WHAT UP, SWAGS?!: 5/1/16

May 31, 2016

Locals Recommend: 4 Tapas Bars in Seville

Today's Travel Tuesday prompt is "The Best of Travel Tuesday" because it is the last link-up week ever! I am still out and about on my 5-week France-Spain-Portugal-France work holiday, so my husband, Marc, has graciously agreed to pen the main article below with his take on our few days in Seville.

I think I linked-up with Travel Tuesday for about three years off and on. I was so happy to finally be a host from February to April, and it is sad to see it end. However, with the upstart of #WanderfulWednesday (Lauren on Location, Snow in Tromso, Sunny Side of This, What a Wonderful World) and the very popular #MondayEscapes (My Travel Monkey, Packing My Suitcase), #citytripping (Wander Mum, Mummy Travels), and #AllAboutFrance (Lou Messugo blog, and personal favorite, especially because it's monthly!) link-ups, there is still plenty of travel love to share!

Travel Tuesday was great because of its unique aspect of rotating co-hosts. Everyone received tons of exposure this way and we all got to know each other on that virtual travel level we all know and love so much. The most important thing I learned was how to design my website better by viewing so many other blogs.

I don't have enough time to go through and find every single awesome post from my blogging buddies, but I know I will still be able to enjoy excellent content and beautiful photos from all over the world. Thanks to each and every one of you who participated and made Travel Tuesday great, and especially to Bonnie, who led the link-up for so many years!

The end of one thing is always the beginning of something else.

See you on the other link-ups, and enjoy Marc's recap of our time in Andalusia!

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I love going on trips with Swags; we stay at cool places, see incredible sights, and eat amazing food. What is weird is we hardly ever actually travel together when getting to our destination. It just happens this way sometimes and we actually really like it.

For this trip to Seville it once again worked to our advantage. Instead of sitting next to Swags, I was flying next to a couple from Seville! Alejandro and his wife were a wealth of information and we put it to use, especially when deciding where to eat. We only spent two days in Seville, but we ate well and saw a few of the key sights. This will be a city we visit again and give it more attention.

First up was the third largest cathedral in Europe.

The Cathedral of St. Mary of the See, is better known as the Seville Cathedral and is the resting place of Christopher Columbus.

Make sure you go up the tower for some great panoramic views of the city. It's not a staircase, it is a continuous ramp!

For a great view of the cathedral and most of the rest of the city head over to the Hotel Inglaterra. Go up the elevator to the top and walk up these incredible stairs.

At the top, enjoy the views, the sunset, and a glass of wine.

The other architectural wonder to spend some time at is Plaza de España.

Walk around the different levels, look through the many arches out onto the glassy water. Or jump into a rowboat and get onto that water!

Just like most places in Spain, Seville is more than just pretty sights. Tapas are the way to enjoy the most food for the lowest cost. Make sure to get a sangria or tinto de verano to match your meal.

Getting the plate of multiple tapas is always recommended. Let the local chef choose what you should eat and prepare to be amazed with the mixture of flavors. Baratillo wowed us with this plate.

Casa Morales was one of those "hole in the wall" places that only a local, like Alejandro, would know. Make sure you get the tortilla (cheesy potato and egg omelette taste).

Another great recommendation was La Flor de Toranzo. A clean, beautiful tapas bar with food so good I ate it before I could take a picture.

For something a little more hipster go to Ovejas Negras.

These were two of the most flavorful and filling tapas we had in our time in Seville.

Lastly, whenever you are in a warm and sunny location, get some gelato and enjoy life!

Locals Recommend: 4 Tapas Bars in Seville on iOS & Android

Find the rest of my navigational GPSmyCity app article cities HERE.

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May 24, 2016

How I Travel: My 4 Must-Haves

There are certain items that I absolutely must have with me on my travels. These four things are included in my pockets or bag every time I go on anything from a day trip to a month away. When I've forgotten something from this list, it's been top priority to find a version of it locally as soon as I can.

