Traveling With AirBnB

{the adorable patio off our Sevilla apartment.}

I have used Airbnb ALOT in the last two years and have had many great experience {and only one bad one}.

Renting an apartment, rather than staying in a hotel is so much less expensive (and often cheaper than even hostels!). Plus you get a kitchen which brings the overall trip costs down if you can eat even one meal not at a restaurant. It's a great way to travel cheap and often.

Here's my advice when traveling with Airbnb:

Decide what's most important- You need to prioritize in terms of cost, location and amenities. Is it more important to you to have a modern, updated place rather than somewhere centrally located? Is it ok if there isn't wifi, heating or air conditioning?

Read the reviews- be very thorough in your review reading. Look for comments regarding cleanliness, location, noise, and if all the appliances {hot water, heating, air, etc} worked or had problems. 

The pictures-  most likely the place will not be exactly how you expected {maybe better, maybe worse}, especially in terms of size. So just assume it's smaller than the pictures appears.
Better to prepare for the worst, hope for the best :)

Ask the host a lot of questions- I always ask specific location questions, if they provide towels {i've never stayed anywhere that hasn't} and a hairdryer, proximity of public transportation, etc
 ... and it never hurts to see if the host will give you a special rate!

Problems- If you have a problem contact the airbnb team right away. They are very kind, helpful, respond quickly and deal with issues fairly.

....travel bug, off to search some destinations!

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Santander

I can't tell you how happy I was to get to the coast.

I am going to try really hard to never not live near the coast again.

I need the ocean in my life.

Santander was beautiful!

The weather, as you can see, was less than desirable, but I can't imagine how beautiful it is when the sun is out and the weather is warm!

One of my favorite things about Spain is how different each region is.

Santander is in the Cantabria region and oh my gosh it was breathtaking.

I really want to go back to bike around Santander and explore more towns in Cantabria!

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S-S-S-Snake

This weekend my momma got bit by that rattlesnake.

It was enjoying sunbathing by the pool in the backyard and got startled and bit her when she moved the pool raft.

She had to spend the night in the hospital for observation and the anti-venom but she's all good now.

It was possibly a mini-vacation for her getting waited on, a full nights sleep, and no wild little boys waking her up in the morning.

Of course, my dad killed it after. Real midwest country boy of him.

I'm really looking forward to the very imaginative elaborate stories about how huge it was and how he killed it with his bare hands ;)

Very very thankful it bit an adult and not one of the boys...or Massimo.

But things like this make being in a different country so hard.

Being so helpless, anxious and just sitting around waiting for news.

You never know if "every thing's fine" 

really means 

"every thing's fine" or

 "we don't want you to freak out so we'll tell you every thing's fine"

Oye. Thankful and grateful for my family's health.
Definitely going to be having 'snakes under the bed' nightmares.



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Summer Couscous

{sorry for the terrible photography. clearly slacking on my game}

My friend in Barcelona used to make this couscous dish all the time!

I finally made it last week for my friends.

It was absolutely perfect for a warm afternoon with the balcony doors open :)

I was hoping there would be leftovers (especially considering what a small cup of couscous actually turns into!), but it was gone before the sun set (which is now at almost 10pm! so weird and very cool.)

I am terrible/hate 'to-taste' dishes, but sorry this is one of them:

Couscous

tomatoes

cucumber

avocado

feta cheese

a lot! of lime juice (i used 5 limes to my 1 cup of cous cous)

salt

pepper

olive oil

After making the couscous let it cool to room temperature and then add in everything else! 

I'm really into couscous now so if you have any easy recipes let me know!

"That's what makes Paris Paree"

Despite the crappy occurrences while in Paris we still trudged through the day to visit all the beauty of Paris. 

Isn't is crazy how the clouds and haze make the Sacre Coeur look so grey compared to it's normal white in the sun? 

peek-a -boo

The Eiffel Tower will always and forever be sight and symbol that takes my breathe away.

I still love you Paris.

I dropped my camera right after the Eiffel Tower so the rest of Paris is via iphone

"Thanks what makes Paris Paree"-Doris Day in April in Paris

Celebrating Madrid's Patron Saint

This week Madrid celebrates it's patron saint San Isidro. 

That means Madrid is filled with festivals and activities!

I spent most of Saturday writing my thesis but I was so glad I spent the evening with friends at the park watching the fireworks.

Personally, they were one of the best and closest shows I'm ever seen. Disneyland included.

Obviously my pictures didn't do it justice. 

 I love fireworks!

To My Mommy

Happy (American) Mother's Day to the most incredible, hardworking, selfless, caring, loving, giving, adventurous, energized mother around.

She's the one who taught me to have an adventurous life and a travelers spirit.

"Oh you want to move to Spain? YES! I'm coming to visit...several times" :)

Couldn't have done it without her gypsy heart, guidance, support and encouragement. 

xoxoxo mommy!

miss you so much!

Sevilla {aka favorite city in Spain}

I have a slight obsession with Sevilla.

The colors, the feeling, the architecture, the otange trees, the river... I can't get enough of it.
The weather was much more gloomy and rainy compared to last time, but I still love that place.
Who doesn't love a place where you can have baguettes, cheese and tinto de verano by the river?