (In Lincoln its the airport). They also announce when watches and warnings are posted.

@NEZ066 is a twitter account that I believe is only for Lincoln, Nebraska that only posts the most up to date watches and warnings. It is very fast and almost instant from when the National Weather Service issues the statement.

So here are the few photos I took last night

As of right now it looks like we are going to get another round tonight!

Expect more blog posts this week I have some great ideas for future topics.

StrawberryJam

Make sure to watch the video in 720P!

Click here to view the embedded video.

DJClay
http://www.myspace.com/djclaymusic

SFS
http://www.myspace.com/sfslincoln

Make sure to watch the video in 720P!

Click here to view the embedded video.

To view all of these photos and more in high resolution follow this link to the big gallery http://liquidretro.net/photo/gallery3/TheBourbon/

Written by Jaywalker

This is my 18th season covering Cajuns football. And, for eight years before that, I had the opportunity to broadcast selected games on TV as well.

I've been to nine SEC stadiums. (I'll go to a tenth next season at Georgia.) I've seen the grove at Ole Miss, experienced the Gator Chomp, the Mississippi State cowbells, been a part of Alabama football in both Birmingham and Tuscaloosa. I've been called "Tigerbait" in Baton Rouge and experienced some pretty good hospitality in South Carolina.

I've said hello to the folks at Illinois and Minnesota. Felt September heat in Tempe, AZ.

Been to Manhattan, Lubbock, Austin, Stillwater and College Station. College Station was probably the best. Folks say "Howdy" when they see you. And they say "welcome."

Haven't been to the Horseshoe, the Big House or Happy Valley. Nor have I seen Touchdown Jesus.

But I've been to College Football Nirvana.

It's located in Lincoln, Nebraska.

From the time we touched down ("Welcome to Lincoln," the police officers doing the escort said) to the time we left the stadium ("Thanks so much for coming, have a safe trip home. We hope you'll come back again") every Cajun fan felt like a guest.

That's right. A guest. Not the opposition...not the enemy....a guest.

Check into the Cornhusker Marriott, not far from campus. Fans of Big Red Nation are already there. Smiles, handshakes....welcome to Lincoln. Good luck tomorrow.

Board the bus for dinner. Arrive at Misty's, Lincoln's famous steakhouse (I mean, you gotta eat a steak, right?). There were about 25 in our party. We had to wait about twenty minutes for them to get everything ready. No problem. As soon as the patrons saw the Cajun gear, they wanted to talk...introduce themselves....welcome to Lincoln....thanks so much for coming. Hope you enjoy the game.....

Is this for real??

And, it continued throughout the evening and into the night. We made lots of friends. We Cajun people make friends pretty easily, but it's even easier when folks want to be friends.

In Lincoln, they all want to be your friend.

Gameday is different in Lincoln. They tailgate, sure....but it's tougher because, well, there's just not a lot of tailgaiting spots. But they do open the soccer field next to the stadium. Families can let the kids roam free. Nebraska radio does a pregame show there. And, a band plays during the commercial breaks.

I did an interview at the soccer field with the Nebraska radio folks. And then, had a pretty good trek to the media entrance. At each gate, the sight was the same. Hundreds lined up, waiting for the gates to open so they could get into the stadium and watch their team warm up.

By the time Nebraska came out, about 45 minutes before kickoff, the stadium was about 65% full. There was no "hey, let's stay outside and pound a few more beers."

Because it was gameday. And they came to see football.

By the time the band was ready to come out, 86000 strong were in their seats. They stood and clapped along when the Cornhusker Band played "Fight on Cajuns" to honor their guests. And when the band played "There is no Place Like Nebraska" I knew that the statement was true.

For the first time ever in my years covering the Cajuns, I did not hear a single boo when the Cajuns came out of their tunnel onto their sidelines; in fact, I heard a smattering of applause.

During the game, 86000 cheered as Nebraska rolled. They didn't leave at halftime to go out and start drinking (and remember it was 34-0 at the half). Some were outside, but they had passes to get back in and by the time the second half was ready to kick off, they were all back in their seats.

In the fourth quarter there were STILL over 80000 in the stands. Security keeps an eye out for the sign of alcohol in the stands, which is how trouble starts. If they see alcohol they don't turn a blind eye. After all, college football is about a FAMILY atmosphere.

And when it ended, the fans stayed for another Cornhusker tradition. They applauded the Cajuns as they left the field.

Now you might say...sure, it's easy to clap for someone when you just beat them 55-0. But they do that when their team LOSES. The newspaper on Saturday morning reprinted a handwritten letter from Florida State coach Bobby Bowden after the Seminoles got a hard fought 18-14 win years ago. Yep, the Nebraska fans cheered them as they left.

More of the same post game. There was a young man in a wheelchair where the Cajun players were getting their postgame meal. As each player came out, the young man thanked them for coming and wished them safe travels home. Many of the players stopped to chat for a minute.

Then it was over. And, as the buses left for the airport, the fans that were still there waved and applauded. No one finger salutes. No "you suck" chants. Simply, safe travels, my friends.

If the two teams should play again in the future, plan ahead Cajun Fans. Make the long drive or the relatively short flight. Come in Friday...leave Sunday. And, you will learn what REAL college football atmosphere is about.

Because, trust me.....there is no place like Nebraska.

A few photos from the celebration after the game. It feels great to have attended the 300th consecutive sell out and be part of the largest crowd ever at Memorial Stadium.

In Montepulciano we stumbled into an old copper craftsman. He made everything out of copper and was so charming. We bought a heavy beautiful copper frying pan and are very excited to try it out. The town is very, very hilly which made it good exercise but the climbs were worth it for the amazing views of the Tuscan countryside.

The churches, basilicas, and duomos in the country are very impressive. We have seen many treasured relics as well as burial sites of many famous Italians such as Dante, Marconi, Galileo, Michelangelo, assorted popes, and others.

Although we weren’t in Siena for long, we still saw a lot of beautiful things! We stayed in a hotel connected to a sanctuary and run by nuns. The view was amazing. We spent some time at the Piazza del Campo, where the famous Palio horse race takes place. We went to the Duomo here as well which was beautiful and unique.

In Florence, or Firenze as the locals call it, Jon climbed about 450 steps up to take photos at the top of the Duomo. It was a tough climb but worth it. In the Accademia museum we saw the famous David sculpture by Michelangelo as well as many other famous unfinished works by Michelangelo.

Our car (pictured below) is an Alfa Romeo 159 Estate with a 1.9L turbo diesel. While we are not very impressed with the low clearance of the alfa or the stereotypical Italian electrics the engine is great and the highway driving has been fine. Without the Garmin GPS it would be near impossible.