December 31, 2014

Every New Year Has A Plan

It's New Year's Eve.

I definitely didn't expect to be blogging on my iPhone in the lobby of a Holiday Inn Express.

In Spain.

I thought we would already be back in France, toasting up our 4th European new year with our La Fère friends. It would be very cold outside, but very warm together, and an endless supply of food and champagne. It was supposed to be this way . . . it was planned.

This trip has served well as a metaphor for my 2014: a strong start, some unexpected flips in the itinerary, and a surprisingly welcome change in the end.

Volleyball "club hopping" has never been an objective of mine (my history as an athlete proves that), but now I'm at my 3rd club in as many seasons. 2015 will tell us if this La Fère thing is going to last.

Visas are always a tricky piece of the giant puzzle of living abroad. We will know between February and April if our current visas will be granted extensions. Then we'll know what and when our USA travel plans will be.

One best friend is having her second baby. Another best friend is getting married. My cousins are having the first "grandchild" of this Swagerty generation. Families and friends are growing this new year in every beautiful way.

There will be more travels. There will be more adventures and stories, too. Casablanca is hopeful. The rest of my original Spain and Portugal trip still calls to me. My sister-in-law is thinking about Greece. A road trip to Romania may even be on the table. Cultures will be experienced, histories will emerge, and I will learn. 

I turn 29 in a week and a half. It was very pleasing to say I was in my "early twenties" and "mid-twenties" and that Marc and I were "twenty-somethings." At 29 (and Marc at 31), I feel like I should just skip to "we're in our early thirties." So I'll probably lie about my age a few times in 2015. I'm planning that, for sure.

Blogging (just like journaling) keeps your reflections on hand. I love it. But blogging is very much for people who love writing. A bunch of you out there are making those 2015 resolutions. If you want to write, get that blog going (or revive it!), even if it's just for you.

I'm four years into What Up, Swags?!, and so so grateful to have so many recorded memories. Thank you for being a part of these last four years, and let's hope for many more to come!

This #SwagVil2Spain trip has thrown a few curve balls our way, but they keep working to our advantage. Changing our route from Madrid/Málaga to directly into Granada saved us a ton of money. Our December 31 canceled flight back to Paris was all made okay by 3 free hotel nights in the sunny south of Spain. Let's just hope the January 3rd flight really happens, and we can get back to the Picardy chill!

Happy 2015 to you and to whomever you end up spending it with - may you all be friends by the end of the countdown! Plan on it!
  
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December 30, 2014

Granada: Do Not Fall!

Granada is either steep or slippery, or both. It's also very beautiful, as long as you have your footing! Neither of us fell, but it was because we were duly warned, and thus, extremely careful where we put our feet.


There were three main sections to our time in Granada: our AirBnB host, the Alhambra, and the Arab tea house. Every moment was distinctly different from the rest of our #SwagVil2Spain trip, and we may have started to fall in love.


Our AirBnB Host

Our first stop upon arriving to Granada was to find Fuensanta, our AirBnB host, at her bodeguilla (a little bodega).


La Bodeguilla de Al Aldo: WOW. This was, by far, our most authentic Spanish experience during the entire trip, and one of the coolest experiences of our lives!


We walked up around 10:00pm on a Saturday night, and we could barely get ourselves through the door, it was so packed. When we finally did manage to get inside, a dark-haired lady came down the steps of her two-tiered bar to see what we needed. When I said, "Hola, me llamo Christy," her face lit into a huge smile.

Our communication was limited by my high school level Spanish the entire two days we were there, but Fuensanta is just one of those people who literally loves everybody. She can't help it. She loves to make people happy with her servings of wines and tapas, and she loves to share her beautiful apartment with new people.

Think of the friendliest, most generous, and most fun person you've ever met. Multiply that by 10 to get Fuensanta. Then think of all the cool people a person like Fuensanta attracts, and those were the folks in her bodeguilla. Everyone was having a genuinely wonderful time together, eating, drinking, talking, laughing, being together. The energy was unmatched in the big city cafes of Madrid and Málaga; this was an intimate setting with intimate friends, and we got to be a part of it.

