A donde va? Osuna!

“A donde va?,” asked the rotund bus driver as I stood at the Seville bus station. “Osuna a  la once (own-say).” I answered.

[ “Where are you going?” the bus driver asked. “Osuna at 11,” I answered.]

And 30 minutes later at precisely 11 a.m. we were off on our second phase of this Andalucian Adventure.
Osuna is located an hour and a half from Seville, nestled into the Sierra Sur foothills; an agricultural and  university-town. 

Signs  remind visitors that we are in one of the towns on “La Ruta de Washington Irving.” (Irving’s “Tales of the Alhambra” is set in Granada but  begins with his trip from Seville to Granada through the Andalucian countryside.)

We came here not for the town, but for the hotel that called out to us during an internet search back home several months ago. More on the hotel in the next post. . .today is about the town; a place quite popular as a base for hunting and fishing trips in the surrounding areas.

Although Lonely Planet’s “Spain” guidebook devoted a portion of a page to the town it didn’t prepare us for the enchantments that it held.  Enchantments, remind me of Don Quixote’s travels – so it seems fitting that we are under their spell in a hotel that is on Plaza Cervantes, named for the author of the fictional character.

The first thing we noticed was that prices here are so incredibly inexpensive that we pause each time a bill is presented. . .”It can’t be THAT cheap, can it?” we ask ourselves.  (For example, two caffes con leche (cafe lattes) with a large glass of fresh squeezed orange juice was 3.5E this morning - $5.)

We’ve wandered cobble-stone streets racking up double digit miles on the pedometer passing blocks of mansions dating back to the 1700’s; a church built in the 1500’s, a university with centuries of history. Plazas, fountains, squares; gathering places for young and old. 

And then there’s the olive oil factories that fill the air with the smell of olives and olive oil. Those, too, will be written about later.

And then there’s  the Roman ruins. . . We are headed out to see them this afternoon – obviously way too much to see and do!

Hasta manana!

Note:  We’ve enjoyed using our Spanish – limited as it is – but it wouldn’t be necessary to speak the language to visit this area. 

The photos in order: from the bus arriving in Osuna, one of the many “Ruta” signs in town and a view from the university parking lot out over town – the large building in the distance is a hospital.

Night and Day ~ Day or Night?

Travel days make a tumbled, jumbled mess out of one’s body and mind.   The longer the journey, the longer it seems to recuperate from it.  We left our home Tuesday and arrived at our hotel in Seville some 22 hours later.

Our routing was an overnight flight from SeaTac that arrived in London at noon (about 4  a.m. our body time).  A significantly long layover there gave us plenty of time to travel from Heathrow to Stansted Airport some 60 miles away for our three hour flight on Ryan Air flight to Seville. . . 


We were awake and ready for night life as I mentioned before but found ourselves sitting on our balcony sipping a glass of wine at 2 a.m. with the three street cleaners who came by providing our entertainment.
We awoke yesterday at 11:30 a.m.  But getting into the swing of Seville life we dutifully took a siesta and then headed out for the night. To bed at 1 a.m.  The days and nights are now falling into a pattern of day and night, night or day.

Sunday is another travel day. We leave this town of just under 800,000 people with far too many places that we still didn’t have time to get to; but are eager to begin exploring Osuna, population 45,000, some 90 miles away.  Tomorrow we travel by long distance bus – a journey that will take only two hours to complete.  We will arrive in time for siesta and then it will be time to start exploring. . .

Hasta Osuna ~

The Rain in Spain. . .

.  . .is falling in Sevilla this week.  But it isn’t about to dampen our visit!

The sun has returned momentarily and is shining during the afternoon siesta hour; I write this post while drying out my shoes and feet that got dampened in this morning’s rainstorm.

We arrived in Sevilla (seh-VEE-yah) during the normal dinner hour – 10 p.m. – Tuesday evening.  However, we quickly learned that rainstorms curb the late night activities. The tapas bars in our neighborhood were closing at 11:30 p.m. so by the time we got to our hotel, dumped the luggage and headed out, we had time for some wine, cheese and olives  and called it a day.

