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From Madrid to Mallorca

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Last post was before the wedding in Sitges a week ago!  It was perfect weather and a 14-bedroom villa for the 25 family members who joined together a few days before the wedding.  So fun to be on a European family trip! The first night we met and had tapas for our families’ first meeting.  A great recommendation from my former Homestay who now lives in Barcelona! Julien and Nofar organized some day activities:  1. Yoga as a group followed by some delicious pastries to help us start our day —- so many pastries in Spain!.  Pretty fun to be doing yoga with a variety of levels!  2.  Brunch in Sitges with young kids who needed to get going a little faster than Spanish time and a nice walk followed by a catered dinner of delicious food.  3. A walk in the park in Barcelona at Park Güell.  Tricky to find parking for, but we got a group photo and then went on our own paths.  G and I moseyed up the hill by car and saw awesome views of the city. Ni...
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Espangne 2023

 “You’re late,” the displaced Ukrainian ticket agent at Europa car said.   “We put your car back, and you can’t have it.” “But our flight was delayed an hour!” I replied. “When you use a third party carrier like Booking dot com, I’m not obliged to keep your reservation.  I f you had booked through our website, I would have kept the car for you for 24 hours.  You need to read the fine print.” I was not the only person who discovered that they had bought two car rentals, but only had one car at the end of it.  Booking a car from Canada was at least half the price, and now, for a third more, I have a car for the week.  I’m glad to have it, but not happy with paying about a hundred dollars a day. I joked that I could possibly just sleep in the car as it was cheaper than getting a hotel room.  But I just sucked it up to an unfortunate travel experience.  They happen.  I’m moving on. “Education costs money,” my mother has always said.  I got m...
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Final La Ventana Trip Post: I won’t miss the dogs

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Reflection on last full day in La Ventana No mas basura  As promised I wanted to talk about recycling here.    Signs spray painted on 45 gallon drums at the side of the road declare, “No mas basura”. Seems to translate to “No more garbage”.    While the city posts the signs, getting buy in seems to be a problem. Some visitors, however, seem to buy in: At the complex where my friend Angela lives, she says there is recycling.     At the campground where Graham’s long-lost friends he met on the south trail stay for four months every year   , they pay someone to take recycling into a centre.     The guy will also take compost.     At the youth hostel, Susie’z  [sic]   Hostel next door, they got the “green award” for sustainable initiatives.     They recycle. Not where we’re staying. (A cool aside was that we learned that Graham’s friend, T from 100 Mile House is the person who draws all the art on the trail head...
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