Enjoy Living Abroad
  • Start Here
  • My Blog
  • My Travel Books
    • GREAT MED COMFORT FOOD BOOK
    • MOVING TO SEVILLE
    • EASTERN EUROPE BY RAIL
    • PACK LIGHT 2023
    • Seville's New Normal 2023
    • STARTING EXPAT LIFE
    • 101 EXPAT TIPS
  • Med Comfort Food Tour
  • Mediterranean Recipes
  • Dive Bars
  • Travel Tips
    • Packing
    • The Expat Lifestyle
    • Enjoy the Best of Seville
  • About
  • Contact

​


​WELCOME! 

​
  ​

Plan B

6/25/2013

36 Comments

 
Picture
When it comes to adventures, the only thing you can really count on is the unexpected. You go on an ordinary high school field trip and get bitten by an irradiated spider, giving you special powers. You’re running for shelter from a tornado, and the next thing you know, your house is dropping on a witch. You’re starting a typical day with the family, and flesh-eating zombies overrun the planet. We’ve all been there.

Rich and I have been planning our great train trip through Central and Eastern Europe for a year. We’ve talked about it ad nauseam (just ask any of our friends) and corresponded with people all over the world. I’ve been blogging about it for months. Rich has researched every kind of app, gadget, and gear known to Google-kind. Our first hiccup was having to postpone our original June 1 departure date to attend my brother’s wedding. (It took place last Saturday, on a sun-drenched beach in Oregon, and they seem blissfully happy, thanks for asking.) Rich and I were supposed to return to Seville this week and head to the train station a few days later.

However.

Picture
Rich has been complaining about pain in his right leg for some months. At first, I responded in my usual compassionate way by telling him to man up and walk it out. When it became clear it was more than just a pulled muscle, we started visiting doctors and physical therapists, first in Spain, then in California. A battery of tests has (gracias a Dios) eliminated all the big scary stuff, but we still haven’t identified the problem. All we really know is that his leg hurts abominably whenever he walks more than 15 minutes; the good news is that he can swim, bike, and do pretty much everything else in perfect comfort.

Hmmm. Do we think he’s having second thoughts about the trip?

He assures me that he’s as eager as ever, and judging by the wistful glances he gives our suitcases whenever he’s in the attic, I believe him. 

Our medical team said he could go on the trip now, as long as he took heavy-duty pain meds and promised not to walk much or lift anything.

PictureOur Sherpa in the Himalayas. (Note the flip flops.)
Doesn’t that sound delightful? Me playing Sherpa, hauling our bags on and off trains and dragging them up endless flights of stairs, while Rich stares off into space in a drug-induced stupor, repeatedly asking me where we are now and how long he has to wait for his next pain pill. To add to the fun, there would be the constant worry that this unidentified problem would suddenly flare up into something much, much worse, most likely in some obscure Transylvanian village where there’s only a 95-year-old doctor named Igor and no train out until the following week.

Call us crazy, but we’ve decided that we’d better stick around California long enough to get a diagnosis – and, with luck, an effective treatment plan. Rich feels he will enjoy the train trip more if he has full use of both legs and all his mental faculties. Go figure.

So we have rebooked our flight to Spain for the end of July and hope to head off on our train trip the first week of August. However, if we’ve learned anything from all this, it’s that plans are written in pencil, not carved in stone. If our trip gets derailed again – due to, say, alien invasion, a meteor hurtling towards Earth, or an invitation to visit Sweden to pick up a Nobel Prize in Literature for Dancing in the Fountain – we’re standing by to come up with Plan C. One thing you can count on: you’ll get all the latest updates on this blog.

36 Comments

Just Asking

6/19/2013

13 Comments

 
Picture
Rosalind Russell teaching Cary Grant a few things in "His Girl Friday."

When I was a journalist in Ohio, I was often astonished by the incredibly indiscreet things people would blurt out for the record. For instance, I was once interviewing a friend for a piece called “What Women Think Men Should Know About Sex,” and she told me, “Men know nothing about pleasing a woman.” I could never view her husband quite the same way after that.

