How I Roll – The ABCs of Travel
I like this! A set of questions about my travels posted by Leah (check out her blog! http://leahtravels.com/site/things/how-i-roll-the-abcs-of-travel) who in turn received it from someone else who got it from someone else, … you get the pic. Thanks, Leah! And in turn, I will say other important “thanks” as I respond. Here it goes!
A. Age you went on your first international trip
Technically going to PR from Miami as a toddler doesn’t count since it is U.S. territory… My first trip abroad was when I was eleven. I went to visit my aunt and her family in Panama. I went with my grandmother and my sister. It was SO cool. We flew to Miami and then to Panama. We either flew Eastern or Pan Am to Miami but it must have been the latter since we then flew Pan Am to our final destination. I remember my grandmother was a little nervous. I? I was on an adventure! I remember that on the Pan Am flight to Panama (that’s an alliteration!) each passenger was given a small bottle of wine (not the mini ones but maybe a 0.5L bottle) – and that included, apparently, 11 yr olds too! My grandmother made me give it to my uncle once I arrived in Panama since I clearly couldn’t drink it. I knew she was right but I sorta felt cheated… Thanks, Abuela!
B. Best (foreign) beer you’ve had and where
A Belgian Trappist beer called Chimay. The blue label one. It then became my goal to get a Chimay glass (way before they started selling them). I got one but to hear the story, well, I will have to tell you in person because I am not typing how I got it 
Just want to say, thanks Joy!
I first tasted it when I lived in France in 1999. Upon my return to the wonderful state of Georgia, I discovered that it was not sold here because of its higher alcohol content. Ridiculous! A co-worker who commuted every week to Atlanta from DC would bring me a batch every so often in her carry-on (this was in 2000). Now THAT is a friend. We are still friends today, needless to say – thanks, Laura! (P.S. – A few years ago Georgia left the Middle Ages and I can get Chimay here any time I want. Thanks, legislators.)
C. Cuisine – favorite
Well, duh, Cuban! All that garlic, pork, fried stuff, and black beans. I am working myself into hunger as I type… Italian is a good runner up for sure. And could I turn down Peruvian?? But Cuban it is. My Mom cooks it VERY well. She must have learned from her grandmother, whom we called Doña as kids for some reason. I remember her cooking still. For teaching her granddaughters to cook well so I could enjoy Cuban food, thanks Doña!
D. Destinations: favorite, least favorite, and why
Favorite: Chilean Patagonia followed closely by the southern island of New Zealand. Why? Breathtaking examples of God’s work. A+! Check the pix out! Thanks, God.
View from la Cueva del Milodón
Least favorite: I tend to find something I like about most places. It may not be pretty but the people make it likable, or the food, or who I was traveling with. But if I search for places that didn’t impress me (not that I did not like being there), Copenhagen was one. It had some nice things, it wasn’t unlikable. But it seemed bland (maybe I was comparing it to Stockholm and Oslo which did impress me). Beijing was an absolute disappointment with the terrible pollution. Of course, it had some sites that were worth seeing but overall as a city, my least favorite. San Marino seemed to be only a duty-free zone or a tourist trap zone, except for the church. Oh, I was the one in the group who wanted to drive through it – and I heard it a few times… Thanks, Me.
E. Event you experienced above that made you say “wow”
Several things come to mind. Seeing Holy Week processions and events in Malta was pretty awesome. Being in Chile during a historical year: first time in the World Cup in 40 odd years, a historical election seeing the right come to power for the first time since the dictatorship ended, the trapped miners, the massive and terrible earthquake, and there was a fifth one but it escapes me… Seeing the emotion of Chileans watching their national team with such joy was a wow. Seeing the very civilized behaviors between election winner and loser (which made me feel for my country…) was a wow. I wasn’t there on the day of the earthquake otherwise that would have won THE wow. But being there for the miners’ rescue was one of those moments that truly was a wow. Gracias, Chile!
F. Favorite mode of transportation
Well, a plane. I don’t totally enjoy the ride but when time is limited, nothing like getting there fast! First class preferred, of course. Thanks, Wright bros.
G. Greatest feeling when traveling
Discovering something new that blows me away. Like the landscapes of southern New Zealand. Or phenomenal hole-in-the-wall eateries like La Porta in Montecchiello in Tuscany. Thanks to my passport!
