Ten Most Memorable Travel Moments

When we get beyond sightseeing, travel allows us to get to know people from near and far, marvel at our similarities and embrace our differences. Such moments make up my richest travel memories.

1. Being driven back to our hotel by the bus driver and his wife after accidentally riding the last bus “to the end of the line” in an Austrian village.
2. Getting to know our hosts and friends in Spain over a sun-soaked welcome lunch of homemade paella.
3. Hanging out at a tiny bar in Kufstein, Austria, meeting new friends as they gulped down a (then) mysterious concoction of Red Bull and Vodka from IV bags hung above the bar.
4. Learning how our young Russian tour guide’s mother developed her art appreciation with weekly visits to the St. Petersburg museums.
5. Becoming part of the Sunday family stroll along the Mediterranean in Spain.
6. A delicious Moroccan lunch, haggling over carpets and getting to know the other couple on our Tangier tour, who happened to be from our hometown.
7. Running across the corporate table at Oktoberfest and getting invited to sit with “coworkers” from Germany for beer and pretzels.
   
8. Bustling among the local ladies tasting and purchasing our weekly produce at the city market in Denia.
   
9. Watching all the kids in universally-popular costumes parading through the streets at Carnavale in Venice.
10. Wistfully listening to stories of many expat entrepreneurs who decided to turn travel adventures in to new lives.

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Nuestra Casa: Our Spanish Home Away From Home

The View from Our Balcony: Denia, Spain: As I sit sipping my coffee in my dining room while alternately viewing the Mediterranean and the Montgo mountain, I feel at once transported to another world, yet at home.

We will call Spain home for about three months. Things feel different when you have that kind of time as compared to the harried adrenaline rush of the typical vacation, jumping from hotel to hotel and back home in a week. Some of the joys we have experienced so far include:

• Strolling (el paseo) along the Mediterranean with all the locals on Sunday afternoon, a leisurely walk through town punctuated by a café, cana (small beer) or tinto (red wine) on the sidewalk.

• Visiting the city market, not only to admire the local delicacies, but with the necessity of negotiating in elementary Spanish to stock our home.

• Wearing out our soles walking everywhere, happening across hidden spots while watching everyone go about daily life (being in a resort area during off season makes this time even more unique as tourists are few).

• Feeling excited to come home after a tour to Gibraltar, pining for “my” Montgo and sea view. Settling in, cooking a good meal and having time to soak in the journey, reading a book about Spanish history or watch a football game.

Observing, wandering, smelling and tasting...improving our language skills...feeling just a bit like a local, but with the sense of wonder that can wear off at home...an ideal way to travel.

This post has been entered in to the GrandTourismo HomeAway Holiday-Rentals travel blogging contest. For more info. visit HomeAway Holiday-Rentals site.