The rain which welcomed us Tuesday, let up Wednesday and returned full force last night and this morning.

Seville is spectacular – even when soaking wet.  (The photo is of Giralda Tower and Seville’s Cathedral – we are a few blocks from here – this was taken the night we arrived.)

We had had a tapa-sized taste  of this Andalucian town four years ago when during a day-long cruise stop in Cadiz we hopped a train and headed here. I noted then in my journal that the city called out for us to return.  We are glad we did.

Writer James Mitchner may have described it best  when he wrote, “Sevilla doesn’t have ambiance, is ambiance.”

Our ‘home this week is in the historic Santa Cruz district at the Hosteria del Laurel, a family-owned hotel, bar and restaurant on the Plaza de los Venerables (the vulnerable). Our spacious corner room overlooks orange tree shaded tables and the one-time Hospital-de los Venerables (retirement home for priests); today a.n art gallery.

The old concrete walls don’t conduct wi-fi so posts will be somewhat limited – and dependent upon visits to the neighborhood Starbucks.. .yes, they have several locations here.

Spain: A Land of Fact and Fiction

“Why Spain?” we are asked by those who add, “You’ve already been there, haven’t you?”

We have been there several times if you count cruise ship stops; those tapa-sized tastes of a country that leave you wanting a full-meal-deal size experience.

Our week in Madrid last May scarcely gave us time to see the town, let alone anything nearby.
 
And so we’ve chosen to return to Spain to continue consuming its history, sights, culture, and of course, its food and wine.   We’ve been studying – both fact and fiction – preparing for this trip.


Spain “. . .for the greater part . . .is a stern, melancholy country, with rugged mountains and long sweeping plains, destitute of trees and indescribably silent and lonesome. . ."  Washington Irving wrote in his Tales of the Alhambra in the mid-1800’s.
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The Wall Street Journal last week reported that Spain’s jobless rate has hit an all-time high (21.5%) and that the number of households without any income hit 3.2% of the country's population, or 559,000 families.
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Spain’s elections are scheduled to take place the day we board the cruise ship in Barcelona to head home.  We know that a major terrorist attack occurred prior to elections there in 2004.

In reality, it’s doubtful we will see the poverty, politics or protests up close.  We will – as do most travelers  – visit historic sites, marvel at the architecture, stuff ourselves with tapas and paella, and wash it all down with copious amounts of inexpensive, but excellent, Spanish wine. 

Oh yes, and we won’t forget those famous Seville sweets – a specialty of the Monasterios’ bakeries – thanks to a tip from Carol, a travel writer friend of ours. (Click the link for her sweet look at Seville.)

In a manner of speaking we’ve already spent a few months traveling through Spain’s history and countryside, reading – in addition to guidebooks and news reports --  of fictional characters whose stories brought history to life. Two books, Victoria Hislop’s The Return and  C. J. Sansom’s Winter in Madrid each took us into Spain’s Civil War and the Franco years. The Seville Communion by Spanish author Arturo Perez- Reverte provided an entertaining murder mystery set in the city we’ll be visiting.

Yes, we are returning to Spain - our previous tapa-sized tastes are bringing us back for more adventures in this land of fact and fiction.


Note:  The books mentioned above and others we’ve read on Spain now appear on our Amazon carousel on the Travelnwrite homepage.  Clicking on them will take you to reviews of the book; and in full disclosure, if you buy one from our page we will earn a few cents.

Saturday’s Satchel: Travel Tips, Bits and Pieces

The travel satchel has several tips and tidbits in it today thanks to you who’ve responded to recent posts:

Half-Price Haute Cuisine: prompted Paula in Kirkland to send a reminder about Happy Hours’ half-price  drinks and food as a good way to save travel dollars. As an example, she says, Kirkland’s Milagro Cantina’s Happy Hour fish tacos are only $3.

Our favorite Happy Hour stop in Vegas: The Trevi Fountain Restaurant in Caesar's Forum Shops. Their “Trevi Time” half price bar menu and drinks keep bringing us back at least once during each trip to sunny ‘Sin City’.