Osteria La Porta, Montecchiello
H. Hottest place you have traveled to
At the World Expo in Sevilla in 1992 it was over 40C (over 104F). That ranks up there though my hometown sometimes can feel hotter than hell. Well, really, it is because of the humidity. Thanks, H2O
I. Incredible service you have experienced and where
Quite a few but in my over 20 round trips to Chile a couple of years ago, I tended to coincide with a flight crew every other week or so. These flight attendants took GREAT care of me, even though I flew coach. Let’s just say, at some point, I no longer was served coach wine… Thanks, Delta for having flight attendants that know how to treat your valuable frequent flyers even when your rules prevent the Delta staff from doing the right thing…
J. Journey that took the longest
I would like to say going to Australia but that wasn’t the longest. Nor was it driving from Atlanta to Denver with my college roommate. My actual longest journey was when I went to Tanzania. I went with work, an international NGO, so I thought I had to absolutely get the cheapest possible itinerary. So I ended with a 2-stop (not awful per se) trip to get to Dar es Salaam (via London and Dubai; a 6 and 9 hr layover respectively). I learned later that policy was to get the cheapest flight with a reasonable duration which meant I could have gone for the cheapest 1-stop route… Overall the journey was over 30 hrs. and I was supremely beat though when I landed in Dar, the tiredness dissipated for a little bit as I soaked in everything around me! Thanks, former employer for laying out the rules clearly – grrrr….
K. Keepsake from your travels
I always bring back money from the countries I visit for me and for kids I know. I do it to perhaps stir curiosity of the world in them much as stamps did for me when I was a kid. I also mail post cards (though not many) to share a little of trip with people close to me. Other than that, photos, photos, and more photos! On occasion, if I find a particular item that grabs a hold of me, then I get it. But I am not a big shopper usually because it means I have to carry it all back! One of my prized acquisitions was a wood carving I bought at Los Dominicos in Santiago, Chile. Gracias, Señor Salazar.
L. Let-down sight, why and where
Stonehenge, hands down. A pile of big stones, yes, put up by people long ago for mystical/spiritual purposes when there wasn’t machinery to make things easy. But it wasn’t just that. The place is cordoned off so you watch them from a distance. Not that touching them would mean something but if I could have walked amongst them or at least get close enough to “feel” their size. It’s not like watching the Great Pyramids at a distance. It is watching large stones at a distance. It is not watching the giant heads in Easter Island. Those are carved. It is watching large stones at a distance. Get it? But, of course, I am glad I saw them so no one can tell about them. Thanks to my college roommate, Andreas, for driving us there and checking it off the list. One-and-done. No repeat visit. (P.S. – I am not sure if I have been clear on what I think about Stonehenge…)
M. Moment where you fell in love with travel
None. I was born loving travel as far as I can tell. The thrill of going somewhere new, exploring. Or of getting back to a place I really like (Paris, Chile, Venice). Now the wanderlust was created by my childhood hobby of stamp collecting. I wanted to know about all these places, I relished seeing new stamps that told me something about each country. I HAD to see them! Thanks to my Mom, Dad, tío Ernesto and all those who used to save stamps for me for supporting me in this hobby that stirred this passion! (Hence, the wallpaper on my Twitter page!)
N. Nicest hotel you have stayed in
I would say the Four Seasons in Dallas but it was an overnight stay for work and I arrived very late the night before. The Loew’s in Miami Beach for a work conference was very nice. But my favorite was the Boca Raton Beach Resort where we went a couple of years for work “retreats”. Thanks, Andersen Consulting!
O. Obsession, what are you obsessed with taking pictures of while traveling
In one trip to Italy, I was obsessed with capturing a nun in motion (her habits flowing as she walked). I didn’t take any great picture. That I knew of… When I got home and developed the film, a nun had crossed the street in one of my pix. You see, I must have missed the fact she was there because I was switching lenses to take a picture of the same view with and without zoom lens to see how the two pix would contrast. I probably was so engrossed in not dropping the lens I wasn’t using and in focusing on the arch far away that I missed what was in front of me: a nun in motion! Thanks, miracle nun!
But that was only for that trip. Generally, I like to take pictures of people doing nothing in particular. Just walking, sitting, being… But I have developed a little interest in taking pictures of people taking or posing for pictures for others when I go to very touristy areas. It is interesting to watch people touristing!
P. Passport stamps – how many and from where
In the current passport or in all my passports??!! I do not plan to count them, especially since one very full passport was stolen during a home break-in a dozen years ago. Plus I have more than one stamp of some countries. Which led to requiring new pages added to the passport… Thanks Chile for stamping my passport EACH AND EVERY time I entered and departed 26 times in 2010…
I have visited 49 countries and thanks to the breakup of Yugoslavia, in April I won’t just hit 50, I will get to 52! Thanks, Marshall Tito!
