Ever since our first experiment with AirBnB (where we snagged a New York City...
Recent Updates
Learning to Drive in the White Hill Towns of Andalusia, Spain
The White City of Arcos de la Frontera.
“Is there a problem with your car?” the increasingly annoyed hotel owner said to me in English. He and I both knew that the problem had nothing to do with my automobile.
To be fair, it wasn’t my fault that he had to wait so long for me to park. I’m not the one who decided to prohibit guests from operating the garage door. I don’t know who came up with the brilliant idea to require a front desk person to walk outside and physically open the gate every time you wanted to enter or exit the car park, but it wasn’t me.
Nor was it my fault that parking spaces were so tight that, once in a spot, we couldn’t open the passenger side door at all and, even then, there was so little room on the other side that I only managed to squeeze out of the car after emptying my pockets. Seriously, I nearly destroyed my phone trying to force my way out the driver’s side door.
I’m completely blameless in all of that. But deciding to drive a manual transmission car for the first time through the ancient hill-top towns that dot Andalusia, Spain? Yup, that one is on me.
Once Isn’t Enough at the Alhambra
It was the first time this has happened during our travels. So enticed were we by the idea of visiting the Alhambra, a sprawling Moorish complex perched above the town of Granada, that we pre-booked tickets for not just one but two visits.
When we debated where in continental Europe to begin our travels, an image of the Alhambra kept looming in my mind. And so we set out for Spain, beginning in Madrid and then traveling further south, steadily making our way to Granada. With such a weighty decision made because of a single site, it seemed only fitting that we do it justice by visiting twice to see the Alhambra in sunlight and moonlight.
The Most Interesting Man at the Alhambra
They couldn’t take their eyes off of me. Even when I raised my camera to photograph them staring at me, they never even blinked. Apparently self-consciousness is something that develops at a somewhat later age.
These weren’t the first group of boys to fall under my spell that day. And for some reason they were all boys who did. Sadly, my power to enrapture doesn’t work on anyone else. I know this from long experience.
At first I barely noticed the stares of the gaggles that passed me as I patiently waited for the clock to strike my allotted entrance time to Spain’s Alhambra Palace. The ones pointing were a bit more obvious. The laughter got my full attention.
I could perhaps understand being the butt of one joke. But this was something different; a universal mocking to which I alone missed the punch line. And then I got it.
Proof of Onward Travel Required
We knew we were taking a small risk by showing up at a border crossing without proof of onward travel. We never really thought it would be a big deal, though. It’s not like we were trying to enter Soviet-era Russia on our U.S. passports. We were just trying to board a train to London from Paris.
“Can I see your tickets home, please?” It was among the first of many questions we were asked by the British border agent standing between us and our train.
We didn’t have tickets “home” (wherever that is) or anywhere else for that matter. We were planning on spending the next five months in the U.K. We only just started thinking about where we’ll go afterward. We’re nowhere even close to booking tickets to wherever that might be.
Everywhere Once 