How did I get people to open up? Usually by simply taking out a tape recorder or flipping open a notebook. My penetrating investigative technique usually entailed a starter question such as “What made you take up juggling?” or “How many hours a day do you practice the violin?” Half an hour later I was privy to every known fact relating to their career, their best friend’s extramarital affair, their dog’s embarrassing struggles with incontinence, and how they would improve things if they ruled the world. I would frequently end an interview by backing out the door, saying for the fifth time, “Well, that certainly covers it! Thanks for your time!” Some would then follow me to my car, saying breathlessly, “And another thing that happened when I was sixteen…”

So for our upcoming train trip through Central and Eastern Europe, I’m not too worried about getting people to open up a little and say diverting things that I can report back to you on this blog. But I did wonder if it might be interesting to come up with a question or two that I’d slip into all my conversations, so that later I could do some sort of comparison. 
​
Picture
Andrew Forsthoefel. Photo by Therese Jornlin, Andrew’s mom. Chadds Ford, PA.

I was still mulling this over when I heard a podcast from NPR about young Andrew Forsthoefel who, out of work and seeking a project, decided to walk from his Pennsylvania home to New Orleans and on to the Pacific Coast, interviewing people along the way. He started out asking everyone a thoughtful question about life transitions that essentially elicited blank stares. Then he hit on a new approach: “If you could go back in time and give your 23-year-old self one piece of advice, what would it be?” He got marvelous responses – funny, touching, sad, inspiring, filled with self-compassion. “I would tell myself not to be so afraid,” a lot of them said.

I loved this question, and while I was considering stealing it, I tried it out various friends. They all said, “Yeah, great question.” Full stop. Blank stares. Vigorous prodding would elicit a short response, but it was clearly not opening up the kind of floodgates that would make them follow me out to my car to share more. 

Last week, while having dinner with my sister and her family, I went around the table asking each person what they had been doing when they were 24, the age Forsthoefel was during the latter part of the project. Each time, their face would soften and a nostalgic gleam would warm their eyes— even the 27-year-old, who wasn’t looking back all that far. And they’d speak with fond amusement about early jobs, young loves, dumb mistakes… A treasure trove of revelations that mattered. I figured I might be on to something.
​
Picture


A few days later, I ran across a book called 4,000 Questions for Getting to Know Anyone and Everyone. Expecting the usual “What’s your favorite ice cream?” and “Where do you want to be five years from now?” I was pleasantly surprised by the breadth and depth of queries such as “What do you really wish your parents would have told you when you were still a kid?” and “Are any illegal acts justified under certain circumstances?” My favorite was “If you could ask God one question, what would it be?” I know what mine would be: What’s the best question to ask people on the upcoming train journey?

Since I haven’t (so far as I am aware) received any specific direction from the Almighty in this matter, let me put the question to you:

What question do YOU think I should ask the people I meet on our train journey?

And by the way, what were you doing when you were 24?

Just asking.

13 Comments

Crocodiles, and Other Reasons Fitness Counts on the Road

6/11/2013

3 Comments

 
Don’t you just hate getting stranded in crocodile-infested waters? Me too. Like the time in Belize, when our flat-bed boat – more of a motorized raft, really – kept getting its propeller tangled in the weeds. “Run to the front of the boat,” our captain would shout, and our little group would rush forward until the prow dipped and the propeller cleared. Unfortunately, lowering the prow allowed water to flood the deck – and all our luggage. “Run to the back of the boat,” the captain would then shout. And we’d all race the other way until the luggage was high and dry. In minutes, the propeller would snag on the weeds once more, and the seesaw would begin again…
Picture
As much fun as this was, it inevitably led to a complete breakdown (of the boat, although the captain wasn’t far behind) in the middle of the river.  A large, well-fed crocodile sunning himself on the shore lifted his head and began regarding us with professional interest.

“Get ready to swim for it,” Rich whispered to me.

“Are you insane? We can’t outswim a crocodile,” I hissed back.