Q. Quirkiest attraction you’ve visited and where
I want to say somewhere in the middle of Kansas through one of my drives to/from Boulder. But nothing comes to mind. Or something in Central Florida. That sounds right, right? The Big Chicken in Marietta – is that an attraction or just a fast food place? Thanks to no one for quirky attractions.
R. Recommended sight, event, or experience
Leah said the Scavi tour under St. Peter’s Basilica and I would agree. I have done it twice but will pass on this next trip to Rome. Other things to see! The Great Pyramids are an obvious answer to this. In terms of views, seeing Rio from the Corcovado is tops. The view of Cape Town from Table Mountain is also outstanding. And experiencing the peacefulness and breathtaking landscapes of the Chilean Patagonia rounds up my answer. Thanks to these eyes for letting me soak it all in…
Outstanding views near the Cape of Good Hope!
S. Splurge, something you have no problem forking over for while traveling
A great meal!! I don’t mean going to the Maxim’s or some other fancy-schmancy restaurant. I mean at a local place with great food like La Porta in Montecchielo or the restaurant in Venice we so enjoyed or at Cuero Vaca in Santiago. Once I am there, the price on the menu is ignored. Oh, that’s for the food part. You DO have to look at the price of a bottle of wine – don’t intend to fork $500 any time soon for a bottle of wine – plenty of good stuff out there for much less thanks to many great winemakers!
T. Touristy thing you’ve done
Throwing a coin over my shoulder in the Trevi Fountain in Rome to make sure I return! But it has worked twice already! Grazie, Trevi! Bella!
U. Unforgettable travel memory
A few for sure. Typically when standing in front of magnificent scenery many of which I have cited above and many that I have left out. Another is my first helicopter ride to see the 12 Apostles near Melbourne and then my second ride to land on Franz Josef Glacier in NZ.
But one of the most unforgettable travel memories for me is when I walked into the room where the future John Paul II was born in Wadowice, Poland. There was a large picture of him as a toddler and I got goose bumps thinking who would have told that child, that family, those neighbors that this child would become a giant in the faith of millions and a giant in the battle against oppression in the Communist world, etc. It hit me that the potential of ANY child is about infinite. It only starts narrowing with every passing year, depending on circumstances, education, health, etc. Very unexpected moment for me.
V. Visas, how many and for where?
One, from CapitalOne. What’s in your wallet?
W. Wine, best glass of wine while traveling and where?
A glass or two of Sauternes at of Chateau Sahuc-Lestours. We randomly visited this winery and met the owners who sat down with us to sip Sauternes (they sipped, I almost gulped) in the garden of their home/winery. At the end of the visit, they corked the unlabelled bottle we had drunk, and gave it to us (plus the bottle we each had bought). Fast forward 8 yrs, and I return. The husband wasn’t there but the wife was. I recounted not only the visit but the things they had told us and she knew it was true that I had been there before. I don’t recall her name but we called her Margaret on that first visit for some reason. Merci beaucoup et au revoir, Margaret!
X. eXcellent view and from where?
So I mentioned earlier the views from Corcovado in Rio, Table Mountain in Cape Town, and any view in Chilean Patagonia. I will add:
- the view from the top of the Eiffel Tower which puts all of Paris at your footsteps
- the view from Pienza in Tuscany where you can see the rolling hills of the region and the neighboring mountain town
- the view as you fly over the Andes – endless mountain range (and I mean east-west, not just north-south!)
- the view from my apt building in Paris: the Arc d’Triomphe almost right across the street with the Eiffel Tower behind it in the distance
- the view from the executive lounge of the Santiago Marriott at sunset looking at the Andes
and I could keep on going… thanks for letting me list more than one!
Flying over the glorious Andes
Y. Years spent traveling
Since I was a toddler ilivetotravel! My first trip to Europe was when I was 25. Kids are spoiled today, they get to go younger, thanks to deregulation. Who says deregulation is bad???
Z. Zealous sports fans and where?
Have never been to a World Cup. Have been to a World Series game but, it is baseball. Have been to 2 Olympics. But the best memory is watching fans of many countries who made it to the 2010 World Cup work together and compare notes as the World Cup took place was fun. Unfortunately, my bragging rights ended on the earlier side so then it was fun to throw ambers on the fires around me 
Those Brazilians, Chileans, Spanish, Argentines, and Mexicans definitely showed zealotry and good spirit. Thanks to my client in Chile for installing flat screen TVs around the building so people could peek at matches during work hours.
Thanks for reading some or all of the above!!
Just as I was tagged, I get to tag others. So…
Pola at http://www.jettingaround.com
Tawny at http://www.captainandclark.com
Henie at http://www.HennArtOnline.com
Mark at http://www.twylah.com/marktravel
TAG, YOU ARE IT!
