After my little adventure in the local dive, I set out once again through the warren of twisting, winding streets.   My destination was south, past the Cathedral and into new territory marked on my map by large stretches of green park spaces.  As I wound through the streets I found it nearly impossible to keep my bearings.  Beyond a vague sense of direction the twisting, dead end nature of the streets left me more than a little confused and disoriented…no small feat. Eventually I found myself dumped out in the Cathedral plaza,  re-oriented I made my way southeast into the heavily touristy downtown area.  Full of parks, tourists, trams and trinket shops the area was bustling with life.  After a brief break to pick up several mandarin oranges I continued south across a large, beautiful boulevard and into a major park.

Though heavily kissed by winters embrace the park was still sporting several blossoming flowers, an assortment of well-trimmed greens and several ponds.  Though fairly boring in and of itself, the park led me to a rather large beautiful building.  Curious I followed it around until eventually found a side entrance.  Exploring it, I quickly was dumped out into a beautiful plaza and one of Sevilla´s gems. I remembered it from my youth, but my memories were dwarfed by the sheer, real, beauty of the plaza.  Built for a worlds fair that never came to pass due to the outbreak of war in 1929, the Plaza de Espana is an expansive, beautiful piece of architecture that stretches around in slightly over a half circle.  In addition to the building´s structural beauty, it is ringed by a set of benches featuring tiled artwork scenes representing all of the major powers in Spain. The benches are built into one of the walls of the outer building´s first story providing an excellent spot to pause and rest, enjoy the sight of the plaza, and to take in the afternoon sun.  Inside the benches there´s a rather large walkway that wraps around the interior of the semi-circle.  The next layer, in what might be called an architectural onion, is a canal about 20 feet across which rings the square. Though drained, it hardly detracted from the ambiance of the location.  The canal is crossed by a number of arched bridges which provide an almost Venetian feel while the inner most ring is a large cobblestone area ringing a large, beautiful fountain.  With horse drawn carriages making their way around the inner circle, the experience as a whole is delightful.

After pausing in the sun for an hour or so and reading a bit of one of Dad´s books, I made my way back through the city streets before relaxing and refueling at the hostel.  As I relaxed, I bumped into two dutch girls I´d met the day before - Natalie and Linda.  They were about to set off to explore several tapas bars and after a brief exchange, invited me to join.  Out we went once more into the crowded Sevilla streets.  Dodging the astounding abundance of baby strollers and smoking Spaniards, we eventually arrived at a great little tapas bar just up the street. We all placed our orders, I ended up going with anchovies on lettuce hearts, and quail eggs on Spanish ham. A beer, some bread, and a few mouthfuls later we cycled through the usual dialog … where are you from, what do you do, where have you traveled, what´s your history, etc. and before long migrated to the second tapas bar.  A tiny corner construction with virtually no room and the size of most people´s bedrooms.  The place had a high ceiling, with walls heavily decorated with pigs legs, wine bottles, old objects, and the like.  The place was so small that when you turned around, somewhat hidden on a shelf next to the door, they had all of their cleaning supplies bottles and tools stashed away. I ordered a delicious spinach and Spanish salsa tapas, while the girls tried what was a local delicacy - some sort of flavorful paste in a bowl with diced ham on top.

After enjoying the atmosphere for a bit (the place was packed) we made our way out into the street, only to be greeted by a large crowd. The crowd filled a small square and overflowed well into the sidestreets.  Curious what the draw was, and hearing a bit of a ruckus, we made our way over using our height to look over the crowd. We realized that it was part of the pre-Christmas festivities.  This particular one had a giant virgin Mary on a silver dais being transported by 20 or so older Spanish polebearers.  In a centipede-like fashion the statue made it´s way down the street, then up through the double doors to the nearby church which had been thrown open.  The crowd burst out into song, then crowded into the small church behind the statue, before singing more songs.  The statue made its way in, paused, then began its gradual crawl back out.  After watching for a while, we split off from the crowd, made our way back to the hostel and picked up several of the others before setting back out to the bar and club district. There the usual night of hostel revelry and friend-making ensued.

CADIZ

Contrary to my best intentions, I failed to book my first night in the Cadiz hostel ahead of time, or for that matter, print out directions. My plan had been to wake up, walk over to the internet cafe down the street, reserve my spot, print directions, and then make one of the hourly regional trains which traveled between Sevilla and Cadiz. Murphys law prevailed, the internet cafe was closed. I decided to wing it and make the walk to the train station anyhow. Somehow the twisting, turning, Sevilla streets turned me around, causing me to drastically over shoot the rail station.  Before long I found myself staring at the Cathedral once again.  I´m willing to guess that the Cathedral serves as a central point - Sevilla´s Roman Colosseum if you will.  Annoyed, but dedicated to persevering I once again setout  into the spiders web of streets, this time continuing to overshoot the train station and ending up in a very rural, very rugged, and very industrial part of Sevilla well out of the tourist center.  A bit apprehensive about where I was and my safety, I continued to press on, adjusting my course, before eventually finding a street sign at a major intersection that pointed the way to the rail station. Knee killing me, back tired, footsore, but rather relieved I eventually found my way to the station.  The whole trek had taken about an hour and a half, backpack on and all.

Once at the station I had a slight adventure booking my ticket, ending up with with a ticket for a train that departed a full two hours later than I´d have liked. Annoyed, but eager to relax my throbbing leg I made my way outside, sat on the steps in the sun and ate sardines and bread rolls while washing it all down with a spot of water.  I read, napped, and listened to music, before boarding my train and making my way south. The ride was very pretty. Southern Spain is amazing in that most of the territory I´ve seen consists of well-tilled, organized, barren fields stretching over gently sloping hills as far as the eye can see.  Because of the season, most of the fields are just tilled dirt which adds to a beautiful uniform feeling.

When I finally arrived in Cadiz, the weather was much warmer than it had been in Sevilla. The train station was devoid of the tourist info stand I´d hoped for, but I did find a small map in front of the station which was a relief.  The station sits outside the city wall, which is raised and leaves one feeling like you´ve reached a beat up dead end, with an imposing castle wall stretching up before you in either direction.  After following the wall for a few hundred feet, the wall leveled out and I was offered an opportunity to make my way into the city toward the tourist information office marked on the map I´d seen back at the station.  I knew the hostel I wanted was in the heart of the city, but that was about it.  Luckily, I found an internet cafe, paid my 1 euro for a chunk of time, checked the hostel location (which read as booked for that night) and with a lump in my stomach made my way to the spot marked on the map.  When I eventually found the door in a tiny alleyway that was, perhaps, 2 shoulders across I was more than a little stressed to discover a ¨we´ll be back at 18:00″ on the door. With only one real hostel coming up for the town, I decided to wait it out at a wonderful little, bustling tapas bar located just around the corner.