1. Chapstick

I may not wear make-up, but it's impossible for me to "wear my face" without chapstick. Even if my lips aren't actually dry, if I don't have chapstick with me, they begin to feel chapped as soon as I realize it's missing.

I load up on the original vanilla scented Chapstick brand every time I go back to the USA, and I haven't run out yet!

2. Travel-size facial tissue

Between cold weather nose and warm weather allergies, I am always in need of a Kleenex. Aside from the obvious benefits of facial tissue for the face, I've also been fortunate to have tissue with me when cleaning off wet or dirty benches and in bathrooms without toilet paper.

I've never quite gotten on board with carrying cleaning wipes with me, but tissue seems to work for everything just fine.

3. Smart device

This is less about staying in touch with people and more about the GPS maps and taking photos. If I don't have wifi, my iPhone 4 is regulated to camera, calculator, clock, and map. Even without wifi, in a well-connected city my device will find me on Google Maps and I can at least compass my way around via the blue dot.

I just happen to have received an old iPhone 4 from my sister and her husband a couple of years ago. If I could choose my Apple device, it would be one of the new iPod Touches or iPad minis.

4. Earbuds

Earbuds solve any hint of boredom, need for noise-canceling, and can create an excellent "Do Not Talk To Me" look. I've mostly employed my earbuds in trains, buses, and planes to drown out loud people. I am typically an open and friendly traveler, but sometimes that creepy guy who might want to sit by you on the train just needs to see you're totally not interested in talking with him. Ever.

I prefer earbuds from Skullcandy; they are the most comfortable and last the longest!

What other items would you include on this list? Any you would omit?

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May 17, 2016

5 French Habits We've Carried to Germany

When you visit another country or cultural area, it's easy to pick up on the differences. But when you live in another country, the differences can end up picking you up into their club!

We knew we had adapted several French idiosyncrasies, but they have only become more evident since moving to Germany. Now that I've been back in Paris for two weeks, our French habits are even more obvious!

1. Bonjour, Merci, Au Revoir

I don't even know for sure if this is not a German thing, but I literally cannot walk into or out of a store without all these salutations. I do it when I visit the USA now, too, and I'm sure people just chalk it up to me being a supremely friendly person.

2. Wine vs. Beer

We. Just. Can't. We fell in love with the sophistication of French wine, but there is nothing sophisticated about pounding back a liter of beer. Sorry. We both don't like the taste, I can't stand anything carbonated, and we know it's just useless carbs when we would prefer to be drinking anything else. When our German friends can't accept that we don't drink beer, we respond, "But that means there's more for you!" And everyone can live with that!

3. Pastry Expectations

I've been moaning about this all year. I returned to Paris and completely confirmed that I wasn't just glorifying the good old days of French bakery delights. This struggle is SO real. It's best explained like this: at a French bakery, 95% of your options are going to taste amazing - even if it's a flavor you may not be particularly fond of (for me: pistachio, almond, raspberry). At a German bakery, 95% of your options look good, but genuinely only 10% actually taste decent. I doubt many Germans or expats living in Germany will agree with me. Unfortunately, that simply means they've never lived in France.

4. Style

There are a thousand different ways I could take this paragraph, but I'm only going to mention two. First, my "au natural" look of no make-up and lazy undone long hair blends much better into the Parisian scene than into the Bavarian one. Second, German men do not wear scarves, but Marc still does...and probably always will. We have a weird style mélange of Californian sporty and Parisian date night. This might be why we seem to fit best in Spain.

5. Vacation

When we first moved to France, we had no idea we would have so many days off. We got four two-week vacations with the school holidays, plus three months of summer! Talk about only working part-time! Our sports jobs in Germany aren't very different, except time off from school doesn't actually mean time away from sports for normal people. We will always value our vacation time dearly as the French do, but we can take it down a few notches for the sake of keeping our German bosses happy.

It makes me wonder what German habits we will end up with in the long run. The pretzels are awesome, there is more general respect for authority, and we have incredible pizza and gelato within ten minutes of where we live. While we may miss a lot of things about France, our German life is a ridiculously happy one in another wonderful part of the world.

What habits have you picked up from places you have lived? Do you have any French or German mindsets?