“We don’t have to. We just have to outswim the other people on this boat.”

Good point. Luckily, this potentially Darwinian situation had a happy ending for everyone (except the crocodile) when a speedboat came along and took us to safety. But as Rich always reminds me, it pays to get in shape before a trip and to make sure you stay fit while you’re on the road.

PicturePool in Varna, Bulgaria
Since most of the places we stay (see A Flophouse for Nightcrawlers) are unlikely to feature a gym, we walk a lot, and we’ve found other ways to stay in shape during long journeys.

Rich, whose favorite form of exercise in doing laps, was delighted to discover the Swimmers Guide, a website listing public pools in more than 100 countries, with details about length and access. It covers most of the larger cities we’ll visit this summer (see The Next Big Adventure on my home page), so he’s definitely packing his swim suit and goggles.


PictureThe 7-minute workout from hell
When there is no pool, he’s planning to follow the Fit for Fifty exercise program, based on the system developed to keep the Royal Canadian Air Force in fighting trim. Best features: it requires no equipment and takes just 11 minutes a day.

For days when 11 minutes sounds like too much, there’s a 7-minute “scientific” workout that was recently published in the New York Times. I liked the sound of all that efficiency – until I read the intensity made this workout “about an 8 on a discomfort scale of 1 to 10.” Ouch! I’d rather budget the extra four minutes.

Actually, I like my exercise even more leisurely, so I often turn to exercise videos on YouTube. And there are an endless number of them. For instance, eFit has a whole series of 30-minute Pilates videos, from beginners to those with such alarming titles as “Ab Attack” and “Butt Blaster.” 

Picture
And there’s every form of yoga you can think of, from the gentle “Flexibility and Range of Motion Beginner Yoga” with Tara Stiles to Power Yoga with Rodney Yee. Yes, the same Rodney Yee we all worked out to in the nineties; at 57, he is still looking so buff it’s hard to believe he’s not PhotoShopped.

Staying fit on the road has never been easier. And whether you’re running for a train, fleeing a mugger, chasing a mugger, or just hauling a suitcase up four flights of stairs, you’ll be glad you did.

As for escaping from crocodiles, YouTube has a video for that, too. Check out “Never Give Up (Monkey Fights with Crocodile).” A young baboon, her head trapped in the jaws of a crocodile, flails around wildly until by chance her hind claw pokes the croc’s eye, and the startled reptile lets her go. I’m not saying it’s easy, I’m just saying it’s a strategy to keep in mind if you ever find yourself in his situation. I don’t know if there is a yoga pose that can prepare you to execute this maneuver, but if there is, I’m sure it’s somewhere on YouTube, probably being demonstrated by Rodney Yee.

This post was written in response to questions I've been asked about preparing for long and varied trips. Unlike some of my better-organized and more practical blogger friends, I haven't obtained any free or discounted services, gear or supplies in return for promoting anything on this blog. I'm just letting you know about stuff that Rich and I consider to be the most useful for our kind of travel. 


3 Comments

3 Great Travel Laundry Tips & One I Hope You'll NEVER Try

6/4/2013

9 Comments

 
Travel laundry in Mexican hotel
 “Have you seen what they’re charging for laundry here?” I said to Rich, aghast. “It’s more than we paid to buy these clothes.”  We were in Hong Kong’s legendary Peninsula Hotel, splurging on two nights of luxury on a long road trip. The glamor of our surroundings, and the prices, were stunning. “I think we should just hand-wash the stuff ourselves. We’ll leave the windows open tomorrow while we’re out, and the heat will dry these things by the time we get back.”

This seemingly foolproof plan was, however, doomed to failure. While we were gone, the housekeeping staff, possibly in mute rebuke for such low-class goings on, closed all the windows and set the air-conditioner to arctic. Arriving back at our room in the early evening, we discovered our clothes were not only as sodden as ever but were now disagreeably clammy to the touch. We spent our entire last night in one of the world’s most glamorous hotels drying socks with the hair dryer.