As I settled in and ordered tapas from the display window (they usually stretch the length of the bar, full of pre-cooked tapas waiting to be warmed up and eaten) - I decided to try what looked like a mid-sized stuffed cuddlefish.  As I waited for what ended up being a delicious, tender piece of cuddlefish stuffed with chorizo like meats and sauce, served on french fries and with a side of bread and a beer - I started chatting with two guys who were grabbing a few drinks and watching the Spanish synchronized swimming team on TV.  We joked, commented, and generally sat in awe of the swimmers before one of the guys - who I later learned was the hostel´s owner -  asked if I was waiting to check in.  I told him yes, asked if they had any openings, and to my relief he smiled, shrugged, and said not to worry about it.  They headed back to the hostel, I finished off my cuddlefish and then followed suit.

The hostel - Casa Caracol had a great surf-meets-hostel feeling to it. The common area and first floor is an odd zigzag of space in a rough triangular shape with a table surrounded by benches, kitchen, wood burning fireplace and small open space all sandwiched together. The bedrooms were sandwiched on two oddly shaped floors and topped off by a fun rooftop garden.  The Hostelworld rating for the place had been a 70% with a wide mixture of comments.  Though slightly worried it was going to be a dump when I´d first decided to head to Cadiz, I quickly realized that the place had a fantastic personality to it.  The place was a party hostel.  It was loud, it was super social, the staff were friendly, animated, and a bit ridiculous. The place was clean but in a beach house sort of way.

Before long I´d met the owner Nick, a guy who was in effect the hostel´s social chairman, Rob, Yu-Mi a Japanese girl traveling on her own,  (spelled wrong no doubt), a flavorful Aussie guy - David, an east coaster who was also a professional cook - Aaron and a number of others. In a matter of hours we´d all bonded and after Yu-Mi showed up with the basics for Sushi, she and Aaron decided to expand it to a chip in opportunity.  I shelled in my 4 Euro and before long we were enjoying freshly prepared Sushi.  In addition to the Sushi I stepped next door for another go at what has thus far been my favorite tapas bar in Spain.  This time I ended up with a full sized cuddlefish cooked in a delicious wine sauce and covered in spices and chopped onions.  Stuffed, I returned to the hostel where we settled in for a night of wine, stories, bullshitting and cultural shenanigans.

More to come on Cadiz (which is where I spent Christmas) soon!

The following day I was up and ready to explore by noon.  After a quick errand on the computer I connected with a buddy I’d met in Madrid and ran into in Sevilla. We elected to set off together and explore the city. With no particular plan in mind we began our trip by heading south toward the river. I’d been told the previous day that there was some spectacular graffiti down along the river. As we made our way in that general direction we snagged a quick snack and coffee before meandering our way through the warren of bustling cobblestone streets.

Along the riverfront and the sides of one of the large bridges across the river that flows through town, I was delighted to find a wide assortment of well done, vibrant graffiti art. One depicted an old car and a giant shot of the Godfather, another an anti-war and pro-peace shot of ghostly figures walking, another was of a strange alien figure. All told there were easily 20-30 excellent pieces all done in vibrant colors in the small area I explored. The area they were in was industrial and heavily abused. The large square with a skate park next to it was littered dog feces, trash, empty beer bottles and even the remains of a small bonfire. On one side it had the river as a beautiful backdrop, on the other an old heavily damaged warehouse. It was the perfect spot for the graffiti making its contrast all that much more extreme, but, fitting.

As we continued down along the river, we gradually neared more modern and touristy areas. The parks were better kept, the trash less common. The graffiti bled away and was replaced by vibrant trees, people lazily relaxing along the riverfront parks and fisherman with their long river-fishing poles. The poles, unlike conventional American fishing rods, don´t have reels.  Instead, they are long collapsible things not unlike old branch/bamboo rods. The line is tied to the end and is usually only as long as the pole itself. Though not regularly used for mid to large-sized fish, they do catch the occasional one on them. We paused, feet dangling over the sides of the ancient stone walls lining the river and watched the fisherman fish for about 20 minutes, enjoying the warmth of a bright, sunny winter day.

After a rest, and feeling thoroughly recharged, we continued along the river until we reached an old Muslim tower. The tower, with old canons resting in front, was beautifully framed by palm trees, the river, and the bridge it overlooked. The building itself was made of large blocks of stone with middle-eastern and European influences visible - particularly in and around the windows and doorways.

At the tower we elected to begin cutting in to try and track down some grub. The city streets were overflowing with people, some tourists, mostly locals off work for Christmas or enjoying reduced hours. Before long we found our way through the busy streets dodging carriages, cars, mopeds and trams alike. With a quick turn down a side street we found ourselves dumped into the large area immediately surrounding Sevilla´s main cathedral. Beautifully lit by the golden rays of a 3:00 sun, the courtyard around the cathedral was decorated with 10 foot tall freestanding flower holders  covered in bright red Christmas flowers. Combined with the heavily-laden orange trees, tourist carriages and cobblestone streets, the sight was elegant, beautiful and the epitome of how the holiday season should be. After taking in the building´s exterior, I paid the 2 Euro to explore  inside. In classic form, the interior was massive. With spectacular stone arches gracefully stretching across to form the roof stories above our heads and the rainbow-hued light bouncing through the stained glass windows reflecting off the stone, gold and wood that decorated the Cathedral´s interior. The view was fantastic. After pausing to take in the stunning wooden and metal organ which stretched far above my head I found the ramp up the old Moor prayer tower, turned Christian bell tower, attached to the side of the cathedral. The tower was square, with each side having a sloping ramp. To reach the top you had to traverse some 30 plus levels and a small flight of stairs. Though a hearty hike to the top, the view was spectacular. Looking out from the tower the city stretched away in every direction, while beautiful old bells sat as silent guardians above our heads. From the top, I was able to look down into the interior courtyard in the cathedral - a large space with cobblestone and flagstone floors broken only by a small grove of orange trees. As I looked up and out, I could see over the entirety of the cathedral and down into the sprawling ramparts and minarets that decorated the building.

After making my voyage back down and out through the courtyard, I met up with Rick again and we continued our hunt for food. The venue we eventually found was a small tapas bar that had 3 different areas, each at a different level. Though all open to the others, two were half floors one above the entrance level where the main bar was located and the other below it. The place was a great dark drive and had delicious food. After scarfing down a plate of calamari, fried fish, and a delicious seafood salad, we set off back towards the hostel.

