2016 European Vacation

Yes - tell us a bit about Spain. I'm going next year.

Asturias: Paraiso de la Humanidad (gulpiyuri)
Sagrada familia
madrid de los austrias
fallas
ordesa
museos (a lot)
castles
casas colgadas cuenca
doñana
catedral santiago de compostela
acueducto de segovia
alhambra
cuevas altamira
catedral de burgos
el escorial
la catedral y alcazar de toledo
ciudad romana de merida
catedral de sevilla....
Spain is the third country with the biggest amount of monuments and "locations" considered heritage of humanity

But it´s just me being proud of my country.. they did a lot, i agree

I've done a lot of these. We did the Camino de Santiago from Leon to Santiago (350km in 14 days) then grabbed a hire car and explored.

From memory we stayed in:
Zamora
Salamanca
Caceres
Seville (awesome!)
Zahara De Los Atunes
Gibraltar (not Spain, I know)
Granada
Cordoba
Toledo
Cuenca
Benicassim
Tarragona
Barcelona (4 days of Gaudi)

It was very cool - and my first real OS travel experience. Can't have been too bad, we've been two months overseas every two years since.

Careful!

I did 7 of your 13.

I have 6 of hinge's 13 planned for next year, plus a couple of others.

El Escorial = the most boring place I've been! Even worse than the Palace of the Popes at Avignon. I'm not a fan of that sort of aggrandisement.

Been to Gibraltar twice, and both times had a brew at the oldest pub in Gibraltar. I was told on my first visit that if the 20 monkeys remained, it
will remain in British hands. There are now hundreds.

Popes palace was closed the day we went to Avignon. Had to settle fo a view of the half bridge from that park on the hill.

We spent a fortnight in apartment in Uzes. Did a lot of Provence from that base. Avignon wasn't a particular highlight. But it did have THREE of those dinky tourist 'trens'.

not at all... it´s not spain (unbelievable but true)

great!! lucky you... i used to travel as much as i could in the past... now, my business has me root here, sadly

I never travelled before I turned 40 (mostly from lack of desire, but also significantly from a lack of economic means).

Also - getting to Europe from Australia is a little more painful than already being in Europe!

We got the travel bug (added motivation was the early death of a parent - who had always planned to travel gypsy-like on retirement - procrastinate at your peril).

Mrs Hinge and I live frugally so we can travel. We paid off the house. Our car is nigh on 20 years old, we rarely eat out, never go to the movies, own just one TV, grow a lot of our own food. Family think we must be rich, but we just save as much as we can for the next trip. (Can't believe how many people have to get a new car every two years).

We've been fortunate that our employers allow us to stockpile annual leave and take it in a lump (makes it easier for them to replace someone with a transfer for two months every two years rather than for two weeks four times every two years).

I thought I responded on this thread but it was probably another. Listening..

Found it: http://able2know.org/topic/347047-1#post-6279548

i got divorced and found myself responsible of two dogs and a mortgage having quit my job shortly before that happened to begin a business meant to be a marriage-project. I get to start that business by myself, provide for my rescued galgos alone and pay the mortgage monthly --- not even in my wildest dreams saving the 1000€ that costs the average return flight to Australia seems possible at all hahahahahah anyway, i understand what you say: people think i´m rich because i own a flat and a business on my own... they don´t seem to notice my car costed just 800€ and i haven´t worn any clothes for the first time for ages! it´s great to see other people get to travel from time to time... maybe in the future, having my dogs passed away (cross my fingers that will take many years to happen) i´ll be able to take a sabbatic year and get to travel again

Back to Hinge and Hinge Wife and pets -

Yeah. I know I'm a loudmouth on a2k about Italy, but that is basically that I exploded in joy to be there, see it. I was 48, had not had a vacation of more than a long weekend for a great many years. Let's say at least ten. It was all on credit card. I had passed my national boards. My husband didn't earn a lot, great person he was and still is, though we are divorced. It was from my earnings, $10.28/hour, but a job I liked. His earnings were more eratic. So, we were financial messes. The vacation was better for me, as I never got sick, but he did.

Still, there was a lot of joy.

"Back to Hinge and Hinge Wife and pets -"-- what does it mean?

We've managed the pets by getting housesitters. That way they stay in their home and complete strangers get to experience our little bit of domestic heaven.

We pay for everything and the only KPI is 'pets must be alive when we get back'.

So far they always have been, sadly one of the housesitters wasn't.

Hingehead is a long time a2k poster, often funny or wise, sometimes together;

He lives in Australia; you can look him up by clicking on his user name.

I mentioned his wife and pets as he has shown photos, re the pets.

Meantime, I did not mean that as a post.
My Italy thread is here -
http://able2know.org/topic/337034-1


I'm not quite finished on that, a few more comments about the diary I wrote, soon as I write them.

I'm a bit like Hinge - but without the wife, and only a single pet (but one more morning of being woken up by screaming at 2am and I'll be pet-free)

No travel until about 40, then went to Europe for 2 months and was absolutely smitten. Decided I needed to see more and more. Now semi retired, I try to travel every year, although not always to Europe. 15th or 16th trip to Europe in planning for next year.

I, too, use house sitters with varying results. Generally OK, some excellent.