Madrid: A Vibrant City

Arriving in a new city under the cover of darkness always adds a flair of mystery. And such was my arrival in Madrid after nearly 24 hours of travelling (which included a nearly nine-hour layover in Amsterdam). The benefit of such an arrival is the discovery the next morning when everything is awash in daylight.

This cross marked what was once the edge of the city wall.

  

We enjoyed 1 euro cervezas on the patio of the cerveceria one languid afternoon.

Madrid's vibrant hues, and my enchantment with them, reminded me a lot of Rome. And indeed, Madrid had a certain ambiance.

Hola!

I arrive home late yesterday afternoon. I can't wait to sort through all the pictures I took and share the highlights of my trip with you!

I seem to have contracted a sore throat from the canned air on the plane though, so I've had chicken soup for lunch and downing peppermint tea and my go-to when I'm sick, Bolthouse C-Boost juice, which was 1200% your daily vitamin C per serving!

Adios!

The weather forecast for Madrid and Barcelona. The current forecast for Amsterdam seems like it might dash my plans to picnic in Vondelpark.

Thanks to everyone who played the postcard challenge. I can't wait to share some of the interesting clues and tidbits of trivia you submitted. If you played, keep your eye on your mailbox!

Tonight I'm off to meet my bestie to celebrate her 25th birthday (it's actually tomorrow, and I'm leaving the country, what a terrible friend I am, right?). Tomorrow, I'm meeting my mum for lunch before heading over to the airport.

I'll be back in two weeks. Feel free to read back if you want :)

(images via The Weather Network)

On Packing

Even though I've been looking forward to this trip for what seems like months, it suddenly feels like it's crept up on me; as in, I can't believe I'll be sitting on a plane in 48 hours from now. I have been more or less diligently checking the items left on my to-do list. Tonight I'm packing and watching Vicky Cristina Barcelona--the movie that secured Spain a spot on my list of places to travel to.

Sounds zen, but for me packing usually feels like it's a pretty frantic last-minute affair (example: I left packing for France until the night before), filled with uncertainty.

A few weeks ago Liz (on whom I have a blog crush, go check her out, it's lovely), tweeted about how she was trying to resist packing for her summer trip to her parents' Michigan cabin 39 days early. I replied, mentioning my packing procrastination and she passed on some packing wisdom:

"To me, it's almost like starting the trip itself - all that visualizing of what I'll wear, etc."

What a wonderful way of looking at it. Not surprising coming from a gal perfecting her life uniform, and who undertakes a never-ending edit.

Destination Tags

While browsing Pinterest on Monday, I came across prints by illustrator/designer Tabitha Brown. I checked out her etsy shop, The Pairabirdslove, and fell in love with this print of vintage airline luggage tags.

Since moving in together last summer, Peter and I have been rearranging the apartment he's lived in for 10 (!) years to make it feel more like our home. We still have a lot of bare wall space I'd like to fill with art. Wouldn't this colourful print (along with maybe it's American pair) be inspiring to look at? I think I'd get lost in daydreams of travelling to Sao Paulo, or Melbourne or any one of these places.

I also really like this print of Rock, Paper, Scissors and this one called The New Girl.

(illustration by Tabitha Brown)

Do You Unplug During Vacation?

When Jacky was visiting back in April, she made an interesting remark while we were packing our overnight bags for Victoria. She said she was going to do like me and leave her computer at home.

I found this an interesting comment because I hadn't consciously realized that not bringing my computer on trips in Europe was my M.O. But it's true. For the most part, I didn't bring my laptop along on my European travels. It wasn't because of some belief in living unplugged, but rather a decision based on the realities of packing for a week of travelling with just a carry-on bag. When I lived in France, I didn't have a smartphone, so being unplugged on vacation was all the easier.

When Peter and I took our anniversary trip to Seattle, I tweeted and checked social media and email occasionally, but only when there was free wifi available. That trip had a unique social media dimension with the Twitter #2DaysInSeattle.

This trip to Europe I am planning on being unplugged. I'm not bringing my laptop along (Peter will have his iPad), and as I expect free wifi to be rare, I don't think I will be using my iPhone much beyond taking the occasional Instagram photo, if that.


What are your social media and internet habits when you travel? Do you unplug? Do you feel strongly about taking a break from the computer and/or internet?

P.S.: There are still 5 days to leave a comment to receive a postcard.

(illustration by Tabitha Brown via Pinterest, available as a print from her etsy shop)

Dispatch from Barcelona

If you know me, or you've been reading the blog, then you'll know Peter is currently on tour in Europe with Siskiyou. Yesterday he called me from Barcelona, where they had just finished playing their set at the Primavera Sound Festival. He said it was an incredible experience playing to thousands of people, and having a few hundred of them sing along. He told me we were going to have an awesome time in Barcelona. Can't wait. Only one more week 'til I leave.

Update: Jorge Navarro who saw the Barcelona Primavera Sound show posted some photos of Siskiyou. Peter looked pretty bad ass.

(Photo by Siskiyou)