Once back at the hostel, and after a quick nap, we settled in and began the evening ritual … starting at the hostel bar, making new friends, exchanging new stories as well as the same old ones I tell to every new group I meet. Eventually 3 o’clock rolled around and we migrated out to the local park. There we spent another 2 hours relaxing, bullshitting, exchanging entertaining travel stories and generally enjoying the city, evening, and experience.

The following day I was dedicated to wandering at random and rounding out the rest of my brief, if spectacular exploration of Sevilla. With no specific direction in mind I set out eager to explore new streets, alleyways and tapas bars. Eventually I stumbled upon a small grungy dive. The place was small, smoky, dirty and had a good mix of old local men sitting around drinking beer. Ready for lunch I sat down and took in my surroundings.

The place was small. A room off of the bar was the kitchen, the area on and behind the bar itself was heavily laden with bottles of alcohol, breads, legs of ham and decorations. The chairs were all painted with small motifs  depicting the ocean, Spain, or other similar images. Due to the size and layout of the place, all of the plates and silverware were set up on a folding table in one corner. With another table supporting a cooler full of deserts. By the entrance there was a sign with the day’s specialties  and a large display cooler which had several large bowls of some sort of local food. Near the bar there were two large casks upended, one of which was set up as a table with a round glass top. The other had the glass removed and a large saucepan full of a steaming rice concoction resting on a bed of newspaper. The guys working the place would wander by periodically stirring the steaming plate and keeping the rice from burning.

The guy took my order, made a few strong recommendations and before long, grabbed a plate off the back wall, headed over to the steaming bowl and filled the plate with the rice, vegetables and large chunks of pork and ham. In retrospect, I think there was really only one option for that course of the meal, as everyone who came in seemed to end up with it. The bowl was excellent, though much to my chagrin, I found an eyelash about halfway through my plateful of goods. It´s my hope that it was mine! Eventually I finished off the plate -sans eyelash- and the second part of the meal arrived …  a large plate of fresh french fries with 4 little spicy sausage links. The fries were great, the sausage a bit too spicy-sour and pungent for my taste, though it was still tasty.

Times up, time to get back to exploring. I´ll pick up where I left off next time with the rest of my last day and evening in Sevilla and a taste of Cadiz soon!

Christmas has made writing the last few days extremely difficult. Everyone has been engaged in one giant festival here in Cadiz with stores running odd hours, people everywhere, and lots of fun adventures to be had. As I wait for my train to depart Cadiz, I finally find myself able to sit down and share a bit about my time in Sevilla.

After arriving at the hostel, I unloaded my bag and began to get situated. Oasis Sevilla is a fantastic 4-story hostel with a bar and common area on the first floor, rooms on the 2nd and 3rd, and a rooftop terrace with a (cold) pool and nicely equipped kitchen. From the start, the hostel had a warm, friendly feel to it which built camraderie.

I immediately met two German guys and a Swede who were in my room. We made the usual introductions, I checked my email briefly and eagerly dove into the city. The hostel is located immediately off a large plaza containing a mid-sized cathedral. The plaza, divided  into two park areas, was the site of one of the oddest pieces of construction I’ve seen in a long time. One half had been turned into a large walled-off construction zone as they assembled what looks to be some sort of flying sauceresque large building. I cannot for the life of me figure out how or what the end result will be, but it makes for a very odd addition to the skyline. As I was checking my e-mail I talked briefly with a guy who recommended walking down to the river and tracking down some of the graffiti which I put on my to do list for the following day. With no particular direction or location in mind, I set off picking up a bit of tapas in a small tapas bar along the way. I wandered around the zone immediately around my hostel, taking in the huge crowds of people in the streets, the chestnut vendors cooking and hawking their toasty ashen wares and the general hum-drum of a vibrant city alive with life.

By about 8:30 pm I got back to the hostel just in time to join up with a free Tapas and Flamenco tour provided by the hostel. The guide was a German fellow doing an extended stay at the hostel. With some 15 odd people in tow we set out and wound our way through the streets before  arriving at a small tapas bar on a small stone square full of cafes and small shops. In a stampede we set upon the bar, scratching our heads, picking out tapas and passionately wolfing them down with the customary beer that goes with it. After glancing at a menu, I decided to take a different route than the others and asked the waiter/barman for a recommendation. Something different, exciting, and uniquely Spanish. An older gentleman - Fernando - who was sitting next to me at the bar jumped in, and after a quick conference with the barman they picked out a pork tapas for me. When it arrived it was delicious pork tenderloin in a mild olive oil and garlic sauce, over sliced potatoes with whole nodules of cooked garlic. All served with a basket of crunchies and bread and a glass of local beer. It didn´t take long to devour the entire plate.

As we drank and munched away contentedly we all exchanged stories and got to know each other. As it turned out it was our guide’s birthday was at midnight which added to the festive cheer of the evening. As we all relaxed at the table, I chatted with two brother and sister duos, both traveling from the states, as well as an Australian girl who knew one of the sisters. My buddy Rick, whom I´d met in Madrid at the hostel and bumped back into in Sevilla,  joined us … as did several others, including the two Germans and the Swede from my room.

Eventually our guide rounded us up and we again meandered through the city to a bar entrance off a side street. The building was an odd thing. It had an old stone entryway with a fireplace and small stage. There was an outer room with a tin roof, bar, and an expansive set up of two-tiered tables. We quickly re-arranged the tables and in the second (higher) tier set up a long bench of seats. The venue was a kick with old fans hanging from the roof, propane tower heaters, a thick layer of cigarette smoke, fake plant vines, large movie-sized flamenco posters and other odd decorations. The place was dirty, grungy and packed with flavor. Before we knew it everyone had picked up a cheap pitcher of local beer and the tabletop was littered with pitchers, glasses and cameras.

The flamenco show was good, more traditional and with better dancing than the casual flamenco evening I´d stumbled into in Madrid … but lacked some of the character. The performers consisted of two men, one on guitar, one singing and clapping, and a woman who did the majority of the flamenco dance. Her movements were beautiful and flowing all done to an amazing rhythm. At one point the second man got up and joined her in a passionate, tangoesque flamenco which combined the power of a romantic tease with the feel of a bullfight and the paso doble. By midnight the flamenco was coming to an end. We wished our guide a happy birthday finished off the pitchers of beer and made our way to the door. Or next stop was northward to the bar and club section of the town.

The club part of town is around the Plaza de Hercules - a long plaza/parkway full of cafes and shops during the day. In the evening the place comes alive with bars, lounges and discotecas. About 10 strong, we found our way to a rather odd alternative club. The crowd was a bit edgy, and all of the bartenders were female, with short hair and a lot of piercings. Some had mohawks or other similar hair styles. It was all around interesting…if short lived. About 20 minutes after we´d arrived in the packed, shoulder-to-shoulder press some sort of smoke went off. At first we thought they’d teargassed the bar, but despite being unpleasant to breathe and having a slightly orange aftertaste, it didn’t overly hurt, beyond generally being unpleasant. Jostled by the press to get out of the bar, hunkering low to avoid the smoke/fumes, we joined the others as the bar emptied out into the streets. Some sort of fire extinguisher? Hard to know.