Packing Tips: brought an email from Teresa in Seattle who said safety pins are a key item to pack for a number of reasons.  They can be used for instant mending needs,to secure bandages and even hold up arm slings if necessary.  I’ve grabbed some for our ‘kit’.

Spain Travel Tips:  Christine* in Phoenix sent us off to a Yahoo travel site for some recommendations in Barcelona, noting that the city has been named on of the travel destination hot spots this year.

* A  tidbit: (Christine Sandifer, is a long-time friend of ours and an artist in Phoenix. During our recent trip we finally had some time to learn more about her art and her studio.  She creates hand-pulled monoprints such as the one pictured to the left. I love its title, “Soft Landing”.  She uses real leaves when doing these pieces – pretty amazing stuff.

If you’d like to learn more about her monoprint process or see more of her work, visit  her website The Town.)

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TravelnWrite News: 
Those of you who receive our posts in your inbox  may not have seen TravelnWrite’s new pages. 

Links to the pages are under the homepage photo:  About Us, Deal Finder, Our Favorites, Pacific Northwest Travel and Contact Us.  We added these pages to help answer the two questions most often asked us: 

“How do you find those deals?” and,
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If you aren’t yet  receiving posts in your inbox, simply sign up in the box on the right side of the home page.  You won’t get spam from us – just posts. . .and they are free!

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It seemed appropriate for us to be ‘on the road’ in Arizona when a guest post I’d written for Dick Jordan’s Tales Told from the Road appeared. Dick ran a series of guest posts about how the attack on 9/11/2001 affected various travelers.  The end result was an interesting compilation of travel experiences.  Ours can be found at:  Italy Delayed.

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And thanks for reading!  We’ve had more than 30,000 page views with readers hailing from more than 100 countries.

TP Thursday: London’s San Pancras Station

We love traveling on Europe’s trains.  And we love their historic train stations. 

One of our favorites is  London’s San Pancras International Station, home to the Eurostar (fast train) since 2007. 

The castle-like gothic structure was the largest station in the world when it opened in 1865.  Time took its toll and over the decades it fell into disrepair, coming close to demolition in the 1960’s. A group of visionaries should be thanked for saving it.

Work in recent years has transformed it into a Grand Dame of rail stations – a destination in itself with: a  new Marriott Renaissance Hotel (opened in the station this year),  and nearly 70 retail outlets, restaurants and pubs – my favorite: it’s home to Europe’s longest champagne bar (90 meters/270 feet).

Friends told us not to miss the statue in the Train Shed’s south end – and that would have been hard to do. It’s a  20-ton, 30-foot-tall (9 meters) statue, “The Meeting Place” by British artist Paul Day.



The two young lovers are so overwhelming that what you could miss are the stories told in the designs that circle the base of the piece. We both got a chuckle, though, after Joel noticed this one:



Explore other destinations from around the world through travel photos, by clicking the link to  Budget Travelers Sandbox, Nancie McKinnon’s  blog where this all began.

Departure Countdown: Ka-choo, sniff, cough

“Well, better here than on the road,” we keep saying.

Sniff. . .
ka-choo. . .
cough. . .
silence.

Those are the background sounds to our departure preparation activities of late:  gathering clothes, making yard care arrangements, securing the house sitters, and all those pesky other routine pre-travel tasks.

“The Bug” as we call colds and flu in this part of the world, nailed us a few days ago. In my case, the little pest snatched my voice – it’s been gone for three days. (I think even Joel is beginning to miss it – I certainly do.)

Being sick while preparing to travel does dampen the enthusiasm a bit, but there’s also the bright side that it happened here and health may return before we board the plane. 

At least here we know how to find the doctor and the pharmacist and it is comforting to know that both speak English.We’ve each experienced travel maladies and agree such things are much easier on familiar territory. Once in Thailand Joel was stricken with ‘traveler’s tummy’ (to put it nicely).  I remember our frustration when we resorted  to rolling our hands in front of his stomach when trying to buy medicine; then not being sure of what we’d purchased or how to use it. 

