Navigation: Free GPS at Home or Abroad

When I'm traveling, I like to explore. And part of the fun is getting a little bit lost sometimes. But more often than not, I have a destination in mind. And when I do, I want to get there. GPS navigation is a fantastic, easy-to-use, and highly effective tool in this situation. But how do you use GPS, particularly in international destinations, without buying expensive maps or using your smartphone and paying rip-off roaming data rates? I'll tell you. . .

Can't Say Anything about Paris that Hasn't Been Said . . .

But I can at least say a little about what we enjoyed and why we enjoyed it. I've put this post off for a while in part because life has just gotten very busy now that we're back in Knoxville. But it's also feels a little futile to post about Paris, where we spent our last several days before returning to the US. Lots of words, by people much more insightful than me, have been written. But here goes anyway.

The Most Beautiful Wine Region in the World?

I have to admit that I'm not qualified to answer that question, but our trip to Alsace certainly had me wondering if there's a wine region in the world more beautiful than that little corner of France. It's certainly prettier than either Napa or Sonoma. It's prettier than Mendoza in Argentina and all the wine regions of Chile. We spent about five days in Alsace. We were based in Eguisheim. And it was absolutely fantastic. Except for one little detail . . .

Not a Fan of Barcelona, but it is not Barcelona's Fault

After leaving Oviedo we headed to Barcelona via train, along with Jana's parents. We spent a few days in Barcelona, kicking off a little true vacation time split between Barcelona, Alsace (France), and Paris. Of all the places we visited, I liked Barcelona least. But it truly was not Barcelona's fault. The city itself is lovely in many ways. But the popularity of the place as a tourist destination was unattractive to me.

Reflections on Oviedo

It's been about a month now since we said goodbye to Oviedo. From Oviedo we spent a few days in Barcelona, several in Alsace, and also in Paris. I'll do some quick posts about that soon. But I wanted to jot down a few more detailed reflections about our time in Oviedo before too much time passed. It's been a bit hectic since getting back to the US, so I've already been delayed more than I had hoped.

Misadventures in Airline Customer Service (or, The In-laws Travel to Spain)

Jana's folks departed this week for a trip to Oviedo, where they are joining us for a bit of travel around Spain and France before we head back to the states. Their experience getting here was interesting, frustrating, and holds some lessons for troubleshooting travel. Here's the situation and a few things we can learn from it.

History and Public Art in Oviedo

I finally have a few minutes to summarize a morning walk to some really old churches we took a couple weeks ago and a mini-tour of the most famous public art of Oviedo. Details after the jump.

Oh $#!T and Oh Wow Moments in Galicia

We just got back from a long weekend at the beach in Galicia. The trip was great, and it can best be summarized by a series of OH S#!T and OH WOW moments. Details after the jump.

DRAMA of the Picos de Europa

Dramatic. That's the best way to describe our weekend getaway to the Picos de Europa, a mountain range a little over an hour away from Oviedo. We had views of dramatic landscapes. We witnessed the drama of man versus nature in a race over the mountains. We had a dramatic eruption of vomit one day in the back seat of the car. We had great food. We had horrible food. The high and lowlights after the jump.

Another Day, Another Party in Oviedo

Once again, it was party time in Oviedo this week. Beginning over the last weekend and culminating in a holiday on Tuesday, was the festival of La Balesquida. This festival coincides with Pentecost. It celebrates the gift of a hospital and other real estate to, essentially, Oviedo (actually a local guild), by doña Velasquita Giraldez in 1232. We did our best to take part in the festivities. More after the jump.

This Weekend is What We Were Hoping for When We Chose Oviedo

This past weekend was great. Despite the fact that the LL is still getting over her pink eye and the weather has been a bit cold and rainy, we've had the good fortune to be in Oviedo for the Festival of the Ascension. This is a long-running festival that coincides with Ascension Sunday. To celebrate, Oviedo hosts a massive celebration of Asturian culture. One of the taglines for the festival is "the country in the city." It has been fantastic and we've enjoyed the festivities. More details after the jump.

The LL is Sick: Our First Formal Interaction with a non-US Health System

A couple days ago the LL started showing signs of an eye infection. After some emailing back and forth with my physician sister-in-law and a phone call with our home pediatrician, we decided we needed to get her seen here in Spain. Here are some of my takeaways from that experience.

In Oviedo . . . It's Often too Early for Lunch but Never too Early to Drink!

We've been in Oviedo for one week, and in that week I've made a few observations about the culture of the place. While the conclusions below are definitely preliminary, one of the things I love so much about living in different places is how you can learn from the ways that people do things in other cultures. So, observation one: while it's often too early for lunch in Oviedo, it's never too early (or too late) to drink. More after the jump.