After purging our lungs and trying to figure out what had happened, we continued up the street a ways before finally finding another nightclub. Once there, we settled in until 4:30 in the morning when one of the guys got kicked out (apparently for deciding to water the bar). Laughing at the absurdity of it, we decided to round up the troops and head back to the hostel. The walk back was hilarious, with several games of orange dodgeball in the empty streets, using fallen oranges from the heavily-laden trees that line the streets.

Covered in orange juice and smelling of smoke we crawled into bed and prepared for the morning.

The next day started at 11 am. Time is up, I´m off to catch my train. More adventures soon!

As time rushes by the adventure has continued to be an absolute delight. After finishing my last post I set out into the city. In usual form I was more focused on the voyage than the destination. With my map stashed in my back pocket I picked a direction and began to roam. Through small alleyways, along major two lane thoroughfares and beyond I wound my way north across the city. The weather has been delightful, a little crisp but far from too cold. I’ve also been blessed with sunny weather and a total lack of rain. Eventually I found myself in downtown Madrid’s bustling tourist and business center. With beautiful old architecture thrown seemingly at random between new signs for major chains and newer buildings, the city was vibrantly alive with life.

I eventually found a large, beautiful park. I absorbed the beauty of fall-kissed trees, enjoyed the clean crisp air, and breathed in scents coming from all the vegetation. As I neared the center of the park, I came across a number of gorgeous cats who had seemingly laid claim to a small Galapagos monument. Walled away from the people by large wrought iron fences the cats had free reign of a fun, small set of pools and bushes. As I was relaxing and watching the cats frolic an old woman came up with a stroller. To my amazement, in place of the usual child the stroller held a cat strapped into an adorable little vest sitting regally in an unzipped jacket turned quilt. Though tied by its leash to the stroller, the cat was obviously far from interested in wandering off. As he sat there relaxing and watching the birds his mother pulled out a number of cans of cat food, began feeding the strays, conversing with each and calling them by name. The whole thing was adorable.

I watched the cats play in the bushes and harass the local pigeon population before I continued into the center of the park which was based around a small lake. The lake was surrounded by walkways on two sides, with the Galapagos monument on the third, and a large war memorial on the fourth. The memorial was a beautiful thing with a large central pillar, statuary and steps that led down to the water’s edge. Eventually I made my way around the lake’s edge and spent an hour or so napping, reading, and relaxing in the afternoon sun at the base of the steps near the water.

Rested and relaxed I continued my exploration of the park and eventually found a large, beautifully manicured garden which lead me down towards the Prado Art Museum. Despite painfully sore feet, I decided to make every moment count and picked up a ticket. The museum had a wonderful collection, all beautifully displayed. In addition to a number of the usual famous pieces, I found countless less renown works from masterful artists. Most memorable was a fantastic statue created in the 1400 or 1500s that had rich, pure colors and appeared to be almost 3 dimensional. The other pieces that really caught my attention were a series of stunning inlaid tabletops. The tables impressive in their weight to begin with, had tops that were completely covered in inlaid motifs depicting animals, wildlife, patterns, and flowers all created with gorgeous precious stones. One of the more impressive ones was also supported by 4 large beautiful lions.

In addition to their rather sizable art collection, the museum also had small, beautiful sets of Greek and Roman statues, and a number of marble slave masks that were infused with an amazing degree of expression and emotion.

After leaving the Prado I found my way back to the hostel where I rested for a bit before setting out to find some food. As I roamed hunting for a tapas or kebab shop I stumbled into a bustling market street lined with butchers, vegetable stands, and the like. A little further down it I found an entrance into an a large, two story market full of individual produce, fish, meat, olive, and sausage stands. The smells, colors, and assortment of food was absolutely fantastic. As I roamed, trying to decide what to pick up for dinner, I eventually picked up a persimmon and several tangerines. Not in the mood to cook meat, and unable to find seafood prices that fit my budget, I elected to continue my quest for a kebab shop. Eventually, kebab in hand I settled in back at the hostel for another night meeting new friends.

After a few hours spent in the hostel common area meeting, greeting and getting to know each other we set off to explore the city’s night life. As we meandered our way through the city and hopped from bar to bar, we eventually ended up at a fun downstairs club. The entrance was a small staircase where I had to watch my head, but the club itself was a narrow set of basement rooms with a vaulted brick ceiling. The place looked as though it had once stored wine casks. Eager to enjoy the evening, we danced, relaxed, and explored the particularly flavorful and peculiar club which was populated predominantly by locals dancing, smoking, and drinking the night away. By about 4:30AM we decided to call it a night and made the trip back to the hostel. The city at night is beautiful with vibrant lights, people wandering the streets at all hours, and a constant hum of activity.

The following morning I woke up early, explored the area around the hostel a bit more before hopping the tube up to the train station. The train station is a large, beautiful structure, with fun elements and a very flavorful style. One of the large common areas within the station has an indoor garden in the center of it with large palm trees, all sorts of vegetation and even a decent sized pool full of lilies and turtles. After taking it all in, I snagged a quick bite to eat and then made my way to my train. Interestingly I had to put my backpack through an x-ray machine. I then boarded the train through a terminal, as you would at the airport. An all around new process I hadn’t been through before.

I enjoyed Madrid thoroughly, though it´s without question a large city and lacks a lot of the charm of a smaller town. The people were friendly, but in a big city sort of way. The streets while beautiful are somewhat sterile and modernized, not to mention, land-mined with dog nuggets. That said, I enjoyed it immensely and my stay was fantastic, but the city cannot compare in any way, shape or form to Seville which I will write about soon.

As I begin my first full day in Spain there is already so much to share that I´m eager to put it down while it is still vivid in my memory. It´s about 11:00AM. As I upload several videos I´m typing away on a sticky keyboard in a small internet cafe down the street from my hostel.

The Flight

My flight over was good. Long, but good. Matt picked me up from the apartment around 9 and by 10:00 I found myself checking in and going through security. Lines were non-existent and by 10:30, after a quick snack, I was relaxing at my departure gate watching the minutes slowly march by. Despite the lack of lines the airport itself was alive with activity. People coming, going, and generally caught up in the hustle and bustle that makes the lifeblood of an airport so fascinating to watch. By 11:30 I double- checked my gate number, only to find that it had been changed during my brief nap. After tracking down the new gate we boarded and set off.