A few years ago I had an allergic reaction to mosquito bites while in Mexico resulting in dozens of huge welts (not pretty).  I finally had to show those welts and then demonstrate the flight and bite of the pesky creatures to the amusement of those en la farmacia as I tried to buy relief.

Pack the Drugs

Our illnesses and maladies provide both amusing memories and valuable lessons.  These days our travel gear always includes:

1. Cold medicine with Antihistamines (the antihistamine also can be used to counter allergic reactions to bug bites.)

2. Throat lozenges/cough drops (these can usually be found at magazine kiosks and in tobacco shops throughout Europe, but it is still good to have some on the plane.)

3. Imodium or other anti-diarrheal medication for those ‘travelers’ tummy’ moments.

4. Stool softener – for the opposite of #3.

5.  Band-aids (Peter’s [Travel] Principle: shoes that are fine at home will give you  blisters when you set out sightseeing).

6. Antiseptic cream – for those cuts and scratches that happen when you least expect them.

7. Aspirin or other pain killer (travel can cause headaches).

8.  Prescription medications – We make sure our supply is enough to last until we get home and always packed in a carry-on.

9.  Eyeglass/contact lens prescriptions: We always carry current ones.  (Some take an extra pair of glasses.)

10.  Doctor and optometrist phone numbers:  With cell phones, smart phones and iPhones these days, the doctor really is a phone call away (keep the time zone changes in mind) if something serious develops. 

What about you?  Any suggestions for fellow readers?

Half-price Haute Cuisine

Or,  'Ways to take a bite out of travel dining costs.'

A friend asked if we ever eat out on our travels as I’ve been so focused on ways we save travel dollars by eating ‘at home’ on the road.

Of course, we do eat out - just not every meal.   

Recently we've discovered such a great way to enjoy haute cuisine – for as much as half off, that we just had to tell you about it.

First a disclaimer: I’m not a ‘coupon clipper’ (a popular money saving activity in the United States in which food manufacturers offer coupons for discounts of varying amounts on grocery purchases).  It’s not that I don’t like the concept, it’s just that when I have clipped them, I put them somewhere so I won't forget them, then can’t find them when I head out to the store and by the time I do find them, they've expired.

But a number of social media sites have been tempting us with coupon deals that we've been unable to pass up. These types of coupons must be purchased within a designated time frame and then you print the coupon when you are ready to use it.

It was friend and fellow travel enthusiast, Tara, who suggested we start watching these sites for deals in cities that we might be visiting. So now we have coupon offers arriving in our inbox from Groupon, Living Social, Amazon, Juice in the City, and yes, even Travelzoo.  

We tested the ‘coupon-dining’ close to home at Purple, a wine bar and cafe in Kirkland. We had a great meal and glasses of wine for $15 - half the usual price.

It was Travelzoo that tempted our palate with a deal at “Comme Ca” fine dining French Restaurant in the Cosmopolitan Hotel, City Center, Las Vegas: (Comme Ca is like the French phrase, Comme Ci, Comme Ca,--  kohm see, kohm sa, -- ‘like this, like that’)

We purchased for $79 a coupon for two three-course dinners (including a $30 bottle of wine) – regular value, $140. And then hoped the restaurant would recognize the coupon when we tried to use it.



We shouldn’t have worried. . .not only did they recognize it, they had so many 'coupon diners', they’d printed a special menu for Travelzoo customers. (Our waiter said 1,100 coupons were purchased in the four hours the coupon was available).

The photos I've included in the post take you from the French onion soup (a meal in itself), to the Beef Bourguignon, and of course, we couldn't resist sampling each of the desserts. All of which paired nicely with the dry French rose wine the waiter recommended.

Another Money-Saver:
We have joined a frequent diner club, Lettuce Entertain You, that offers discounts and points for dollars spent at a number of restaurants throughout the country – from Washington, DC to Las Vegas and cities in between.  We've used it primarily when dining in Vegas and have already accumulated enough points to have a significant discount on a future meal. We've also used 'my birthday' coupon for a $15 discount last July at one of the participating restaurants.

So how about you?  Have any tips to share about ways to save dining dollars?