Spain
Planning a possible trip to Spain next year. Thinking about going in Sept or Oct. Yeah, yeah, I’ve noticed the weak dollar. My plan is to cost average in. Buy some now (well, when the dollar pretends to be strong again) and then buy a little more Euros later and so on. Or maybe by then we’ll all be back on the gold standard and I should be buying bullion. But I digress.
What I want to know today is this:
Why is it that when looking for maps of Spain, I can find them on amazon UK–that ship from the US? These same maps aren’t available at Amazon US. If I were to order them from amazon UK, I’d pay international shipping rates, pay in Euros (converted) and then the map would come from Jersey. HUH?
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I ordered the min. amount of Euros allowed through my bank (250, I think.) To make sure I had money for a cab from the airport, tip money for the hotel porter, and something to eat.
Once we got checked in and a bite, we hit an ATM and withdraw the max allowed. We did this two more times during our 2 weeks. The idea is to take out as much as possible as few times as necessary to minimize those fees. But it was easier and more economical than bringing a bunch of euros over there from here.
Comment by Trina — July 14, 2008 @ 1:03 pm
Oh, about the maps. Hard to find good maps. I bought a couple at the local B&N to have some idea of where everything is at. And was able to pull up some on the internet (for very specific sites) that I was able to print out. Once you get there, there are plenty of free “tourist” maps. We found most of those to be quite helpful.
Comment by Trina — July 14, 2008 @ 1:07 pm
thanks for the advice! I did find a good road map at BN. We generally exchange money at the Amex exchange (american express). It’s the best rate we’ve ever found. THe ATM thing worked too, but yes, you have to watch the ATM fees. Credit cards these days charge too much of an exchange fee. They used to be really good and now I find them VERY avoidable.
I have found some of the most delightful books! And dvds–I got the Discoveries Spain (castles, cathedrals and…somethings) for my dad. It’s on its way to him now. I really enjoyed it–great overview of some things. I also got a book about the most beautiful villages of spain. I am eagerly awaiting it. If it’s a good one, I’ll get dad a copy too. I found some good Junior history books (dad can’t read for long periods and he needs larger type). I’m making him do his homework so that he will enjoy things a lot more!!!!
Comment by Maria — July 14, 2008 @ 1:31 pm
And these days, I’m thinking of cost averaging into the Euro. The dollar is so weak that if it strengthens at all, I may get some Euros waaaay early.
Why can’t dad want to go to Hawaii?????
Comment by Maria — July 14, 2008 @ 1:36 pm
I had a blast researching our Italy trip through various travel guides, dvds, and internet forums. I tried to get the others to join in, but the best I could do was to get them to watch the dvds I rented from the library. Plus, at the time, Rick Steves & Samantha Brown had a couple of shows devoted to the very parts of Italy we were visiting, so we all watched those as well. Rick’s shows are very informative (I used his book the most and highly recommend it.) Samantha’s shows are fun to watch purely for their entertainment value (not a whole lot of help for actual planning purposes.)
You know, I’ve never really had a hankering to go to Hawaii. Western Europe was always on the top of my travel list. And Japan–I would love to visit Japan.
Comment by Trina — July 16, 2008 @ 9:21 am
You dive and don’t want to go to Hawaii???? I’m amazed. It’s such a great place to dive. I have only snorkled there, but there are just reefs and fish and sharks and dolphins and tons of stuff going on. I loved it best because I could see an awful lot of that stuff without diving (as you know, I am not a great diver…or swimmer for that matter, but I LOVE to snorkle anyway.) We even got my dad, with all his various eye problems, and not a great swimmer to snorkel. The first time in, he gave up, but then the next time, he figure out how to be comfortable (we all wore lifejackets–which makes diving under difficult, but really they just want to motor along the top anyway.) There’s plenty to see!
I had to go out and get dad back in (we were inside a protected bay). He said, ‘I kept swimming, but wasn’t GOING anywhere!) The whole “kick hard” and steer thing takes practice, especially with a life jacket on.
Mom and I swam together. I’d hold her hand and swim along showing her things. She can swim just fine, but she can’t steer worth a darn. She doesn’t remember to check her orientation to see where she is going and just heads for rocks or the open sea and then wonders how she got there!!!! We went to a nice little spot on the Big Island (Cooks) and swam along the edge. She really enjoyed the heck out of that. Getting her into the water deep enough and out of the rolling waves wasn’t that easy (she falls over, etc) but once we got there, she just had such a great time.
I’d go back in a heartbeat. When my parents weren’t with us, my husband got in and snorkeled too (he doesn’t swim either.) It’s just a great experience to be able to see the turtles and whatnot. Diving in some spots is quite popular–right from the beach. We’d see the divers heading out and then coming back in. All had nothing but good things to say.
I spent a year in Japan. I’m not sure that I’ll ever need to go back. I saw pretty much everything I wanted to see and although I have friends there, it’s a pretty different place. Lovely, of course.
Comment by Maria — July 16, 2008 @ 9:32 am
We tried the Samantha dvd from the library…couldn’t watch the whole thing. There really wasn’t any information. She just giggled a lot and ate a lot. I haven’t tried the Rick Steves one yet. I am hoping that one will come on TV and I can harass them into watching it. If not, I will harass them into going to the library.
Comment by Maria — July 16, 2008 @ 9:35 am
Oh–So far the “Discoveries” series on Spain has proved to be the best DVD. The one on Cathedrals, castles was just awesome.
Comment by Maria — July 16, 2008 @ 9:35 am
Yeah, it does seem kind of funny that Hawaii isn’t one of my top ten places to see. Not that I have anything against going there, just other trips seemed to take precedence over it. After hearing about your snorkeling adventures, it definitely sounds like a place I would enjoy.
Japan stands out to me for that very reason: it is so different. I would just like to experience a little bit of the culture on that side of the world.
Yeah, like I said, Samantha isn’t much help in the planning department. I enjoyed watching most of the episodes of Passport to Europe–just enough of an overview to make me decide whether I wanted to learn more about an area or not. But her current series on the Travel Channel, Passport to Great Weekends-I found it to be a real bore.
Rick Steves is kind of geeky and his tv shows can be a bit “dry”, but I think he offers a lot of practical advice.
No doubt, researching a trip is at least half of the fun!
Comment by Trina — July 16, 2008 @ 10:24 am
It’s true. Researching is fun–a lot of work, but fun because when I go there I feel more prepared. I know what to expect in when it comes to ordering food, I’m aware of at least some of the customs and I have a planned itinerary with backup places to go and see. That doesn’t stop us from changing plans if something more interesting comes up, but I don’t like to spend a lot of time takling and wondering or getting lost (that happens and isn’t necessarily a bad thing now and then, but mostly I like to feel like I’m making the most of a trip!)
I didn’t want to go to Spain at all when this whole thing started. The more I learn the more excited I am about the trip!
If you decide to go to Japan, let me know if I can be of help. I traveled to Kyoto (well worth visiting–probably my top city to visit in all of Japan) as well as Tokyo (several times) and up to the Nagano prefecture (mountains and some tourist towns.) I also visited a little island on the north side of Japan (foggy and dense, very mysterious setting.) I also visited Hiroshima–if you do go there, Pearl Harbor becomes a must. But this is a very sad place to visit–absolutely heart-wrenching.
There’s lots to see there, many temples (on just about every corner). Tokyo is a very modern city without losing many of the cultural things that make Japan what it is.
Comment by Maria — July 16, 2008 @ 10:29 am