I´m anything but impressed with US Airways. While the staff on the US leg was courteous and the highlight of the trip, the planes are old, dirty junkers that have been stripped of everything humanly possible.  It´s truly embarrassing when compared to companies like EasyJet and RyanAir. The US planes are older/just as old, in comparable/worse condition, they charge for everything, the service is mediocre and yet the fares for the US Airways flights are at best 10X the price.  I´m relatively confident that the planes on both legs of my trip were older than I was and showed it. On the first leg food, and even more obnoxiously water, was available for sale - despite the 3.5 plus hour length of the trip.

After a 30 plus minute delay getting off the ground we eventually found our way to Philadelphia. Luckily they´d factored in over an hour of extra time for delays and I was able to make my connecting flight with just enough time in between to grab a quick bite to eat, and to refill my water bottle.

Unfortunately, the Phili to Madrid flight was delayed by some sort of mechanical problem initially which at one point involved them shutting the entire plane/power off, which was rather entertaining.  By the time we finally got up and running and began our taxi out to the runway the weather had deteriorated forcing us to get a de-icing spraydown before taxing back to the takeoff queue.  No sooner had we finished the de-icing wash and begun to taxi back to the queue when the weather changed again, forcing a second trip to the de-icing zone for a different type of chemical spraydown.  Two+ hours later we were finally prepared for takeoff and airborn. 

 Before watching the one in flight movie - Journey to the Center of the Earth - on the old wall mounted plasma, dinner was served.  Chopped southwestern style chicken, with rice, corn, salad and a roll. Unfortunately, they somehow managed to burn the rice presumably by having the container on the heater or in the microwave too long.  Beyond that the lettuce was wilted - but it made for a good enough snack. On the upside I didn´t get food poisoning =p. My post nap routine consisted of reading, snatching brief naps, listening to music and generally staring at the back of the seat in front of me. 

The highlight of the flight was the sunrise.  As we crossed the ocean at 35k feet with the sea below us, a blood red sunrise slowly spread across the horizon.  It was truly spectacular with some of the most vivid reds and oranges I’ve seen in a sunrise in a long time.  The sunrise´s beauty was made that much more dramatic by our altitude and the absence of clouds.  Truly stunning.

Madrid

I arrived in Madrid around 11:30 AM on Wednesday.  Always a weird sensation to leave at 1PM one day and then to arrive in your destination nearly a day later.   Customs was incredibly easy and by 11:45 I was standing at the entrance doors to the airport scratching my head, letting the realization that I´d made it sink in, and trying to decide my next step.  As you might imagine, first things first - money.  After a little hunting I eventually tracked down an ATM and pulled out some cash.  After picking up a packet of gum to break the large bills the ATM gave me and to get change for the Metro I tracked down a tourist information chiosk, picked up a free map and then continued towards the Metro.  Directions, metro map and city map in hand I quickly picked up a metro ticket and traveled my way through the 3 metro lines I needed, before finally arriving at Tirso De Molina.  The Spanish metro so far has been extremely clean, easy to navigate and punctual - fantastic!

It was not until I made my way up the old granite steps out of the metro station and into a brisk, sunny, Madrid day that I truly felt like I was in Spain.  The metro station is in a small square, ringed by a market, various odd shops, a small theatre, and a number of bars.  Among the newspaper stands there are 5 or 6 flower vendors selling beautiful arrangements of freshly cut flowers, moss, vases and other similarly themed items. 

My hostel was about 100 meters down one of the smaller, one-way side streets off of the main square.  With the office located on the 4th floor it was an entertaining adventure to find the right buzzer on the door, then to make my way up to the Musas Hostel.  The hostel itself is clean, modern, fun and laid back with fantastic facilities. The rooms are extremely clean and all have in-suite bathrooms which is nice.  The room I´m in is a 10 person mixed sex room with bunkbeds sandwiched in, in every way possible.  With free 15 minute web access, a full kitchen and great common area it´s a great deal for 15 Euro a night.  The hostel itself is oddly decorated with vividly graphic, but artistic sketches of women in the nude or half drawn images of sextual acts.   Entire walls are covered in the colorful, framed, 8×10 sketches creating a fun, artistic, and highly entertaining scrapbook like feel.  

After checking in, I dropped my bag in the baggage room and made my way to the common area where I dozed, read and checked my e-mail while I waited until they finished cleaning the rooms at 3.   By 3:15 I was snoring away contentedly in my hostel bunk eager to snatch a few hours of sleep for what I knew would be a full evening.

By 5:30 I was up and ready for food and exploring.   Ready for something familiar I made my way down a random street from the square and quickly found a kebab shop.  With a steaming kebab in one hand and a soda in the other I took in the street’s odd assortment of Asian, Middle Eastern, and bizarre clothing/rug/trinket stores while enjoying the cobblestone streets, historic architecture and general feel of the city.   My foray into the surrounding area lasted about an hour before I found myself back at the hostel engaged in conversation with/getting to know a number of the other travelers.  As expected most are Australians and New Zealanders with a number of Canadians and Americans thrown into the mix.   After another quick foray to the corner store for beer and salami I ended up cooking an extra chicken breast given to me by an Australian couple who didn’t want to go to waste.  

By 9:00 Eduardo - a gentleman from Mexico City, who has been living in Spain for the last 6 years and currently works for the hostel - brought out a large tub of Sangria and a deck of cards.   After a warm up game of Kings Cup we demolished the Sangria and all elected to pay the 10 Euro for the pub crawl Edwardo was leading. 

After a few brief stops at nearby hostels our group made our way to the first pub.  There, as part of the crawl we each got a free pint and an hour or so to mix, mingle, and relax.   Somehow I ended up meeting a group of 3 girls my age, out with an older husband/wife and family friend.  Despite my nearly non-existent and their nearly non-existent English we quickly hit it off - though for the life of me, I´m still confused about what they were out celebrating.  Each had Christmas raindeer antlers on, flashing/glowy rings, and two of them had large boas.  We danced, we chatted, we laughed, we drank and before long one of the girls ended up putting her antlers on me and insisting I wear/keep ‘em.  After a thoroughly entertaining hour or two the pub crawl moved on. I said goodbye to my new found friends, and got a hearty laughs for the rest of the pub crawl for my antlers.

The next few pubs we went to were all surprisingly busy for a Wednesday night and an absolute blast.  Despite intending to get to bed by 1:00AM, I found myself at the last stop on the crawl - a large underground night club.  Too tired to dance more and with the pub crawl winding down I elected to set off back towards the hostel which I knew was somewhere to the south.  Starving I picked up a can of pringles - the only thing I could find and began wandering slowly south.  Eventually, with a general idea where I was, I was lost.   Wandering through the winding warren of deserted streets I eventually ended up walking near/past a group of 3 well dressed locals in their late 30s/early 40s.   As I approached one of the guys asked me a quick question in Spanish which I didn´t understand. After a quick exchange, he asked if I knew where a bar was.  Right as he did, we apparently found it.  The bar - was a local hole in the wall.  With a door that looked more like the entrance to a house than an establishment, no sign, and definitely no windows.  The gentleman I´d be talking to asked if I wanted to join them…I thought about it for a second, sized them up, considered the time and then went for it. 