The Alhambra


We took the long way up to the Door of Justice. It was probably the direct route, but it felt like the long way because we walked uphill - er, hiked - the entire 30 minutes. I will say that in addition to the breathlessness associated with rapidly gaining altitude, it was beautiful to see the city of Granada rise with the sun that morning.


The rules of the Alhambra are simple.


"No large bags. No smoking on the grounds. No using a tripod. Do not touch the decorations on the walls. Do not touch or lean on the columns and architectural pillars. Do not touch the plants in the gardens."

Marc and I looked at each other. Check, check, check, no problem, this is easy. Then we read the next rule, illustrated with a slipping cartoon.


"Take care not to fall."

That's a rule?! Yes. Throughout the gardens, instead of a customary "Be careful" or "Take caution" or even a Spanish "Cuidado" sign, the much more imperative command of "Do not fall!" was displayed. So we took care, and we did not fall.


I am going to let the Alhambra speak for itself in the photos (which, of course, still don't do it exact justice). The incredible detail in the tile, rock work, and designs impacted me with a much deeper reverence for the Moorish empire and their dedication to art, beauty, and peace.

 






The Arab Tea House



Get yourself to "Tea Street" and just browse in and out of the shops and tea houses. The scents and colors of each storefront are inviting and captivating. We chose to sit inside As Sirat, in the dark back space underneath the "loft" above us.


The tea selection was very intriguing and I wanted to try at least ten different tastes before finally settling on mango. Marc drank the flower honey tea to continue to put his cough to rest.

The theme of As Sirat is the Alhambra, and it felt like our own quiet corner inside the grand palace. The tea itself was rich in flavor and deep in warmth, perfect after a long day of winter walks.



Granada can be difficult and expensive to get to, but we lucked out with a rearranged itinerary from Iberia Airlines. It's not really on the way to anywhere, and it's a little bit far to make as a day trip from surrounding cities. Driving a car in Granada is a bad idea because the center is not car-friendly. The Alsa bus is probably the best option, and it's how we went on to Málaga.



Our two nights with only one full day there were not enough, but Granada can be experienced on the surface in two full days easily. If you really love Moorish culture and history, you could fall into the city for much longer. If we ever go back, it will probably be to visit who and what we fell in love with the most: Fuensanta and her bodeguilla!


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December 28, 2014

Madrid: Our 8 Favorite Tastes

Disclaimer: don't read this if you're hungry!

This little entry is dedicated to the most delicious foods we enjoyed in Madrid. We spent about half of the time of our five days there eating out. Because we rented an apartment through AirBnB, we did do a significant amount of cooking and picnic packing to save some money and take breaks from heavy restaurant meals.
 
Chocolat Madrid
I will go back here every time.
Sometimes a place is so good, I have to go twice...the first time, I went alone. I walked into the cafe, the three waiters said, "Hola," and waited for me to say something. I said, "Chocolate?" And it was all good. The "hot chocolate" is more like awesome warm pudding with very buttery (not cinnamon sugary) churros that matched perfectly with the dark-chocolate-sauce-in-a-cup. When I went back with Marc, I tried the porras, which tasted a lot like donuts. Yummmmmmm. The other great thing about this place? Extremely reasonably priced, especially when taking places like Parisian Angelina's into consideration.

D'Ch Churros
Who knew churros could be so exciting?

These were the teaser churros.
Churro creations at
the Christmas market.
The Americanized/Mexicanized version of churros is only with cinnamon sugar. To the Spaniards, that's just one idea for a churro. A normal churro is buttery. Special churros get toppings. Like every kind of chocolate, oreo cream, coconut, sprinkles, ham, cheese, you name it. I ordered mini churros with bacon and maple syrup. They gave me 6, I could have eaten 20. D'Ch was right by the Atocha train station, and a perfect pre-trip or post-trip snack!

Their menu had pictures!
This huge place had a very cozy feel to it, made possible by the specialized areas of the bakery, bar, and the upstairs and downstairs dining rooms. We only stopped in for coffee, but the pastry selection was incredible and the food we saw served looked amazing, too.
 