Maintaining even basic levels of wardrobe hygiene can be challenging during long journeys. When practical, we turn the job over to the hotel’s laundry service, but we often wind up washing our clothes in the sink and drying them in the shower stall, at the window, or draped over the railing of whatever bamboo hut we’re occupying at the time. Over the years, we’ve developed three simple strategies to help with the washing and drying.

Travel laundry made simpler by ExOffcio underwear
1. Buy easy-care clothes. Leave behind jeans that take three days to dry and must-iron linen shirts; pack garments that won’t wrinkle and will dry in a flash (or at least overnight). Yes, I’m talking about that ExOfficio underwear with the slogan “17 countries … 6 weeks … One pair of underwear. (OK, maybe two)” and those lightweight, rugged, wrinkle-resistant clothes you see in travel shops and catalogs. Pack a few fussier, more glamorous garments if you must, but count on these travel-savvy essentials for the long haul.

Travel laundry made easier with Lush soaps
2. Bring plenty of bars of Lush shampoo. Being solid instead of liquid, it’s very lightweight, and it can wash just about anything from your socks to your hands to (I am reliably informed) your pet's hair as well as your own. I've read that hair conditioner can be used as fabric softener, but since my travel wardrobe doesn't require softener, I haven't put it to the test. (If you try it, I'd love to hear how you like it.) For longer journeys, you can renew your supply at Lush stores in most major cities around the world.

Travel laundry clothesline
3. Pack a clothesline. Not every room comes conveniently equipped with long shower rods or horizontal bars on a sunny window. We’ve used various kinds of cord in the past, and Rich’s latest find is Coghlan’s Pegless Bungee Clothesline, which has kinks in the rope designed to hold garments in place without clothespins. We’ll let you know how it works for us.

Travel laundry scene with Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn
And here’s a tip I’m definitely NOT going to implement: showering with your clothes, as suggested in this Wikihow travel article:

"Socks and underwear can easily be washed when you shower before bed - put them on the shower floor (avoiding the plughole), and agitate them with your feet as you shower. Shampoo is a mild detergent that also works on washable fabrics, and you can rinse as you step out." 

I suppose to save even more time, you could just shower with your clothes on (as Cary Grant did in the famous shower scene from Charade). But I can’t feel that either your garments or your skin will benefit from any sort of combination approach. Please promise me you’ll budget the extra five minutes to wash your clothes separately from your person. Thanks, I knew I could count on your good sense.

This post was written in response to questions I've been asked about packing for long and varied trips. Unlike some of my better-organized and more practical blogger friends, I haven't obtained any free or discounted gear or supplies in return for promoting anything on this blog. I'm just letting you know about products that Rich and I consider to be the most useful for our kind of travel. 


9 Comments
    Picture
    ​Winner of the 2023 Firebird Book Award for Travel
    Picture
    Picture
    #1 Amazon Bestseller in Tourist Destinations, Travel Tips, Gastronomy Essays, and Senior Travel

    Welcome!

    This blog is a promotion-free zone.

    As my regular readers know, I never get free or discounted goods or services for mentioning anything on this blog (or anywhere else). I only write about things that interest me and that I believe might prove useful for you all to know about. Whew! I wanted to clear that up before we went any further. Thanks for listening.
    Picture
    Karen McCann
    TO I'm an American travel writer based in Seville, Spain.

    Wanderlust has taken me to more than 60 countries. Every week I provide travel tips and adventure stories to inspire your journeys and let you have more fun — and better food — on the road


    Don't miss out!
    SIGN UP HERE
    to be notified when I publish new posts.
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    BLOG ARCHIVES 