Just inside the door and to the left was the bar.  In many ways it looked like the entrance to a tiny hotel.  With stairs going up on one side, and the bar where the receptionist would ordinarily be.  We passed by the bar, and quickly made a left down a small hallway into a small room full of people, cigarette smoke, small tables and music.  Despite the late hour - probably close to 4AM the place was packed.  A quick count showed more than 40 people sandwiched into the small area.  The room had a wooden bench seat that wrapped around most of it with a tiled back that stretched up to about head height as you sat. There was a tightly packed small coffee shop and tables in the middle.  We sat and Carmen, the woman in the group quickly said hello to “El Maesrto” an older gentleman with a cane, and suit coat, who periodically burst out into low, smoke flavored song.  

There was one acoustic guitar which was periodically passed between people while others seemingly at random burst out into song.  Sometimes brief 30 second blurbs, other times longer snippits of song.  The crowd as a whole snapped or clapped along all the while drinking and smoking.  Almost everyone there had a cigarette in hand and the smoke left everyone’s voice rough and eyes red.  It added to the atmosphere.  The walls were simply decorated with photos of flamenco singers and performers. The gentleman I´d met was thrilled to share the experience with me.  

Eager to capture the moment, but feeling as though it might be inappropriate to pull out my camera, I turned my video camera on in my pocket to capture some of the songs and the atmosphere.   Here are the two videos - though i´m afraid they´re audio only:

Eventually my new found friends left and I decided it was time to continue to wayward trip home.   Here´s a brief video I shot as I walked - one i´m sure you´ll love mom:

Not to fear, I eventually found my way home safe and sound, crawled into bed, and think I have managed to thoroughly beat my jet lag.

Time to get to exploring the city! Bye for now!

Hello friends!
It’s 1:05 AM Tuesday the 16th of December and a few brief hours from now another adventure is about to begin. My ticket is booked, my plans double checked, my bags packed, my shoes dusted off. Now all that is left is the open road, adventure and growth.

The sensation right before a trip is an amazing one. For me it is, in many ways, very similar to the sensation right before giving a big speech. Butterflies in your stomach, anticipation, the unknown, a little fear and an eagerness to undertake the experience. You wonder what you forgot, what you should have done differently and then ultimately commit to it 100%. Once your cross the threshold and the door is closed behind you, you’re off and running.

By the time I factor in the 3 hour lead time the airports require, flight time and layovers I’ll be looking at just under 20 hours of travel time….yikes. That said, the first leg of the trip will take me from Phoenix to Philadelphia. There, weather permitting, I’ll switch to a second US Airlines flight from Philadelphia to Madrid. My hostel is booked in the heart of old town and I’m ready to go.

First though, I recorded two quick videos as I packed this evening which outline what I’ve chosen to pack, why and how it all comes together. My goal for this trip is to avoid checking luggage, and with the shorter (16 day) duration, I’ve gone with a smaller pack. Without further adieu:

Part II:

Everything fit with loads of ample room.  Despite the extra room, I’m still nearly positive that I’ve over packed.  I’ll do a post mortem after the trip and share what should have made the list and what shouldn’t have.

It’s something you don’t hear talked about regularly.  One of those little surprises that the diligent and thorough will discover after returning from an international trip as they pour over their credit card statement.

Most travel blogs and credit card companies warn you about the importance of calling your credit card company immediately before an international trip to notify them that you’ll be out of the country and that it’s acceptable to approve international charges.  What they usually don’t talk about is currency exchange fees, transaction fees, and international ATM fees - all of which add to the cost of travel.

In preparing for my upcoming trip I made a few calls and did a bit of research.  What I have learned  is that all banks have slightly different policies and approaches to international fees and the only way to truly know where you stand is to call and ask.  Luckily, while some of the agents don’t have the rates memorized they can pull them up and let you know quickly and easily.  Just call the service number listed on the back of your credit or debit card.

As I prepared to travel I dealt with my three providers: Citi Bank, Bank of America and Chase Bank. It’s interesting and perhaps important to note that none of the banks were willing to wave or negotiate the fees (and believe me I tried).

There are two different fee structures to be aware of.  One for international Credit Card use.  The other for international debit card/ATM use. These fees are especially obnoxious because you’re probably getting hit in 2-3 areas.

Debit Cards:

Chase told me that international use of their Visa debit cards came with a 3% currency exchange fee and a $3 ATM use fee.  Then on top of that add on whatever ATM transaction fee the international bank chooses to charge for supporting an out of network bank. Unfortunately, I failed to confirm what the use fee was for retail transactions using the Chase Visa debit card. I believe they are at least 3%.

Bank of America was a bit more thorough in providing me with a breakdown of specifics.  A Visa debit card through them results in a 1% currency exchange service fee. The gal I talked to failed to give me the specifics on their out of network ATM fee, which I assume is between $2-$4.  She did note that the  B of A fee is waved if you use one of their partner bank ATMs. Unfortunately there is no escaping the 1% conversation fee. Interestingly, she did note that they have 29,000 “Visa” ATMs and 19,000 “Plus” ATMs in Spain.  If you use your debit card anywhere besides their ATM they charge a 3% currency exchange fee for retail transactions using the Vista debit card.

The only way you can get the ATM fee waved seems to be if you tie it to a rather large bank account. Definitely not an option most 20 somethings will be able to take advantage of, though it is a possibility for families or retirees looking at traveling.  You might also be able to leverage a business account to get the fees waved.

Credit Cards

For convenience reasons when traveling in Europe, I prefer to use either Visa or MasterCard. Unfortunately, Discover isn’t accepted internationally,  and AmEx  seems to have significantly less coverage.  I highly recommend researching what cards are most commonly accepted in the region of the world you’re planning to visit.

In calling, I found that both Bank of America and Chase set their Credit Card transaction fee at 3% on every transaction for their Visa cards.  Contrary to some of the material I’ve read on the web, the 3% fee seemed to be fairly common across the banks I talked to when dealing with Visa cards.  Again, despite raising a considerable fuss about the issue, neither bank was willing to adjust the rate.

I was able to confirm that B of A and Citi both place a 1% transaction fee on their MasterCard credit cards. While not positive, the way the B of A representative referred to the fee it’s set by MasterCard.  Though it’s also probably subject to the individual credit card/bank contract.

