Sorting Through the Clutter
If you somehow were able to unearth my diary amidst the clutter of my room, then you would probably find something like this...
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Sorting Through the Clutter If you somehow were able to unearth my diary amidst the clutter of my room, then you would probably find something like this... |
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Sunday, November 01, 2009 Spain Highlights... If I haven't already said so, I'll say it again: traveling is one of my top loves. I think it all started when I was still in the womb. I like to think I was in Hawaii before I was even born when my parents escaped for a week to the sunny island when my mom was pregnant with me. And then my dad nurtured the travel bug in me all through my childhood. I remember we were always traveling one way or another. Road trips down to Myrtle Beach, trekking through the mountains in Banff, climbing the glacier fields in Jasper Park, visiting the 1988 Expo in Vancouver, eating lobster in Charlottetown, visiting Disneyworld in Orlando, feelling "irie" in Jamaica. My first time travelling without my parents was in 2000 to (strangely enough) Hawaii - back to the "motherland"! A couple of years later I travelled with my girlfriend to Cancun, and then it just rose exponentially from there. I've managed to squeeze most of Western, Central and Eastern Europe, Japan and Panama between 2004 and 2007. Travelled to my real motherland when I visited China and HK for the first time ever in 2008. I have never willingly taken the organized travel route. You know what I'm talking about - the tour buses, the crazy schedule, the rushed itineraries, the one (or two or three or all) annoying tour mates. I say "willingly" because of course I've been on a few - I come from a Chinese family. Chinese people LOVE tours. There are advantages to the organized tours - much less planning on my part. But I'll take the added work and planning anyday. When I have it my way, I only do the independent travel option. By "independent", I don't mean "solo". I haven't been brave enough to travel on my own. Maybe one day, but I doubt it. I enjoy the company and conversation of my friends too much. By "independent", I mean I plan my own itinerary, I book at only the places that I want to stay at, I choose the sights that I'd like to see, and when I come across a place that I love - I'm free to choose to stay there for as long as I want. I'm a big advocate of independent travel - the freedom is exhilarating and you never know what you might discover when you alone (and maybe your travel companion) are responsible for your agenda. This year, I was lucky enough to travel to Spain and Morocco with my sweetheart. It was wonderful, eye-opening, overwhelming, and refreshing all at once. Some photos from the Spanish half of our adventures below. Moroccan pictures will follow shortly. It was my first time traveling with Jason. I discovered that he's a great travelling partner. He knew how to guide us around the cities, contrary to what this photo tells you :)  Funny trees that reminded me of Super Mario Brother video games. This was in Madrid in El Retiro park. Similar to Central Park in NYC, it's a little bit of fresh air in the big bustling city.  This was at El Rastro market. It's called "Madrid's legendary flea market" and it's only open on Sundays. We were lucky enough to be in Madrid on a weekend. It was unreal - so packed with shoppers and sellers. If you're looking for something, chances are someone will have it at one of the thousands of stalls.  In the little town of Cuenca. We took a day trip from Madrid to visit this little medieval town that's built on the cliffs. There were literally houses that were hanging precariously off the steep ledges. Only one house of this kind remains. We hiked for about an hour to get to the other side of the gorge to catch this gorgeous view. Jason's soaking in the view here.  Since this is my blog, I can post whatever pictures I want. So what better forum than to post our cheesy sunset photo. ♥  Moroccan highlights to come...... Labels: Globetrotting, Great Loves posted by Jenn | 6:30 PM | |
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