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011

    CATEGORIES

    All
    100 Days On The Road
    1950s Sci-Fi
    2020
    2021 Holiday Tips
    2021 Puzzle Craze
    2024
    32 Years Together
    3 Food Tribes
    7 Best Travel Tips
    Acupuncture
    Address To A Haggis
    Adriatic Sea
    AirBnB
    Air Travel
    Air Travel Myths
    Albania
    Albanian Farm Food
    Alicia Bay Laurel
    Ali Kali
    Amazon
    American Resistance France
    American Taboos
    A Month Of Italy
    Amsterdam
    Animal Artists
    Anthony Hopkins
    Anxious Traveler
    Apocalypse Chow
    Apps
    Arizona
    Armadillos
    Artichokes
    Artificial Intelligence
    Artwalk
    Atomic Bunker Museum
    Attention Test
    Austria
    Authentic Travel
    Automation = Apocalypse?
    A Year Of Travel
    Bagpipe Music
    Balsamic Vinegar
    Baltasar
    Banana Bread
    Bari
    Barletta
    Barrio Abierto
    Bathroom
    Batman
    Bears
    Beastly Spasm
    Becherovka
    Bed Bugs
    Beer
    Belgrade
    Best Apps 2016
    Best Foodie City
    Best & Worst
    Bet
    Better Homes And Gardens Cook Book
    Betty Soskin
    Betty White
    Bev's Peach Pie
    Bey's Soup
    Bhutan
    Bigfoot Museum
    Big Rail Trip 2016
    Biohazard Bag
    Biosphere 2
    Bird
    Black Angels
    Blogger Robots
    Blogs & Websites
    Bong Appétit
    Book Club
    Book Cover
    Books
    Bookstores
    Bosnia
    Botiza
    Brain-enhanced Chimps
    Brains Of The Pig
    Breakfast In Seville
    Bucharest
    Budapest
    Budget
    Bulgaria
    Bull's Head
    Burgos
    Burns Supper
    Buzzworthy Words
    CA
    Cabalgata
    CA Cheese Trail
    Ca ‘de Anime
    Caganer
    Cagliari
    Calvin Trillin
    Camels
    Carbon-Conscious Rail Travel
    Car Crazy
    Cars Vs. Trains
    Castle Houska
    České Budějovice
    České Budějovice
    Chained Wallet
    Chakra Stone
    Chef Lenny The Lizard
    Chickens
    Chocolate Nativity Scene
    Chocolatour
    Chris Brady
    Christmas
    Christmas In Seville
    Christmas Traditions
    Chulalongkorn University
    Clara Bensen
    Climate Change
    Coca-Cola
    Coffee
    Collywobbles
    Comfort Food
    Communism Museum
    Compassion
    Cooking With Weed
    Coping With Pandemic
    Coronavirus
    Coronavirus & Travel
    Costa Women
    Covid Insurance
    Covid Weddings
    Cowgirls & Cowboys
    Cows Come Home
    Crete
    Croatia
    Cruz De Mayo In Seville
    Cuba: 10 Tips
    Cuba: Legendary Snafu
    Curated Reality
    Czech Please
    Czech Republic
    Dan Brown's Inspiration
    Dance
    Dancing In The Fountain
    Dancing In The Foutnain
    Dancing On Bars
    Dark Tourism
    Date Nights
    Debunking Travel Myths
    Detours & Delays
    Devil's Museum
    Digital Nomad Visas
    Diners
    Disappointing Destinations
    Disaster Survival Tips
    Dive Bars
    Dive Bars Of Italy
    Dive Bars Of Seville
    Doga (Dog Yoga)
    Dog-friendly Bars
    Dogs
    Doing Good
    Doing It
    Donna Red Wing
    Dragon
    Dragonpit
    Drink-Ease
    Driverless Cars
    Duck Plaza
    Duquesa De Alba
    Earthquakes
    EatWith
    Emergency Measures
    Emergency Preparedness
    Empathy Museum
    Endangered
    Enjoy Moving Abroad
    Entrails Soup
    Epiphany
    E-readers
    Erratic Boulder
    Estonia
    Eurail
    European Dinner Plate
    European Food