My experiences seem to line up fairly well with the following survey done by IndexCreditCards.com which found:

How do the major credit card issuers stack up? Below are the international transaction fees from each issuer (for banks that issue Visa or MasterCard branded cards, these numbers include the Visa or MasterCard fees):

• Capital One: 0% transaction fee. (Capital One not only doesn’t impose its own fee, but it also eats the 1% fee that Visa or MasterCard impose.)
• Discover: 0% transaction fee
• American Express: 2% (Increasing to 2.7% January 1, 2009)
• Pulaski Bank: 2%
• Barclays/Juniper Bank: 2%-3%, depending on card
• Bank of America: 3%
• Chase: 3%
• Citibank: 3%
• GE Money 3%
• HSBC: 3%
• U.S. Bancorp (U.S. Bank): 3%
• Wells Fargo: 3%

I prefer using a debit card for cash withdrawals over currency exchangers or travelers checks, and a credit card for the lion’s share of my other purchases.  For this trip I’ll use my 1% cash back MasterCard which - when the dust settles - should negate the 1% fee they’ll be charging on every purchase.  A side note: Don’t assume that airline miles cards have better travel rates.  From what I’ve seen they’re treated exactly the same as any other card…so as much as it may pain you, you might be better off leaving the Mileage card at home.

Tips, suggestions or additional ideas? Please share them in a comment form below. Was this post useful?  I’d love your feedback.

This past weekend I felt the urge to once again make the trek across the valley to the Phoenix Public Zoo. Though mainly there to see how well I would be able to blend in with the wild life I decided to take along a camera or two for kicks. It was a beautiful fall day and just cool enough that many of the animals were out and about for a leisurely stroll.

While some of you may not particularly care for the Phoenix Zoo and prefer its larger cousins to the east and west I’ve always found it to be rather enjoyable. There’s something about animals at play that brings mirth to the soul while relaxing the mind and body.

Beyond that, I’ve always found that animals give some rather spectacular advice.  Like the photo above for example.  A wonderful illustration that two heads and corresponding ideas can blend near seamlessly if only you take the right approach and spend a bit of time together.

Or, as this Giraffe was so kind as to illustrate, perspective really can change everything.  I know for my part, I’ve had days where this shot pretty much summed everything up.  It’s a bit like a Giraffe’s version of the whole Ostrich with its head in the sand thing.

One should also remember that Quacks…

Really do come in all different shapes and sizes.

As a final note, I suppose I should also point out, that with stalwart resolve and enough gall you can climb to any height.  Just remember, that there is almost always another branch above or beside you.  The trick is being willing to jump for it.

I suppose at this point that that’s enough monkeying around.  So, without further adieu I invite you to view the rest of the 100+ photos from my latest Zoo trip and higher resolution versions of the shots included in this post over in my photo gallery starting on page 4 of the Zoo Album: View them.

The term Multi-tasking has become prolific.  If you have read an article about the millennial generation, Web 2.0, or the power and impact of the internet recently, you’ve no doubt come across it regularly.  It’s often referenced as the great enabler of the world’s tech savvy youths and just as often it’s fiercely debated as the great quality inhibitor. Prominent efficiency blogs like Lifehacker deride the term and lambaste multi-tasking as a quality and efficiency reducer. Surveys have been done, books written, and a ferocious flurry of debate has arisen around the benefits, negatives, and great undecideds associated with multi-tasking.  A debate that has spilled onto this blog repeatedly with the most pronounced instance occurring in my 2 part series on Educating Millennials. Unfortunately, we have it all wrong.

The term multi-tasking has never sat well with me.  Sure, it seems to fit some of the behaviors and is close enough in definition and appearance to what’s actually occurring that it’s been the best and easiest way to describe what’s going on - but as a tech savvy millennial the shoe never quite seemed to fit.

Multi-tasking is the simultaneous execution of multiple actions. Juggling is multi-tasking, patting your head and rubbing your stomach is multi-tasking. The way I search the web, chat, watch a movie and write all at once — That is something different.  It is parallel processing. The difference is subtle, but significant.

What is Parallel Processing?

First, clear your mind of any pre-conceived definitions you may harbor for the term parallel processing. What I’m talking about has nothing to do with parallel computing or Amdhal’s law. The fundamental difference between multi-tasking and parallel processing is the way our minds respond to, and deal with, the actions we are handling.  Using my previous examples, when juggling or patting your head and rubbing your stomach you’re performing two actions simultaneously.  As I’m sure most of us will agree, that’s incredibly difficult and our performance decreases exponentially the more tasks we add.

Parallel processing, in contrast, deals with a cycling, structured, hierarchical list which is continuously executed at a comfortable pace.  The speed with which that list is executed and repeated depends on an individual’s familiarity with the tasks and the time/focus each task requires.  A juggler can’t stop to take more time with one ball without losing the other 2.  An individual switching between browser tabs, a movie, and several conversations can. The advantage that millennials and tech savvy individuals the world over have developed is not the ability to do more at once, but rather the ability to handle more tasks almost simultaneously in a more time efficient and effective fashion.

The Skill Set

One of the fundamental components of parallel processing is task familiarity. If I sat you down in front of a massively multi-layer online game and you had never played before, your entire focus would be consumed by trying to move forward while interacting with the spatial environment. Chances are the degree of your familiarity with the action would be so small that it would consume almost all of your attention to execute it. However, fast forward a bit and you’ll have gained familiarity with the process and be able to automate most of it subconsciously. Before long you’ll be carrying on 5 conversations through the in-game chat channels, interacting with other players, traversing the virtual world and engaging in complex actions all seemingly simultaneously. In these instances, there are simply too many actions to be able to manage and participate in them all at the same time.  You can, however, cycle through actions based on the immediacy of their need and respond to each fully in lightning quick bursts.

One of our most incredible abilities is to take certain tasks, develop a familiarity with them, and then transition them into a familiar ’second nature’ skill set.  When you write, you typically don’t have to think about how you hold a pencil or what muscles make the letters you want.  Further, as you write words, the familiar ones come to you naturally almost without a second thought.  It’s only the ones you’re unfamiliar with that you have to pause and spell out letter by letter, sound by sound. There are thousands of every day tasks we take for granted as developed skills and hardly notice. If you wear glasses, have taken them off, but still gone to push them up on your nose, you’ve experienced a perfect illustration of how our brain is capable of executing and automating ’second nature’ behaviors almost subconsciously.