High table at the window, please.
Based off an Instagram recommendation by Kate at Oh hello, Spain, I ventured here solo on our last morning in Madrid. I ordered the French toast. I want it to be my last meal before I die. Fresh grapefruit orange juice. Expertly grilled thick bacon. Chocolate caramel drenched bananas. I see from the photo that syrup was included, but I don't remember needing it.... It may not look like a lot of food, but it was one of those meals that was so perfect because it was like the main dish and the dessert combined.

Here's another place that was so good, we went twice! Fried calamari with wasabi mayo was our favorite. I hate mayonnaise, but the wasabi flavor was incredible! We also tried fried snap peas with syrup, caprese sandwich, pastrami snack plate, bread rolled teriyaki sushi, fried potato bombas, and I had a fun red wine called "Bicycle." No pictures of this place, but for a guaranteed creative tapas tasting experience in a cool ambiance, go to La Musa.

Toro Tapas

While this may clearly be a tourist trap on the way to the Palacio Real, they still had good prices and very tasty tapas. The three tostas you see on the right were salmon, shrimp, and ham with brie cheese. The sangrias were full of fruit, and it was open on Christmas! It made for a completely satisfying Christmas lunch.

SwagVil-Style Tapas Crawl
On our last night in Madrid, we totally winged it. From Plaza Mayor to Cava Baja, it will totally work in your favor. We only lasted through three restaurants (three wines/sangrias...), but I'm sure the more determined can last through five or six! Here are notes from the best two places we passed through.

Mesón Don Carnal 
The service was a bit confusing (the waitress tried to force a more expensive item on us when we had really ordered the half-serving), but aside from that, we really liked the tapas we chose here. The chorizo and burgos really tasted well together. 

Diaz y Larrouy
Cheesy applesauce and honey sobrasada!
This place was my favorite of the evening. There was just one guy who acted as host, bartender, waiter, busboy, server, and cook! He did a great job, and their menu had two of the best tosta tastes ever: sobrasada (pork sausage) over honey and melted cheese over applesauce. The tastes were unbelievably delicious and interesting with the perfect harmony of sweet and savory on perfectly toasted bread. These are the tapas I will try to replicate in the future.


We know all too well from living in France that Paris is the "moveable feast." However, we found Madrid to be much cheaper and just as competitive in their tastes. Does that make Madrid better? For us, yes. It all comes down to the kind of food you like...and if you prefer to enjoy it under the sunshine or the rain.


Madrid: Our 8 Favorite Tastes on iOS & Android
Find the rest of my navigational GPSmyCity app article cities HERE.

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December 27, 2014

Madrid to Granada: When It Pays To Carry-On

Let's do some math.

We planned a bunch of open jaw flights on low-budget airlines. If we even had thought about checking bags, we would have been out +200€ more immediately.

Instead, we fit 10 days of our lives into our backpacks. Packing light pays off in a lot of ways: less weight to carry, less things to lose/get stolen, no checked bag fees. Today it paid off in the best way possible: euros.

This second leg of our journey from Madrid to Málaga with Iberia Airlines hit quite the snag when we tried to check-in this afternoon.

No. More. Seats.

"Do you know what overbooking is?"

I looked at the desk guy like...seriously? I speak more English than you, so YES.

The only information we had were these ridiculous tickets that said "Standby." 

We waited in multiple lines with no hope, never getting to a person with power, and finally just waited by the gate, like every pathetic standby passenger. 

Oh wait. We bought real tickets in September. All of the standby people had tickets. This wasn't some hopeful group of plane hoppers. And we were all standing around, hoping there were less of us than it appeared.

Marc noticed one of the desk people spoke English for a different flight. She had a computer, too. I went straight up to her and asked how many of us were on standby, and maybe she could tell us what number we were?

She pulled up the list, and we weren't on it! 

Then she went to page 2.

I excitedly found our names...at 21 and 22.

I laughed with the reality check that we were not going to make it into the Málaga flight.

