These are the personal accounts of my travels around the world. They are a combo of diary excerpt, photo album and travel guide, told in storytelling fashion with links to and pictures of all the places I visit to inspire your next trip!
From calamari and the ruins of a 16th century monastery in Xinzo de Limia, to chupitos at a restaurant near Montalegre Castle and the "Fiesta in Honour of Seafood" in O Grove, my first trip to Galicia, Spain is everything I'd hoped it would be.
After writing about trips to historical monasteries, after-hour tours of the Prado, and trying to meet people in a new country, it’s time to write about something really important. Where the hell do I find all my favorite products in Spain?!?!
Still fresh from a recent weekend trip out of town, I eagerly plan my next adventure: I’m taking a day trip (from Madrid) to El Escorial to go on a guided tour of the 16th century Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, commissioned by King Philip II.
I start to notice a lot of statues around Madrid. But not your typical statue of royalty, historical figures and other famous people. From the Curious Neighbor to the Reader to the Street Sweeper, these are tributes to regular, working-class folks.
The first time I really feel like I live in Spain and not just visiting is when I take a weekend trip out of town. La Adrada is a small pueblo that knows how to celebrate big. With music, dancing, booze and church, this festival is fun for everyone.
From sushi to tapas, from Hemingway's favorite sherry bar to an international blues bar, my new friend helps me celebrate my first birthday in Spain like a madrileña as we make our way through Madrid's historic el centro.
Still looking for things to do in Madrid where there’s a good chance of meeting new people, I soon find a wine tasting that declares: “each bottle is a story and each visit a new friendship.” Couldn’t be more perfect. Sign me up!
How do I meet new people in Madrid, Spain? I can only frequent bars and cafés so much, so I sign up for a language exchange meetup. Not only do I meet other like-minded people, but I get to practice Spanish – after the two-drink minimum.
Having just moved to Madrid, the only way I’m going to meet new people is by going out. A major task for an introvert. I start by hitting up cafés and tabernas to enjoy a drink and chat up the waitstaff — hoping they'll understand my Spanish!
Having just moved to Madrid, Spain, I eagerly go out to explore my new neighborhood, Palacio. From La Casa de Campo, former royal hunting grounds, to Parque Madrid Río, a park that parallels the Manzanares River, I am surprised to find so much lush green space in the city!
The Museo del Prado (Prado Museum) is a must-see when in Madrid, but it’s hard to see anything at all in a crowded art gallery. So I took the VIP Alone in the Prado Tour from Devour Tours, and wow. There is nothing like being in an empty, quiet museum while contemplating the artwork.
From the metric system (for a lapsed Canadian) to the 24-hour clock format — not to mention a dubious translation that turns Grease into a tale of debauchery — these are some of the international differences I have to get used to.
I always feel at home when I go to a movie, so adjusting to my new life in Spain includes seeing a “foreign film” at Cine Doré and a current film at Cine Callao. I also discover that film titles are not always a direct translation.
After the 7-month process of moving to a new country, I finally arrive in Spain. I have to find an apartment, set up utilities, get a local phone number, open a bank account, register with City Hall — and all in Spanish, a language I am not fluent in.
From getting my FBI rap sheet to fitting my life into five suitcases to overcoming the panic attacks of relocating to another continent, here’s how I turned my dream into reality and moved to Spain on a Digital Nomad Visa.
Getting past the Guardia Civil just to buy some stamps, nearly destroying a 200-year-old museum piece, receiving an impromptu invite to a dinner party and meeting my Spanish teacher after two years of online classes — this is week two of my adventure in Spain!
After a 3-year delay, it is finally happening! From being moved to tears at a flamenco show, to realizing I don’t have my wallet at the end of a meal, to not seeing Picasso art at the Picasso Museum, this is my adventure in Spain.
Un extracto de mi post sobre mis viajes por España: Después de la cena, voy a un show flamenco – ¡mi primero! Me sorprende lo mucho que me conmueve el baile y el canto.
From all-day rides through the Gila Forest, to touching 1,000-year-old pictographs on a cave wall, to singing old cowboy songs around the campfire, to self-medicating my sore butt each night with wine, this is my dude ranch vacation at the Geronimo Trail Guest Ranch.
Just because international travel has been restricted doesn’t mean that a person’s burning desire to travel has also been restricted. During this last year, my overseas trip had to be rescheduled postponed canceled. So I went on a road trip up the coast from Los Angeles and found the perfect small town getaway: Pacific Grove, California.
Our adventure in Japan continues. Off we go to Osaka, land of neon billboards and a canal, and Tokyo, in which we enjoy a a mysterious ramen bar experience, a crack - I mean matcha den, a 12-story (twelve!) stationery store, and Book Town, a neighborhood with 140 bookstores. When can I move here??
After a ten-and-a-half-hour flight from LAX, I arrive at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan. Suddenly, I am in a whole new world: From capsule hotels, a traditional tea ceremony and a bamboo forest (with the sign “Closed for repairs from June 2017 to closed”), to a gang of map-eating deer and endless temples in Nara, my adventure has begun.
I took this solo road trip during Christmas week for two reasons. One: I’ve been struggling with depression for the last couple of months and feeling lost and alone, so I thought I might as well head out to the desert in a place where I really was lost and alone. And two: I figured this would be a good time to unplug, decompress and try to recover from burnout. This trip made me see that while you don’t always get what you want, you seem to get what you need.
Earlier this year, a friend of mine told me that I was welcome to stay at his place in Cleveland when he was out of town. My immediate reaction was: "Why on earth would I want to go to Cleveland?" Cut to six months later...I was itching for a change of scenery, so I thought, "Why not go to Cleveland?" As is my nature, the minute I purchased my non-refundable plane ticket, the thought "This is a huge mistake" went racing through my mind like a drunk driver.
At 8:31 a.m., the high-speed train left the station and traveled 285 miles to Paris' Gare du Nord railway station in just over two hours. Despite the group of eight or so English gents in ugly Christmas sweaters indulging in beer before noon surrounding me, the trip was smooth sailing, and before I knew it I had arrived in the City of Lights.
When I stepped out of the train onto the platform, I stood there for a minute while everyone rushed past me and just absorbed the fact that I was actually, finally, incredibly in Paris.
When my dream finally came true and I purchased a plane ticket to Europe, I almost peed myself with excitement.
My trip started with the TSA confiscating my very dangerous weapon—a tube of fennel-flavored toothpaste—which I encouraged the security agent with the faded enamel to use as I flashed her my own pearly whites. I knew right then and there that nothing was going to discourage or prevent me from having a fantastic time.
I don’t expect to become fluent in Spanish just by living in Spain. So from reading familiar books in Spanish to changing my phone’s default language, from taking private Spanish lessons to simply refusing to speak English, here’s how I’m improving my Spanish.