In 2019 I began a dream of traveling to Spain and Portugal for the first time. I’ve been fortunate to travel to Europe several times in the past but have never journeyed to either of those countries. I did my research, planned my itinerary, made all my plane and train reservations, and carefully selected all the places we would be staying. Then one month before we were set to leave, COVID hit. Fortunately, every single one of my reservations were refunded. Then as 2022 approached my dream began to return—but this time the plan is for an even longer trip. After all, if 2020 taught us nothing else, it was that time is precious and that it is SMART to seize every opportunity to do those things we have always longed to do.
I say that, but at the same time I also recognize that COVID took an exacting cost on millions of people around the world. It is a terrible disease and it’s not over yet—and we’re not sure it will ever completely be gone. At the same time there is a war in Eastern Europe and people are dying. Plus, millions at home are struggling just to pay their bills, let alone travel the world. Being aware of all of this while celebrating my ability to travel again is the paradox that I live with every day.
With brand new plans made and our Booster #2, we boarded a plane on May 1. I learned several years ago that I am not cut out to be a travel blogger. While I admire how others do it, it doesn’t suit my temperament. But if you are my “friend” on Facebook you know that I LOVE to take photos (Thom too) and then share them with others. At the same time, I’m also aware that some of you are off Social Media, so I came up with the idea to do a different kind of blog post than my usual commentary. I’m calling it “Travels With Kathy & Thom.” My new approach while we are traveling will be to do each post with three elements:
#1 Three of my favorite photos from the last week (or so.)
#2. A photo of the food or dining experience I enjoyed the most.
#3 A photo of my most enjoyable experience in the last week (or so.)
Of course, if you’re not into travel and/or travel blogs, feel free to ignore any of my “Travels With Kathy & Thom” posts this summer. I’m hoping you’ll stick around and I see you again in September.
Meanwhile, here are my three highlights for this week.
Barcelona, Spain has been on my short list for years and with good connecting flights into the city it seemed like a great place to start our trip. Three of my favorite photos taken since we landed (and recovered from jet lag) are:
- Thom and I outside the amazing Sagrada Familia Cathedral designed by Antoni Gaudi.
2) We spent five days in Barcelona and only scratched the surface of this huge city. While there was a lot to see and experience, some of the best times were just wandering the streets the Born and Gothic Quarter (near our apartment).
3) Next, we headed to Southern Spain on the high-speed AVE train to Cordoba. An equally impressive city with intriguing history, we toured the Cordoba Mezquita. This Mosque-Cathedral is a stunning monument to the two religions and cultures that have shaped Andalusia: Islam and Christianity.
While we’ve been fortunate to have several interesting and tasty food experiences, I think our favorite dinner was at Restaurante Blavis in Barcelona. Recommended on TripAdvisor, this tiny (16 seat) bistro requires reservations far in advance. I should probably have taken photos of the food, but we were so busy eating and enjoying ourselves that I got distracted. Afterwards we asked the co-owners for a photo.
Finally, is one of the highlights of our trip so far. The day was warm. We were hungry. When we entered small plaza surrounded by buildings, a restaurant was just opening so we were able to grab a patio table. Nearby two men began playing music. While we ate a simple lunch, the men played most of the surrounding crowd sang along, clapped and many of the women got up and danced. The joy was evident and it was such a pleasure to watch the local people enjoying themselves on a lovely Sunday afternoon. This memory will be with me for years to come. (See very short video below.)
So that’s it. This first post is longer than those others I hope to include. Meanwhile, stay SMART and hasta luego.
I love following your travels on your blog! You guys are having such a good time, and I hope one day I can go there too
Hi Valentina! Thanks for letting me know you are enjoying following along on our trip. We are having a great time and Spain is indeed a wonderful country to visit. Next stop…Sevilla! ~Kathy
Since I don’t travel anymore, I will definitely enjoy traveling vicariously along with your posts. I spent my 39th birthday in Barcelona. Looking forward to more of your delightful travel posts.