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My First Landing in Europe – Spain via Amsterdam
Back in early 1992, a couple of friends and I had the flash thought that we needed to go to the Olympics in Barcelona that summer. Why not, right? As we started reading about Spain we decided we needed to check out a few places besides Barcelona which was bound to be zoo-like during the Games. I, having studied high school in a Latin country, knew a lot more than my peers about the historical cities and buildings in Spain (El Alhambra in Granada; la Mezquita de Córdoba; and the importance of Sevilla in the discovery and colonization of the New World by Spain). I recall one afternoon setting out a large map of Spain on the floor of one of my friend’s apartment and with a book of Spain at hand, set out to plan an itinerary of sorts. Our third friend wasn’t there but he would be fine with whatever we decided.
Planning
OK, that was the extent of our planning. Those days being pre-Internet, expensive international long distance and 3 of us very busy guys, we did not further planning than our route and the car rental (if memory serves me right on that last bit). No hotels, no tickets to events, nothing. We got our tickets but I was to fly a day earlier and from JFK given where I was at the time. The two of them would fly in together the next day on a direct flight from Atlanta (I was connecting through Amsterdam for a cheaper flight – important back then as I think I ended up paying on the cheaper flight about $900!).
Crossing the Pond
This was my first time in Europe but not my first time abroad. I had already been to Panama, Mexico, Chile, and Argentina. Leaving out of JFK was then, as it still is today, an experience. What a zoo. Right after our KLM 747 pulled away from the gate, a TWA plane taking off had to abort the takeoff and crashed (no one died mericfully; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TWA_Flight_843). A sort of benefit from this event is that I now can remember the day I flew to Spain for the first time! (July 30th, 1992).
Anyway, on with the story… This event resulted in planes not taking off for a few hrs but JFK airport being JFK, people and flights kept piling on so we were not taken back to the gate. Instead, we sat on the tarmac for about 4 hrs. The crew decided to go ahead and serve dinner during the period. The plane was hot and this Norwegian woman around me kept talking non-stop. I was not a happy camper… Mercifully, after the dinner service, the plane’s doors were open and staffed by flight attendants (so no one would jump off, I suppose). This helped make the plane a tad less warm and likely prevented someone from slapping the Norwegian silly.
Of course, this meant I would miss my connection to Madrid in Amsterdam. I didn’t miss it by much and that probably irritated me more. But I have to say the travel gods were smiling upon me. Can you imagine if my first landing in Europe with a missed connection had been in CDG?? That would have been a dreadful experience and I am glad I was at beautiful and efficient Schiphol!
In Madrid – Olé
KLM properly took care of putting me on another flight to my destination so I boarded an Iberia flight a couple of hours later to get to Madrid. Of course I was jetlagged but the excitement of being in Europe carried me through. I don’t recall at this point how much I may have slept on the trans-Atlantic flight (I am not a big plane sleeper) but I remember dozing off on the way to Madrid. I had done some research on how to get to town and had ended up booking a hostal for my first night in Madrid (we were to leave Madrid the next day after my friends landed).
An easy bus ride from the airport to Plaza Colón dropped me, off for little money, a few blocks from my hostal. I don’t know if it was technically a hostal but it was like a massive apartment (or several) that an older couple ran (Hostal Principado, near the Thyssen Museum). The room was small but clean and efficient. However, it got loud outside late at night and I learned my first lesson on bringing along earplugs!
I used the rest of the day to walk around and explore. Thanks to trip notes I took at the time, I remember that I walked around the Parque del Retiro then headed to the Puera del Sol and ended up having tapas at the Cervecería Alemana, back then recommended by my guide book.
Parque del Retiro
The next day, I took the same bus back to pick up my friends at the airport. These not being the days of international ATM’ing, we headed to the American Express office to exchange currency prior to heading to the Chamartín train station to book our train tickets for the overnight ride to Barcelona. One of my friends didn’t speak anything but English and the other, son of Colombian parents raised in the U.S., understood some but couldn’t speak Spanish much which meant I did a lot of the talking – which was fine by me! By the way, we did all this carrying our bags with us (shoulder bag for me)!
We explored some of Madrid that day to keep everyone awake and since we had no accommodations in Madrid as I had checked out of the hostal. (Thinking back, why didn’t I ask them if I could leave my bags and my friends’ bags during that day???) We went to the Palacio Real, Madrid’s awesome Plaza Mayor, and walked to the Gran Vía (a main avenue in Madrid; a great bakery in Puerto Rico which sourced many a birthday cake in our family!). We walked back to the Paseo del Prado (the road where the Prado museum is located) and we decided to just head to the train station from there.