Settling into Oviedo

We've now been in Oviedo for a few days. Already, I'm feeling really good about being here. I think it's going to be a great place to live and work for a few months. My post today is mostly about the mechanics of moving into a new place abroad for a medium-term stay. More after the jump.

The Blessing and Curse of Happening Upon a Cultural Event

We had basically a day and a half in Cordoba as we started northward toward Oviedo. Details after the break.

Ronda and a Road Trip to the White Villages

On Wednesday we traveled from Granada to Ronda. Ronda is in the south of Spain and is one of the bases for visiting what are known as the white villages, small towns that typically are set up on hills with whitewashed buildings that stand in stark contrast with the rocky background in which they are set. We spent two lovely nights in Ronda. More details after the jump.

The Cultural Riches and Hot Shade of Granada

Yesterday we finished up a two-plus day stint in Granada, Spain. Lots of highlights, with a quick overview after the jump.

Sometimes the Typical Tourist Fare is Just Fine: Lisbon

We just finished up about three days in Lisbon prior to heading to Spain. Since we didn't have that much time and we aren't sure if we'll ever be back, we decided to just hit some of the major, standard stops on the Lisbon tourist circuit. More after the jump.

Getting Through an Airport with too Much Stuff

We have now completed the first leg of our current journey, from Newark to Lisbon. It was tiring, of course, and probably the most important lesson learned has to do with getting through an airport carrying way too much stuff.

Packing Day

Packing for three months in Europe today. It's really easy to over-pack for a trip like this, so I try to remind myself of that fact constantly. Really, I'm packing for at most two weeks, with a few extra things thrown in that might not otherwise make the cut for a shorter trip. More details on packing for a long trip after the jump.

Crunch Time

A week from today, we'll be in Europe. So, in addition to typical end of the semester activities and dealing with a sick kid last week, we're also in final preparation mode for our summer trip to Europe. I'm definitely feeling a little stressed, but also very excited for what's in store. Here's what I'm working on related to last-minute trip preparation.

Some Lisbon and Granada Planning

Our departure date for Spain is fast approaching. I've finally made a bit of time for planning some of the details of our time in Portugal and the south of Spain before we head north to our more permanent destination of Oviedo. Details after the jump.

Getting Trusted Traveler Status: Global Entry

We decided to apply for the Global Entry program. It basically allows travelers expedited entry into the United States at ports of entry. Here is how the process worked for us.

Next Time You're in Chicago

You really need to try Mexique. It's a restaurant in West Town. It's fantastic food and a great value. We went there last week while in town for a political science conference. Here are some of my thoughts.

Buying Renfe Tickets Online - SUCCESS!!!!

It's pretty well documented that the Spanish railway company RENFE has a website that is very difficult to use if you want to make a purchase with a US credit card. I failed in my first attempt for tickets from Lisbon to Madrid. The next set of tickets I needed was Madrid to Granada. Tickets for that route became available yesterday. Here was my RENFE experience.

Lodging Searches: A Few Tips

It's still a few more days until I can attempt a purchase of train tickets through RENFE, so while I'm waiting to get to the 62 day window on that, I thought I'd jot down a few notes about finding rentals and hotels to stay in.

Portugal to the South of Spain

When we head to Europe in May, our first destination is Lisbon, Portugal. We'll be there for several days and will then spend some time in the south of Spain - Granada, Ronda (white villages), and Cordoba - before heading to Oviedo where we'll be living for most of the summer. We have places to stay in all these locations, but travel between the places is still in process. Today I'll discuss the transfer from Lisbon to Granada.

Internal Travel: Barcelona-Alsace-Paris

Now that we have an apartment in Eguisheim, we have to figure out how we are going to get there. We'll be in Barcelona just before Alsace, and Paris after. Planes, trains, and automobiles are all possibilities, and we'll probably use all three. Here's my path toward figuring out the internal travel plans for this part of the trip.

Finding an Apartment in Eguisheim

We've settled on Eguisheim for our base while visiting Alsace in July. Now we need to find a place to stay. Here's how we did it.

The search is on in Alsace

What better thing to do on Valentine's Day than think about a trip to the romantic region of Alsace? We'll be spending about five days in the Alsace region of France along with Jana's parents in July. This post is about finding a place for us to stay - away from the crowds, with convenience, and surrounded by beauty. The first question is related to location.

A Superficial Overview of Alsace

The next few posts will focus on planning. Specifically, planning a five day or so stint in Alscace, France that will include our family and my wife's parents as travelers. I thought a quick overview of the region might be helpful before we dive into details.

What's in the works

Before jumping into any trip details, I want to give a brief update on what travel plans I'm working on at the moment. I'll pick up from this point forward in discussing details, but it's useful to know where I'm at in the planning process right now.

Why do you travel?

In planning and experiencing travel, it's important to understand the purpose of a specific trip. But it's also important to have a broader set of travel values to guide planning and on the ground decisions. I discuss both after the jump.