    European Pandemic
    Evernote
    Exercise On The Road
    Expat In Dark Times
    Expats In America2.0
    Expect Delays
    Eye-popping Landmarks
    Failure Museum
    Fake Art Masterpieces
    Fake Wallet
    Family
    Family Reunion
    Farruquito
    Fellini
    Finland
    First Aid Kit
    Five Meals A Day
    Flat-Earthers
    Flea Market
    Flophouses
    Fondu
    Food Fetishes
    Food Photo Secrets
    Food Tours
    Foreign
    Foreigners
    Forgetfulness
    Fork In The Road
    Fountain
    Free Wi-Fi Finder
    French Bistro
    French Women Don't Get Fat
    Fried Flies
    Full Catastrophe Living
    Fully Vaccinated!
    Galileo Offline
    Game Of Thrones
    Gaslighting
    Gates Of Hell
    Gazpacho Recipe
    Genoa
    Genova
    George Floyd Protests
    George Takei
    Georgia
    Georgian Grey Bear
    Germany
    Ghost Stories
    Gin Joints
    Glass Wall Of Tourism
    Gluten-free Italian Recipes
    Going Spiral
    Good News
    Good Samaritan Scammer
    Google-glass
    Google Translate
    ​Gourounopoula
    Gps
    Grandma Cooper
    Granola Recipe
    Grapes
    Gratitude
    Greece
    Greek Coffee
    Greek Coffee Culture
    Greek Wines
    Group Tours
    Grumpiness Course
    Grumpiness Seminar
    Guest Blog
    Guest Etiquette
    Guests
    Haggis
    Halloween
    Handyman's Guide
    Hannibal Lecter
    Happiest Cities In US
    Happiest Jobs In US
    Happiness Course
    Harvard
    Harvey Milk
    Helsinki
    Heraklion
    Herzeg Novi
    Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy291cb11256
    Holiday Lights
    Holiday Shopping
    Holidays In Seville
    Holiday Survival Guide
    Hollidays
    Holy Grail
    Home For The Holidays
    Home Improvements
    HonorSnacks
    Horse
    Hospitals
    Hot As Hades
    Houseguest
    House Hunting
    House Of The Spirits
    Houska Castle
    How Normal Am I?
    How To Meet People
    Hrad Houska
    Human Towers
    Hungary
    Hydration
    Hygge
    Iberian Lynx
    Ibrik
    Icloud
    Ikaria
    Ikaria Solution
    Immigrants
    India
    Indiana Jones
    In Search Of America Tour
    Ipad
    IPhone Photos
    Irail
    Italy
    Jacket
    Jaén
    Jan The Beachcomber
    Japan
    Jet Lag
    Jet Lag Apps
    John The Baptist
    Jo Maeder
    Joseph Campbell
    Joya Shoes
    July 4th In USA
    Justice Course
    Kalamata
    Katka Lapelosa
    Keep Going!
    Kgb
    Kgb Muzeum
    Kindle
    King Wenceslas
    Kitchen For The Mind
    Korçë
    Kotor
    Koyono Jacket
    Krakow
    Krakow's Dragon
    Ladies Room
    Lady And The Tramp
    La Font De La Figuera
    Laptop Ban
    Larissa Olenicoff
    Latvia
    Laughter Project
    Lederhosen
    Legal
    Legal Marijuana
    Legend
    Lesbos Refugees
    LGBT Rights
    Library
    Lindsay Lake
    Lithuania
    Little White Lie
    Little Women
    Live Longer
    Live To 100
    Local Food
    Lockdown Survival Tips
    Longevity
    Lord Peter Wimsey
    Low-Tech Travel Tips
    Lübeck
    Lucky Grapes
    Lucky Red Underwear
    Luggage
    Luggage-free Travel
    Luggage-Free Travel? Try It
    Lviv
    Lynne And Tim Martin
    Madrid
    Magellan
    Maps
    Marijuana
    Mars One
    Mask War
    Matrimony
    Mbt Shoes
    Meal Schedules
    Meal Sharing
    Meaning Of Home
    Mediterranean Dive Bars
    Memory Course
