Adjusting to Life in Spain: A Day Trip to El Escorial

Adjusting to Life in Spain: A Day Trip to El Escorial

Still fresh from a recent weekend trip out of town, I eagerly plan my next adventure: I’m taking a day trip (from Madrid) to El Escorial to go on a guided tour of the 16th century Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, commissioned by King Philip II.

Adjusting to Life in Spain: Statues of Regular People

Adjusting to Life in Spain: Statues of Regular People

I start to notice a lot of statues around Madrid. But not your typical statue of royalty, historical figures and other famous people. From the Curious Neighbor to the Reader to the Street Sweeper, these are tributes to regular, working-class folks. 

Adjusting to Life in Spain: A Weekend Trip to La Adrada

Adjusting to Life in Spain: A Weekend Trip to La Adrada

The first time I really feel like I live in Spain and not just visiting is when I take a weekend trip out of town. La Adrada is a small pueblo that knows how to celebrate big. With music, dancing, booze and church, this festival is fun for everyone.

Adjusting to Life in Spain: Celebrating My Birthday Like a Madrileña!

Adjusting to Life in Spain: Celebrating My Birthday Like a Madrileña!

From sushi to tapas, from Hemingway's favorite sherry bar to an international blues bar, my new friend helps me celebrate my first birthday in Spain like a madrileña as we make our way through Madrid's historic el centro.

Adjusting to Life in Spain: How I Meet New People (Wine Tasting)

Adjusting to Life in Spain: How I Meet New People (Wine Tasting)

Still looking for things to do in Madrid where there’s a good chance of meeting new people, I soon find a wine tasting that declares: “each bottle is a story and each visit a new friendship.” Couldn’t be more perfect. Sign me up!

Adjusting to Life in Spain: How I Meet New People (Language Exchange)

Adjusting to Life in Spain: How I Meet New People (Language Exchange)

How do I meet new people in Madrid, Spain? I can only frequent bars and cafés so much, so I sign up for a language exchange meetup. Not only do I meet other like-minded people, but I get to practice Spanish – after the two-drink minimum.

Adjusting to Life in Spain: Exploring the Palacio Neighborhood

Adjusting to Life in Spain: Exploring the Palacio Neighborhood

Having just moved to Madrid, Spain, I eagerly go out to explore my new neighborhood, Palacio.  From La Casa de Campo, former royal hunting grounds, to Parque Madrid Río, a park that parallels the Manzanares River, I am surprised to find so much lush green space in the city!

Adjusting to Life in Spain: A Private Tour of the Prado Museum

Adjusting to Life in Spain: A Private Tour of the Prado Museum

The Museo del Prado (Prado Museum) is a must-see when in Madrid, but it’s hard to see anything at all in a crowded art gallery. So I took the VIP Alone in the Prado Tour from Devour Tours, and wow. There is nothing like being in an empty, quiet museum while contemplating the artwork.

Living the Dream Part 2: Arriving in Spain

Living the Dream Part 2: Arriving in Spain

After the 7-month process of moving to a new country, I finally arrive in Spain. I have to find an apartment, set up utilities, get a local phone number, open a bank account, register with City Hall — and all in Spanish, a language I am not fluent in.

Living the Dream: My Story of Moving to Spain

Living the Dream: My Story of Moving to Spain

From getting my FBI rap sheet to fitting my life into five suitcases to overcoming the panic attacks of relocating to another continent, here’s how I turned my dream into reality and moved to Spain on a Digital Nomad Visa.

From Fiesta Invites to Flamenco Nights: My Adventure in Spain (Part 2)

From Fiesta Invites to Flamenco Nights: My Adventure in Spain (Part 2)

Getting past the Guardia Civil just to buy some stamps, nearly destroying a 200-year-old museum piece, receiving an impromptu invite to a dinner party and meeting my Spanish teacher after two years of online classes — this is week two of my adventure in Spain!

From Fiesta Invites to Flamenco Nights: My Adventure in Spain

From Fiesta Invites to Flamenco Nights: My Adventure in Spain

After a 3-year delay, it is finally happening! From being moved to tears at a flamenco show, to realizing I don’t have my wallet at the end of a meal, to not seeing Picasso art at the Picasso Museum, this is my adventure in Spain.

Off the Grid and On a Dude Ranch Vacation

Off the Grid and On a Dude Ranch Vacation

From all-day rides through the Gila Forest, to touching 1,000-year-old pictographs on a cave wall, to singing old cowboy songs around the campfire, to self-medicating my sore butt each night with wine, this is my dude ranch vacation at the Geronimo Trail Guest Ranch.

Pacific Grove: The Perfect Seaside Town Getaway

Pacific Grove: The Perfect Seaside Town Getaway

Just because international travel has been restricted doesn’t mean that a person’s burning desire to travel has also been restricted. During this last year, my overseas trip had to be rescheduled postponed canceled. So I went on a road trip up the coast from Los Angeles and found the perfect small town getaway: Pacific Grove, California.

Welcome to Japan: Please Enjoy! (Part 2)

Welcome to Japan: Please Enjoy! (Part 2)

Our adventure in Japan continues. Off we go to Osaka, land of neon billboards and a canal, and Tokyo, in which we enjoy a a mysterious ramen bar experience, a crack - I mean matcha den, a 12-story (twelve!) stationery store, and Book Town, a neighborhood with 140 bookstores. When can I move here??

Welcome to Japan: Please Enjoy!

Welcome to Japan: Please Enjoy!

After a ten-and-a-half-hour flight from LAX, I arrive at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan. Suddenly, I am in a whole new world: From capsule hotels, a traditional tea ceremony and a bamboo forest (with the sign “Closed for repairs from June 2017 to closed”), to a gang of map-eating deer and endless temples in Nara, my adventure has begun.