Traveling With Judi . . . .

I...LOVE...meeting new people!!! I had the most fascinating conversations last week with the Spanish participants and learned a lot about their lives, their culture (and conflicts), and the people! Thanks to my new Spanish friends, I now understand a bit more about some of the distinct language groups (and subcultures) in Spain (although it is very complicated and somewhat controversial)!! I'm hoping I understood what they were trying to convey - in English - and my apologies ahead of time if I didn't get it exactly right.... So..... Castilian (or Castellano in Spanish) is the main language spoken and taught in Spain, but Catalan (the official language of Andorra) is spoken in parts of northern Spain (in addition to Castilian). Catalan sounds as much like French as it does Spanish, and many of the Catalan people want an independent country (although it's been part of/connected to Spain since Isabella and Ferdinand II married in 1469, uniting the Kingdoms of Castile and ...

I was going to write something last week about my time in Torrevieja, but I think I used up all my words participating in the English Immersion program (so I didn't feel much like writing during our siesta break each day)!! So now I have a day to catch you up on all that's happened in the last couple weeks (before my sister, Sheryl, arrives in Malaga and we enjoy some sunshine and oranges together....wooohooo)!! I wasn't really sure if I'd have much to share from my week alone in Torrevieja because all I did was enjoy the sunshine, the view, and a few of the fun beach restaurants (because NOTHIN'S better than coffee, a sea view and sunshine!!)!! It was an incredibly peaceful week (other than the 10 hours a day - off and on, depending on siesta time - of jack hammers chipping away at the building I was in!! I just kept asking them if it was "seguro??!?" - safe - meaning was the building going to fall, and of course they just nodded reassuringly and sa...

Ahhhhh sunshine!!! Glorious, beautiful, bone-warming, Soul-rejuvenating sunshine!! I felt it on my face the moment I landed in Valencia, and I literally felt my body relax! I'm not much of a warm-weather/sun-worshipper but for some reason, I have felt especially renewed and rejuvenated every time I take a moment to stop and feel the warm sunshine on my face! Maybe it's because it was so cold in Central Europe (or maybe something a bit more "energetically-related" to Central Europe's long, heavy history) - or maybe I was just tired from all that sightseeing and cold weather - who knows?!?! All I know is.... I felt my body relax, and I've been enjoying lots of lovely quiet time since I arrived a couple weeks ago! I spent a very nice 10 days with 4 sweet cats about an hour south of Valencia and besides relaxing and enjoying the sunshine and kitties, my greatest accomplishment was learning how to build a fire (and keep it going)!! As I mentioned before, the ho...

It's been awhile since I've written anything, but I think that's because I've been in hibernation/pondering mode since I last wrote in Budapest!! So rather than write one REALLY long post, I've split it into two "chapters".... pre- and post-arrival in Spain! It kind of reflects how this Journey has been for me internally - the first part much more "external" and extroverted (and exhausting in many ways!!), and the second part which has been (thus far) all about relaxing, rejuvenating, enjoying the sunshine and coming back to Center (oh - and enjoying the sunshine - did I mention how much I'm lovin' this sunshine?!?!??)!! So here we go.... I made it to Slovakia on New Year's Eve, but I didn't really see much of Bratislava other than the train station and a few sights between there and my AirBnb because it was freezing with bitter cold winds.... DEFINITELY not good weather to go sightseeing!! So, after  listening to and watc...

Wishing all of you the Merriest of Christmases and Happiest of Holidays - and a wonderful 2019 filled with JOY, Love, Happiness and lots of travel (or time at home.... whatever makes YOU feel the most fulfilled in Life)!!! As I sit here on Christmas Eve Day (sipping on homemade chicken soup with a sweet dog to keep me company), I'm pondering Life.... as well as the excitement, the challenges, and the JOY of travel!! I'm feeling a bit guilty that I'm not outside in the "momentary sunshine" exploring more of what this city has to offer, but then I remind myself that I'm a Traveler, not a Tourist!! As a Traveler (in it for the long haul), it's important for me to relax and enjoy the Peace of this moment in order to prepare me once again for whatever's next when I'm on the move!! The more I travel, the more I'm learning that to keep up with this pace of ever-changing landscape on a long-term basis, I have to allow a bit of ebb and flow to my ...

I made it to Budapest for the second time in three weeks (really?!?!?....has it only been three weeks?!?!?), and I'm happily ensconced in a homey AirBnb not far from where I'll be dog-sitting over Christmas on the Buda side of the city! I still wasn't sure when I left Wrocław if I would come straight to Budapest after Prague, or maybe visit Vienna, Brno and Bratislava this week (as I had originally planned), but after all that overnight-bus/up-and-down-stairs exhausting travel (and talking nonstop for almost two weeks straight - which can wear down an introvert!!!), I was leaning towards a few days of "settling into Budapest" before having to take the dog up and down MORE flights of stairs for 3-times-daily walks!! But....as I sat on the bus from Wrocław to Prague last Sunday morning, I couldn't help but think, "If I could guarantee my travel days would run as smoothly as my trip to Prague has gone thus far, I’d probably visit ALL those Christmas Ma...

Wow!! What a wild ride since I last posted (and I mean that literally and figuratively)! I knew in advance I was going to have to suffer through an 11-hour overnight bus ride from Budapest to Wrocław so I could get there in time for the next Angloville Program, but it was MUCH worse than I expected!! The bus broke down about halfway, then they sent us a replacement bus that was already packed with overnight riders to Warsaw (so we were packed in like sardines), and THEN.....they unceremoniously dropped us off at the CLOSED bus station (in the pouring rain) about 3 hours from Wrocław (and told us we would have to figure out our own transportation to get to our destination and purchase all new tickets.... Geeez)!! This last bit of information was shared in Polish by the bus driver who spoke NO English, but thankfully there was a nice passenger who translated the information - or we might have just stayed on the bus and ended up in Warsaw!! (Not really.... I was already on top o...