Why It Matters

The modern business environment is not the only thing changing.  The world we know, perceive, and interact with is being driven forward by powerful, expansive new technologies.  Understanding the way in which we interact with these technologies and how they change our behaviors is fundamental to understanding what’s really going on around us. The process followed while writing a hand written letter in the 1800s is almost unrecognizable when compared to the steps and process employed by a modern individual writing an e-mail or research paper. Significantly more has changed than the technology.  The very way we relate to, formulate, and execute actions has evolved.  Unfortunately, despite changing our behaviors, our perception of how the processes should work and the advice we offer on how to execute it, has not changed drastically.

This also becomes very significant in our understanding of what looks like a social disconnect. If you’ve ever walked up to someone engaging in heavy parallel tasking and had trouble engaging them in conversation or getting a response from them, it’s because you’re disrupting the process they’re comfortable with and the rate with which they’re executing the sequence. Chances are, whatever activities they’re carrying out are balanced near the uppermost end of what they can comfortably process. They’re in a rhythm, executing a sequence of actions and able to perform at that rate. Enter the parent or roommate who wants to talk about their day in real time, without consideration for the other 5-15 processes the individual has going on, and you end up disrupting the flow of parallel processing. The end result is always a general break down across the board.  I find it interesting that social norms tell us it’s rude to walk up to a conversation two people are having privately about African swallows and begin talking to them about astrological geometry, but not similarly rude to effectively do the same thing when an individual is using a digital device.

I invite you all to join me in changing the dialog surrounding technology and multi-tasking. Before honest dialogue can move forward it’s necessary that we adopt descriptive language like ‘parallel processing‘ that accurately identifies and describes the phenomenon.

Agree?  Disagree? Thoughts or comments?  Please share them in comment form below.  As always I love your feedback and discussion. Additionally, I’d like to thank Dr. John Crosby for his feedback and collaborative ideas on this subject.

December 12th will mark one year to the day since I returned from my 3 month European walkabout. A trip during which I explored Scotland, England, The Netherlands, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Italy, San Marino, The Vatican and Greece. While it has been less than a year and I have no right to complain, my feet have been itching for the open road, my eyes dying for new sights and my palate hankering for new tastes and foods.  I still have some great content to share and post on the usual subjects before I leave, but please be advised that for the duration of the trip (12/16/08-1/1/09) I will be publishing travel journals instead of my typical blog content.

The Research

For the past month I’ve been scouring the web for deals and information.  New Zealand’s weather, current currency rate, and beauty put it high on the list. As did the climate, exchange rate and tango dancing in Argentina.   I even considered Iceland despite the 5 hours of daylight and 35 degree highs…after all how can you beat an opportunity to visit a Scandinavian country whose currency has lost nearly half of its value in the last 5 months?  A return trip to the Greek islands also received heavy consideration.  As did Costa Rica, Hawaii and Cancun.  So many amazing destinations … each with its own flavor, its own mystery and its own adventure.

One of the most exciting things about travel is how your comfort level changes the more you do it. As I learn more about the world at large my curiosity and hunger to explore it continues to grow.  The end result is a fairly carefree approach to where I end up.  I know that no matter where I go or what part of the world I explore, I will grow as an individual while experiencing exciting new tastes, adventures and cultures.  The beauty of that approach is it allows me to be significantly more flexible when booking my trip. To use my upcoming trip as an example; despite researching possible destinations and airfare for more than a month and a half, it wasn’t until 60 minutes before I booked my flight that I knew which country/continent I was going to be traveling to.  30 minutes after that I’d narrowed the destination down to Barcelona and Madrid and shortly there after my ticket was booked.  There are few sensations like clicking “submit” and knowing that you just invested a sizable chunk of money in airfare and have committed to a new adventure. In its own way it’s every bit as exciting as a state of the art roller coaster ride and I find it often leaves me with similar butterflies in my stomach.

Unfortunately, the only time I’m able to get off is between December 16th and the 4th of January.  As a result of the holiday travel, airfare skyrockets during this period - even on international flights. As it turned out airfare to Argentina was over $500 more than a trip to Spain with airfare to New Zealand coming in at $800-$1000 more. Places like Hawaii, Cancun, and Puerto Rico were cheaper, but only by about $200.  By flying out on the 16th (my earliest possible date) and being willing to fly home on New Year’s Day, I was able to find airfare more than $200+ dollars cheaper than if I tried to fly back on the 2nd-4th.

The Resources

I do most of my booking research through Lessno.com and Kayak.com both of which do an excellent job searching multiple carriers and returning quality results.  While both offer a flexible date search the matrix which Lessno generates is the best I’ve seen on a travel booking site and allows for a much wider date range than Kayak.  On the flip side, with registration, Kayak’s daily fare monitoring e-mails can be really useful.  I did my actual booking, however, through FlyCheapAbroad.com which is the same service I booked through last year.  The website looked unprofessional and left me a bit nervous, but every time I’ve used them so far, they have delivered quality service and an unbeatable price.  The flight I ended up booking through them was the exact same flight that came up on Kayak but for more than $40 less.  Hopefully they won’t disappoint.  For those considering a flight to Hawaii or New Zealand, I discovered that Hawaiian Airlines and Air New Zealand/Qantas all run fantastic specials 1/2-2/3 of the lowest prices on Kayak and other search sites.  If you’re booking far enough in advance, it always pays to double check with the carrier and see what they’re offering.

With all of the global economic issues the dollar has been skyrocketing and while this may not be incredible for the US economy, it’s every travelers dream. The US dollar has gained over 20% against several major currencies over the last 6 months, and shows no signs of slowing down. It’s a great time to travel if you’ve been lucky enough to avoid the flood of pink slips going out.

The Destination

As mentioned above, I ended up selecting Spain as my destination.  My travel style is backpack/hostel based and takes a very play-it-by-ear approach.  I’ve booked my ticket so I know my starting and ending destination, but that’s about the extent of it.  I’ll be booking a hostel ahead of time in Spain for my first 2 nights and another over Christmas as a precautionary step, but beyond that my trip will be fluid.  While I may end up making it over to Portugal, it’s more likely that I’ll be focusing on southern Spain.  16 days should be just about the right amount of time to give southern Spain a somewhat thorough going over.  Similar to the first 2 months of my trip last year I’ll be traveling on my own and I’ll use Hostelworld.com, Couchsurfing.com and Hostelbookers to find and book my accommodations.

I’m eager to re-visit Spain and see it through an adult’s eyes and perception (I spent time there when I was 11 back in ‘95) . I’m also thrilled to have an opportunity to explore a piece of Europe I skipped over during my last trip.   I’d love to make it over into southern France but highly doubt I’ll even make it as far as Barcelona.

One exciting addition to the trip that I did not have with me last year is an ultra portable Flip Camera. If all goes according to plan I should have the usual travel photos as well as exciting new video to share with you all.

Have tips, suggestions or ideas on where to go/see and stay?  Please share them in the comments section below! It’s time to do a bit of wayfaring!