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May 13, 2016

Pack & Plan: Sevilla & Algarve

The post with everything you need to know about how to pack light with only one small bag for two weeks in Sevilla, Spain, and the Algarve, Portugal.

pack and plan sevilla spain and algarve portugal

Pack & Plan: Sevilla, Spain & the Algarve, Portugal

13 days days, 12 nights in May
Transport: plane, bus, car
Lodging: AirBnB, hostel
Trip type: with husband

The Pack

Bag: shoulder book bag

Tops: 1 tank top

Bottoms: 1 pair of shorts, 1 pair of leggings
Other: 1 bathing suit, 1 dress, 1 romper

Outerwear: 1 windbreaker, 1 scarf

Shoes: 1 pair of Nike walking shoes, 1 pair of flip-flops

Personal items for 4 days

The Plan

Seville: plazas, tapas, walking

Algarve: beach, beach, beach

Paddle boarding, Mexican food, picnics, no wifi.
Return to paradise!!!

Have you been to Seville or the Algarve? Do you have any restaurant recommendations? Is there anything else I should add to the itinerary?

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May 10, 2016

Prague in Photos

You can read about how I packed and planned for Prague here. The weather was all over the place while we were in town: warm sunshine one minute and actual snow flurries and dark clouds the next!

One of the highlights for me was meeting up with my very first European roommate, Martina, and her family (the picture with more than two people).

My best friend, Tanya, and I got up early everyday and wandered our way around Prague. This is how our trip looked; enjoy!

For Tanya's perspective on our time in Prague, enjoy her blog post here!

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May 3, 2016

Regi Takes Me to Regensburg

How often do you have an awesome friend who lives in a city that's practically named after her?!

I spent a beautiful sunny day with my Estonian/German friend and teammate, Regi, as she tour-guided me all over her city, Regensburg. Her full name of Regina is Latin for "queen," and the Romans originally chose Castra Regina* as the name for Regensburg. Therefore, Regensburg is Regi's Fortress.

(*Technically, this means "fortress by the river Regen." This is irrelevant to this post.)

You may remember Regensburg from my German Christmas market round-up back in December. This time around it was a lot warmer and that made it even better!

We started our day by walking into the center to have an incredible brunch at Hemingway's. I had a cappuccino. This serves as the excuse for all of my hyperactive expressions in the rest of these photos.

It was only right that we continued our meal by stopping into Cupcakery, and enjoyed our delicious desserts on the steps of Dom St. Peter.

We walked along the Danube, Regi highlighting the oldest sausage stand in Germany, Historische Wurstküche, the magnificent Swarovski-enhanced Kristallkönigin ship, and eventually made our way to the 0941 Beach Bar.

I would have never found these places if it hadn't been for Regi, a true local who really loves her city.

Regensburg is easy to love, though, when you get taken to a sunny beach bar and feel like you're in Spain instead of Germany!

Regi drove me all over her hometown of nearby Neutraubling, and we finished the day on the sun-soaked stones of the Walhalla.

Just imagine an enormous Greek/Roman-like temple on a hilltop overlooking the Danube valley, and you've got the Walhalla. It's peaceful, it's relaxing, and it's one of those giant places that makes you feel happy and small at the same time.

Nothing else matters on the Walhalla; it's just you, maybe a friend or two, your silent thoughts and quiet words, and the seemingly endless possibilities of earth and life stretching out before your eyes.

I'm so thankful to Regi for showing me her side of Regensburg. She wasn't just sharing her city; she was sharing her world with me, and it was an absolutely magnificent day full of good food, grand conversation, and great laughter.

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May 1, 2016

GPS My Posts with GPSMYCITY

Now several of my blog posts are linked to maps within the GPSmyCity apps! The posts themselves are free to download and keep on your smart device, then linking to the map portion of the app is a $0.99 fee.

The blog post integration is currently only available for Apple devices, but will be expanding to the Android platform soon (but you can download the GPSmyCity app to Android already). I will also be uploading various new city articles to this list, so feel free to check back for updates every now and then.