Hi Galen! Ah, if we lived closer together we could sit and talk about Barcelona together. Wouldn’t that be fun. If my travel posts do nothing but help people remember their own trips then I’m happy. Meanwhile we are in the south of Spain now and I hope to post another blog post soon. Thanks for the encouragement. ~Kathy
Wonderful, Kathy! Such a good idea to “just” share the highlights and spreading out over both platforms – Facebook and here to give everyone something beautiful, entertaining, and interesting to enjoy and marvel at.
How long are you going to be in Europe this summer? I’m very happy you are now living the dream that was started two years ago.
Hi Liesbet! I know you and Mark do this all this time. (at least live on the road) but we are only signed on to do it until the end of July. So far we are loving it but three months is a long time and we’ll see. Of course I do have nice apartments rented along the way and are trying to stay several days (or longer) in each location so we aren’t just living out of suitcases. At just under two weeks into it, we are so far enjoying it very much. Glad to hear that others are enjoying my photos as well. ~Kathy
Kathy I love this new blog you guys are having much fun. I really enjoy the pictures and video. She is rocking that gold jumpsuit!! Looking forward to more.
Hi Amanda. Yes like I told Kate there was a large group of young women dressed in various costumes celebrating a wedding shower. It seemed everywhere we went a different group showed up and the costumes were fun. When that music came on I don’t think they could help themselves and just started dancing. Thanks for the encouragement, I do hope to continue sharing with everyone so it’s nice to know that it is appreciated. ~Kathy
Hi Kathy,
What a wonderful way to start a trip! It looks absolutely stunning and I love all the old architecture. I’ve always been fascinated with the Mediterranean culture and history.
And your post was a very pleasant surprise. I wasn’t sure if we would see one. Like you, we wonder how to do one while on our adventures. So, thank you for the inspiration on how accomplish it! Quick and easy. We’re going to Portugal for six and a half weeks and are so excited. You’ve given us lots to think about.
Thanks for the update on Europe, the war and COVID. Good to know that Spain has some protocols still in place. Everything that has happened has taken a great toll on everyone in the world. As much as we would like to, we can’t solve all the problems – if we could we would :-). I think all we can really do is be genuine, compassionate and live our best life.
Enjoy your travels and looking forward to the updates when you put them out!
Hi Debbie! When are you going to be in Portugal? We’ll be there in July. That would be so awesome to meet up with you!!! And thanks for the encouragement. I just have to resist the urge to write lengthy commentaries about all sorts of things and just keep it simple (not always easy for me!!!). So it is nice to know people are still interested. Let me know about Portugal and we’ll make a plan! ~Kathy
Hey, Kathy, looks like you and Thom are having a wonderful time. Good for you. I loved the video of the women dancing. Reminded me of watching a street tango in Buenos Aires. Safe travels.
Kate
Hi Kate! Yes it was so much fun with the women just getting up to dance. All weekend we saw young women dressed in costumes and when I asked them about it, they said they were celebrating a wedding. I think they meant a wedding shower because it was groups of women having lots of fun. Plus in the audience were older women singing along and having a great time. Those are them memories that really stick with me. ~Kathy
Hi, Kathy – What a wonderful way to share your travels! I absolutely LOVE Spain and Portugal. I greatly look forward to following along!
Hi Donna! Thanks. I am hoping this new form of blogging will work with me while traveling. I consider you my guru when it comes to doing quick and meaningful blog posts…we just all have to find our way huh? :-). ~Kathy
Brava! This is a great way to share your travels while not digging into much of your actual travel time. The Cordoba Mezquita is definitely on my must-see list when Paul and I travel to Spain. It looks like you had the whole place to yourselves (?). I’m enjoying your Facebook posts and look forward to more Travels With Kathy and Thom posts (and, I’m taking notes for sure).
Hey Janis! Come on over!!! The trip over was fairly smooth and so far everything good. And yes, the Mezquita is amazing. But we were NOT alone. We just got there first thing and while most people huddled around by the entrance of this huge hall, we walked to the opposite end where hardly anyone was for the best shots. The cathedral part is also quite impressive (lots of gold and silver of course) but it is those arches that are the most interesting (well besides the amazing history of the place.). Today we are off to Granada! Thanks for the encouragement. ~Kathy
Hi Kathy, I too find posting ‘real time’ difficult when traveling, so I especially appreciate your efforts to share a summary of your experience in each location. Barcelona is a great place to kick off the summer, with its colorful vibe, delicious food, and incredible architecture. Best wishes for an engaging and enjoyable nomadic adventure!