But the catch was our plans had changed after our plane ticket purchases. Tonight we were supposed to fly to Málaga, then take crazy bus connections to get to our AirBnB stay over in Granada.

"Are there any seats left on the Granada flight at 19h50?"

Everything got better when she assured me, "Oh yes, there is plenty of space."

But she was worried: "What about your checked bags?!" I smiled and replied, "Oh, we only have hand luggage."

Disaster avoided! Thank you, carry-ons!

We went up to the overwhelmed customer service desk with our solution, and the lady tapped her keyboard for several moments before producing our new free ticket change to Granada.

We were good to go!

Then she handed us another slip of paper. It said 125€.

And there was one for each of us.

So despite the terrible strategy of overbooking by Iberia Airlines, it worked out the best possible way for us. We flew directly to Granada at no extra cost, and with fresh new money in our pockets!


These numbers count both Marc and me together...

Original plan math = -120€
Flight Madrid to Málaga: 90€
Train Málaga airport to Málaga center: 5€
Bus Málaga center to Granada: 25€

Potential losses math = -210€
Another night in Madrid + food: 100€
Alhambra tickets: 30€
Overnight in Granada: 50€
Train Málaga airport to Málaga center: 5€
Bus Málaga center to Granada: 25€

Final math = +154€!!!
Flight Madrid to Granada: 90€ (exchanged from our previous flight to Málaga)
Bus Granada airport to Granada center: 6€
Iberia Airlines vouchers: +250€

While I may not readily recommend Iberia Airlines, I will say that it worked heavily in our favor this time around. Just make sure you check-in way in advance if you fly with them, and only go to the airport if you have a real seat number!

A 5-year-old Spanish boy gave me a kiss on the plane, and our AirBnB host welcomed us at her bodega (wine and tapas bar) with large helpings of...wine and tapas.

Thank you, Granada, for such a generous and loving welcome!

And thank you, Iberia Airlines, for paying for the Granada segment of our #SwagVil2Spain trip!

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December 26, 2014

Madrid: I'm Dreaming of a Bright Christmas

This city is alive on Christmas!

The tree in the Plaza de Colón.

It all started at midnight mass on Christmas Eve at the beautiful cathedral of San Francisco El Grande.


It's okay to stay out late in Spain (and to find Christmas Vespas), and better in the winter because the mornings are always the coldest part of the day (between high 30s and low 40s Fahrenheit). 


Christmas morning came and went as we slept with the soft rays of sunlight glowing through the windows.


Marc made us brunch, and it was just the start of a great day of foods!


The many Spaniards and a few tourists were out and about on Christmas afternoon, soaking in the warm sun and enjoying the small plaza markets. 


Tons of shops and cafés were open, too, making our Christmas lunch and snacks totally awesome!

("Christmas snacks" sound good, don't they?!)


We strolled around the palace, ate churros, and drank coffee.



Our Christmas was very bright indeed. The gift of a great experience with someone you love is worth much more than any thing that can be bought in a store.


A very Merry Christmas to you, and we hope yours was as bright as ours!

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December 24, 2014

Toledo: Into the Mist

Toledo is a terrible disappointment in the fog.


I left the blazing sun of Madrid for the icy fog of Toledo. Weather fail!



I'm sure Toledo could be great. You need to love hiking cobblestone, peering over cliffs, and souvenir shops. I usually like these things, too. But mix in the cold fog and a few pushy tourists, and I was out for the count.




My favorite building was the train station. The interior was more beautiful than most churches. It also signified a warm return to Madrid when I hiked back around 1pm. It was a very simple 35-minute train ride from Madrid-Atocha station, costing about 21 round trip. Changing to an earlier train was completely free, too. 

For what I know to be true, but didn't get to experience firsthand:

There is a ton of religious history between Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. 


The El Greco art. The churches.



The royal histories of Spain. 


And the hidden sweeping landscape views in every direction.



But hopefully you can still see the value of Toledo in its details. 





As for me, I'll stick to sunny Madrid for the next few days, then go to the even sunnier south after that!

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