Currently on a mental vacation
A friend of mine is travelling to Spain, and our conversations have unearthed many amazing and delicious memories of last year’s Spanish vacation. She’ll be visiting Barcelona and Madrid, the former with its fantastic Gaudi architecture and oceanside vibe, and the latter with its pedestrian-centric plazas, loaded museums, and – of course – TAPAS. How … More Revisiting Spain
You’re an independent traveler and a capable online researcher, and you don’t need a travel agency to choose where you’re going to stay on your much-anticipated, desperately needed vacation….right?!? So am I, and I know how simple booking a hotel initially seems. But when it comes time to book where to stay – a rather … More The Balancing Act of Booking Hotels
Not that I’m complaining, but planning a trip itinerary is impressively difficult for those of us who want to maximize every travel opportunity without stretching the itinerary beyond the bounds of common vacation decency. Here it is, that moment when a silver bird is finally going to drop you off someplace amazing, and you’ve got only [insert … More Pinballing Through the Southwest, and the Painful Joy of Itinerary Planning
As promised, the site has a new name! I’m excited to start afresh, and look forward to expanding beyond what was essentially a trip diary to include a greater variety of travel musings and practical advice. But yeah, I’m still going to babble about our trips. Sorry about that. And no, a “travel notch” is … More Travel Leaves a Mark
I’ve recently been pondering a bit of an overhaul to my lonely little bit of webspace – er, this blog. Originally, it was created to blog what I thought was a single trip through several European cities. Yes, we crossed the pond on that trip, but then we were then so fortunate to do so not … More Soon-to-be Site Changes…?
We’ve made halfway through another year, and are lucky to be planning yet another adventure. This time, our scenery will change in rather dramatic fashion. No oceans will be crossed, but I’m certain the silver bird will drop it’s shadow over innumerable ponds, rivers, streams and lakes (and possibly some plains and arid land) while … More New Trip (Crossing Rather Small Ponds)
As previously mentioned, we attended a Real Madrid match. Arriving at the Stadium sans dinner, we wandered the stadium halls and quickly realized our food options would be limited. We grabbed a couple of very uninspiring jamon sandwiches to fill our stomach voids, and found our seats. Halftime arrived and our sustenance of choice was … More A Curious Experience: ALL of the Ham Sandwiches
We caught an evening flight* from Seville to Lisbon, Portugal, our last stop in the journey. It was time to navigate a new city and a new language for a brief time before heading back across the Atlantic. Arriving quite late, and without having much sustenance to speak of, we ventured out in search of … More ..And, Lastly, Lisbon
We arrived and dropped our car off in Seville’s main train station without issue, aside from a few arguments with Europcar as to preexisting damage on the car. From there we hailed a cab to our hotel (which proved to be the most terrifying taxi ride we’ve every experienced). We were low on steam at this … More Sleepy in Sevilla
We were pried away from Granada by a reserved car rental, so we taxied to the train station to pick up our “Seat Ibiza,” a little diesel, stick-shift hatchback that was destined to drive us to Spain’s Costa del Sol, through the mountains, and then onto Sevilla for as its final destination. The Costa del Sol … More Beaches & Mountains (of the Spanish sort)
Travel Notch 