We got lucky that we got a 6-bed compartment (two bunks of 3 beds) just for the 3 of us so we could spread out. Not having been in a real train before, much less overnight, I didn’t sleep soundly but well enough for the purpose.
Our Olympic adventure in Barcelona, subject of my next entry, was about to start!
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An Austin Tweetup
I never thought I’d be part of something called a “tweetup” but last Friday I found myself traveling to Austin, TX to take part in one… How did I get there? Well, I often participate in Twitter on travel chats and through that eventually connected with three 3 people that I enjoyed “chatting” with via Twitter. The idea came up that maybe we should meet up at some point. Since the 3 of them had Texas connections and 2 of them lived there, we decided to plan a weekend in Austin, TX. Since I have good friends there, I figured I could see my new friends and my old friends in one weekend.
Getting There
Getting there was challenging as I wanted to stick to my main airline and there are no direct flights. Also, as I had been traveling a lot recently, I wanted to make sure I could make a stop at home before continuing to travel after the trip to Austin. No worries, a little fingerwork yielded a good itinerary at a reasonable price even if with a very tight connection in Memphis on my way to Austin (54mins). The connection was perfectly fine but then the flight to Austin got delayed 1.5 hrs which pretty much killed joining folks that night.
One Sick Puppy
Unfortunately, I was starting to get sick when I flew to Austin and that got worse over the weekend. I missed the evening tweetup events and that was a real bummer. But Saturday I did get to be with these new friends, now not just “online friends” and we got to explore a little bit of Austin.
Austin in One Day
The day started with breakfast at one of the food truck parking lots on 1st St. A taco place and a doughnut one were the choices on the one we settled on - and I was keen on getting a big ole loaded donut! The donut took a good bit to be prepared but it was loaded with fried bananas, cream and the donut itself. MAJOR sugar overload!
We decided to walk around that part of town and then proceeded to South Congress to walk around the shops. People were out and about that day! It felt like maybe this was the first spring day after a long winter but this was mid-January. Eventually we made it to Allen Boots. I wsan’t looking for a pair of boots but did see a belt I really liked and since most of my belts are run-of-the-mill boring, I went for it. What a great way to add Texas to my “wardrobe” without it having to be a t-shirt!
We decided it was a good enough time to head out to Driftwood, TX to eat some BBQ at Salt Lick (www.saltlickbbq.com). (After returning home from the trip, I saw the place featured in a Top Chef Texas episode.) The place is massive and even has a winery. While we waited 45 mins for our table, we sampled wines which were pretty good. I especially liked their Brut. The place is chop-chop, meaning, all business. They serve you very fast and they don’t seem to want people lingering at the table (based on a posted sign). But they were very friendly so no complaints here. Based on the amount of people wanting to eat there, I am glad people didn’t linger before WE were seated! The foot was great – I had the brisket and sausage and I can say, hands down, the sausage were far better. They had a slight sweet taste that I enjoyed.
After Salt Lick (and a group picture in the parking lot), we drove back into town to walk around the Capitol grounds and take various pictures. At that point, I started feeling the cold getting worse so I was not able to linger much and continue on for drinks and dinner which means I missed out on more fun with the group and on checking out the Four Seasons where 2 of them were staying. I got some meds at the hotel store and basically slept through the evening, night and a good bit of the morning before my local friends picked me up around 11.
Tweetup: Thumbs Up or Down?
Not sure how other “tweetups” go but this group was a phenomenal group of folks! The folks were in real life as I had thought they were from our Twitter chats. I hope their blogs about the tweetup do the weekend better justice (especially since they can talk about the happy hours and dinners that I missed) and I can’t wait to read them!
I am very glad I went for it and I look forward to another one of these with these folks and perhaps other Twitter friends we have met over the last year through our travel chats.
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About
Part of the fun of traveling, besides the travel itself, is the experiences that happen along the way. Getting hopelessly lost in eastern France, getting stuck in a public restroom in Versailles, finding a tucked away neighborhood park in touristy Venice, being tossed into a stranger’s car in the Sinai peninsula, discovering the most mouth-watering wines in Mendoza, etc. all enhance the travel experience.
I have a passion for travel and seek to share the experiences and sights with others via this blog. And I hope it also gives others ideas of places to go or dream about going to someday! Other passions include dark chocolate and red wine – for the record!
Follow me on twitter @ilivetotravel or in Facebook www.facebook.com/ilivetotravel and drop me a note about your own travels any time – I love discovering new jewels for future travel opportunities!
My friend Chris, who also loves to travel, and others contribute on occasion to this blog to share their own experiences!