    Menlo Park Library
    Mentally Unpack Your Bags
    Mermaids
    Metropol Parasol Building
    Me Worry?
    Miracle Tile Of Vilnius
    Mobilize America
    Money
    Money Handling
    Monster Of Milpitas
    Montenegro
    Mood Food
    Most Dangerous Woman In America
    Moussaka
    Museum Of Communism
    Muskrat Love
    My Octopus Teacher
    Mystery Spot
    Naples
    Napoli
    National Lampoon's European Vacation
    Nativity Scene
    Nepal
    New
    Newark Of Italy
    New Orleans
    New Roaring 20s
    New Year's Eve
    New Year's Eve Abroad
    New Year's In Seville
    New York Times
    No Cancelling The Holidays
    No-Jet-Lag
    Nomad Eating
    NORCs
    Not A Good Week
    Nutters Tour
    Obatzda
    Offbeat Roadside Attractions
    Off The Grid
    Olive Oil
    Optimism & Survival
    Orichiette Pasta
    Outhouse
    Overlook Effect
    Pack For 4 Months
    Packing
    Packing Demonstration
    Packing For 161 Days
    Packing Tips
    Pad Thai Cooking Class
    Paella
    Painting
    Painting Disasters
    Palacio De Las Dueñas
    Palermo
    Pandemic Endgame
    Pandemic Humor
    Pandemic Infodemic
    Pandemic Makes Us Better
    Pandemic Solutions
    Pandemic Travel
    Pandemic Travel Story
    Parlor Games On The Road
    Parma
    Parma Ham
    Parmigiano-Reggiano
    Passport Issue
    Pasta
    Pasta Recipe
    Patriotism. US
    Peaceful Resistance
    Pécs
    Peruvian Pavilion
    Pesto Sauce
    Photography
    Picking Tapas Bars
    PIzza
    Platter Of Salome
    Plaza De España
    Plaza De Pato
    Plumbing Nightmare
    Podgorica
    Poet Billy Collins
    Poltergeist
    Pop-culture Museum
    Pope Benedict
    Pop-up Restaurants
    Post-pandemic Predictions
    Post-pandemic Travel
    Prague
    Predictions
    Print On Demand
    Propaganda Museum
    Pub Culture
    Public Library
    Purgatory
    Purpose-driven Travel
    Pussyhats
    Quarantine
    Quarantine Bar Hopping
    Quarantine Mini-Vacation
    Quarantine Nostalgia?
    Quarantine Thanksgiving
    Queen's Gambit
    Quirky Travel Pix
    Ramona Langley
    Reading Group
    Ready To Move Abroad?
    Rebounding Seville
    Recipe
    Recombobulation
    Recycling
    Red Underwear
    Rennes-le-Chateau
    Reptilians
    Republic Of Užupis
    Rescue Dogs
    Residency Visas
    Resistance School
    Resistance Summer 2017
    Retire Abroad
    Retire Where?
    Revisited
    Reyes Magos In Seville
    Rfidblocking Rogue Money Clipb4d0c62eac
    Rich Interview 2020
    Rich-on-packing
    Riga
    Risotto
    Road House
    Roadhouses
    Roadrunner
    Roadside Attractions
    Robert Mugabe
    Rocket Scientists
    Rodeo
    Rolling Stones
    Romania
    Romería Del Rocío In Seville
    Romesco Sauce Recipe
    Rooster Recipe
    Rosie The Riveter
    Ross Williams
    Rural Romania
    Ruse
    Russian Mafia
    Sacramento
    San Anselmo Flooding
    San Ildefonso Church
    San Jose
    Sarajevo
    Sardinia
    Sassari
    Science Museum
    Scottevest
    Scottevest 8-pocket Pants
    Second Breakfast Seville
    Secret Supper Clubs
    Security On The Road
    Seinfeld Episode
    Semana Santa
    Senior Gypsies
    Senior Nomads
    Sephardic Search
    Serbia
    Setas
    Seville
    Seville 2022 Update
    Seville Dining Customs
    Seville Holidays
    Seville Holidays 2021
    Seville In Pandemic
