Don't Forget to Plan for Emergencies

A few weeks ago, we discovered in rather dramatic fashion, that the Little Lady has a very severe allergy to cashew (and pistachio) nuts, as well as a milder reaction to several other tree nuts. This happened while we were in Florida, and I confess we really hadn't made an emergency plan. Fortunately, things worked out and we were in a context where we basically knew what to do. But when traveling internationally, it's important to have a plan in place before you go. And for us, that has gotten even more important. I'll tell you what happened and how we've planned for the worst when we go to Peru for field work this summer.

Gearing Up: Planning Mode for Peru and Puerto Rico!

I've been off the blog for a bit. I try not to say things when I don't have anything to say. Well, I'm going to have more to say soon. At the moment, I'm in the midst of planning two trips. One for business (and some pleasure, I'm sure) to Peru and the other for a pre-academic conference extended family trip in Puerto Rico. More after the jump.

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.