Hi Suzanne! Thanks for the encouragement. I’m optimistic at this point about my ability to post and travel as long as I give myself permission (no one makes up the rules except us huh?) to do short ones. ~Kathy
Oh, how fun! I love to travel. My husband and I spent almost eight years traveling full-time by RV until we were stranded by the pandemic. We’re heading off for a four-and-a-half month trip to Michigan and Wisconsin in June and I can hardly wait. Now that we’re no longer full-time RVing, we’re talking about doing some international travel. I lived in Europe for a year when I was in my 30s, and Portugal and Spain are high on my list of places that I would love to return to.
It looks like your trip is off to a fabulous beginning. I never made it to Barcelona or Cordoba, but I really want to go there. Your photos are certainly enticing, and I completely agree with you that time is precious and that we need to do those things we have always longed to do. Happy travels!
Hi Laural. It sounds like you have a LOT more experience than we do living on the “road.” While we travel a lot (in our opinion at least) we haven’t done three months at a stretch. (Did two months in Canada last years but only in two different locations). This one is a bit more challenging with three countries and over a dozen cities. (more like RVing???). At any rate we want to check out different locations for possible longer stays in the future so this is a scouting trip of sorts.
Thanks for your encouragement and yes! Get back out traveling if you hear the call! ~Kathy
Always good to see and hear travel experiences! Keep them coming.
Hi Gary! I know it’s not my usual kind of post but I think it will help make it fun. I am trying to do them fairly quickly so like always, please let me know if you catch any typos! ~Kathy
Thank you, Kathy for reminding us how much we enjoy and miss traveling . I am taking credit for you doing these Travel Blogs. Look forward to the next one.
Hey Joanne! You are absolutely right! You were a big inspiration for me figuring out how I could do this on the road without making myself crazy. While it is certainly a departure from my usual blogging, I think it will be fun. And we hope to throw in a VLOG at some point too. I hope you and Myron are staying well and happy and remember you can always email too! ~Kathy
We loved Barcelona so much when we were there several years ago — except for the Spanish custom of dining so late! We usually ate a nice lunch and picked up something at the market on the Ramblas for dinner.
We also have a similar memory of a Sunday lunch. It was Palm Sunday, and we were at a cafe across from one of the major churches, and people spilled out with their palm fronds, and a wonderful jazz band was playing…. Such a wonderful moment.
Like you, we went traveling this spring. Ten days in Florence, a week in Rome, a week in London — a fabulous trip, except that no one in London was wearing masks — even in crowded theaters. I was lucky enough not to catch Covid until I got home — and only the kind of light case that people with four shots tend to get. I hope you have good trip insurance and a back-up plan in case.
Thanks for the photos and for reminding me of happy travels!
Hi Nancy! We are actually finding the dining detail a little easier than we thought. That’s because it is light until after 9:30. So what we do is have a late lunch like you said and then find that dinner around 7:30-8:00 seems sorta normal. And so happy that with mostly tapa menus so far we don’t have to order a full meal at all, just things to split.
And aren’t those spontaneous moments some of the best we can find when we travel. Because we are planning to be gone so long (three months to be exact) we are taking the slow travel approach. Rather than “vacationing” we are approaching it more like nomadic travel.
And I agree about the masks. Not that many although here in Spain it is a requirement on public transportation so the trains (and the metro) and I assume buses all require them. We carry ours along and when inside and it’s crowded we put them on. Sorry you finally got caught with the bug but not until you got home. And thanks for letting me know you like my photos. ~Kathy
Fabulous! Enjoy your trip!
Thanks Janet! So far so good… ~Kathy
Sounds like a great trip so far. Look forward to seeing those photos.
Hi Tom! I’m challenged now to up my game! Thanks for the encouragement. ~Kathy