    Seville In Winter
    Seville's Best Tapas 2021
    Seville's Tapas Bars
    Sex Shops
    Shackleton Ad A Myth
    Shared Dining
    Shoe Bomb
    Shoes
    Shoestring Travel
    Šiauliai
    Sicilian Grandmothers
    Siestas
    Silicon Valley
    Singularity
    Six-word Stories
    Skunk Remedy
    Skype Wifi7994daf88f
    Sleep/Insomnia
    Slovakia
    Smart Pigeons
    Snack Foods
    Snail
    Snail Museum
    Snail On The Rails
    Snails In Slime LIght
    Snail Slime Skin Cream
    Snakes
    Snowed In
    Social Distancing
    Sofia
    Sophia Loren
    SOS File
    Space Tourism
    Space Travel For Pets
    Spaghetti
    Spain
    Spain Savvy
    Spain's Cold Soups
    Spam
    Spicy Shrimp In Mango Salsa Recipe
    Spiritual Path To Resistance
    Spiritual Weightlifter
    Springtime For Hitler
    Stanford Prison Experiment
    Staycation
    Stephen King
    Still Expecting Delays
    Stockholm Disaster
    Stone Lifter
    Strange
    Strawberries
    St. Tecla
    Suitcase
    Survival Food
    Survival Songs
    Survive October 2020
    Surviving Catastrophes
    Surviving Pandemic Holidays
    Swiss Cheese Solution
    Switzerland
    Symbolic Thinking
    Tango Lessons
    Tapas
    Tapenade Recipe
    Tapeo
    Taxi
    Tblisi
    Temple
    Thanksgiving Games
    The Balkans
    The Big Tomato
    The Blonde Gypsy
    The Exorcist
    The Joy Of Eating
    The Mothership
    The Next Big Thing
    The Other Turkey
    The Power Of Myth
    The Producers
    The Return 2021
    Thessaloniki
    The Wave
    Three Kings
    Time Travel
    Toad Jam
    Track My Tour
    Train Lag
    Train Travel
    Transylvania
    Travel
    Travel As Political Act
    Travel Boosts Your Brain
    Travel Clothes
    Travel Companions
    Travel Destinations
    Travel Experiments
    Travel Fashion
    Travel Photography Tricks
    Travel Photos
    Travel Prep For Pandemic
    Travel Vest
    Travel With
    Triposo
    True Cross
    Tsa
    Twelve Days Of Christmas
    Tyrolian Alps
    Uber
    Uc Berkeley
    UFOs & Ghosts 2020
    Ukraine
    Ultra-Light Luggage
    Underrated Extras
    Upotonek
    Valdepeñas
    Valencia
    Vampires
    Veliko Tarnovo
    Verona
    Vest
    Victoria Twead
    Vilnius
    Virgin Of The Napkin
    Virtual Tax March
    Visitors
    Vodka
    Vodka & Pickles
    Voodoo Cooking
    Wall Street Journal
    Wandering Earl
    Warsaw
    Washington
    Water
    Watermelon Gazpacho
    Weasel Coffee
    Wedding Disaster
    Weird At The Holidays
    Weird Gifts
    Wenceslas Square
    What
    Whiskey Every Day
    Wild Goat Recipe
    Winchester Mystery House
    Winner
    Winter In Seville
    Wireless Generation
    Wolf's Lair
    Women Of Seville
    Working Abroad
    World Chocolate
    Worst
    Worst Travel Moment
    Wow Finish To Long Trip
    Writing
    Xe Currency
    Yodeling
    Yoga
    Zagreb
    Zigzag Fountain953a67c066
    Zimbabwe
    Zombie Viruses
    Zurich

  • Start Here
  • My Blog
  • My Travel Books
    • GREAT MED COMFORT FOOD BOOK
    • MOVING TO SEVILLE
    • EASTERN EUROPE BY RAIL
    • PACK LIGHT 2023
    • Seville's New Normal 2023
    • STARTING EXPAT LIFE
    • 101 EXPAT TIPS
  • Med Comfort Food Tour
  • Mediterranean Recipes
  • Dive Bars
  • Travel Tips
    • Packing
    • The Expat Lifestyle
    • Enjoy the Best of Seville
  • About
  • Contact