Planning a Trip to Spain

I recently came back 8 glorious days in Spain with my two babies. I call them babies but they really are young men. My boys are 17 and 21 years old thus traveling with them is soooo much fun. I am writing this blog with the intention to help you plan your trip to Spain or really anywhere in Europe because the tips are applicable to most cities although I will include specific tips for the places that we visited.

I love summer trips with my sons especially as a single mom, these trips are a priceless way of reconnecting with my boys away from our normal world including our own friends, commitments and distractions. It really provides an opportunity to bond and reconnect with each other when it’s just the three of us. It also creates opportunities to have some honest and uncomfortable conversations and work things out because we can’t walk away from each other exactly since we are all stuck there so to speak.

But back to trip planning. I always start any trip planning by

a) Doing my research by talking to friends and coworkers who have travelled to a specific place I am considering.

b) Next I continue my research by watching YouTube videos on travel to that country. This in my opinion is an excellent way of prepping and planning your dream vacation. Last summer, I planned a trip to Costa Rica and I did the exact same thing as I’m telling you now. But a trip to Europe is different and I learned to plan it by watching the YouTube videos.

Once I decided I was going to Spain, I needed to figure out where in Spain I wanted us to visit and how I was going to get there. Europe has an excellent infrastructure thus one has many options to travel within Spain unlike the United States. Sure you can always fly from one city to another but Europe has these amazing speed / bullet trains that travel almost as fast as airplanes. They also have an excellent bus service and of course you can always choose to drive a rental car since the highways are perfectly safe.

I was told about this website called ROME TO RIO.com by a coworker physician who is an avid traveler. I started by looking at the map and learning where the various cities were located in relation to the others so I could figure out our itinerary. Once I knew our dates, I had to decide how much time I wanted to spend in each city and also how many cities I could cover.

Not understand that there are few different approaches to travelling. One is to go to a city/destination and spend some time exploring the main tourist attractions and having a meal or two and then on to the next city. The other approach is to go to a city/destination and really exploring the area like a local. Sure one can hit the historic/ tourist spots but also going off the beaten path by living and dining in the not so touristy parts of town but instead going out of the general area and meeting and mingling with the locals and getting a feel for the real day to day culture of the place.

Now the trip we planned was a blend of the two. Europe with its excellent infrastructure of transportation provides reasonable and practical and easy options to travel all across Europe via the buses, flights or the bullet trains. I chose to rent a car and drive across Spain for several reasons:

a) It was cheaper to drive with the 3 of us vs get 3 tickets for all the different places we went to.

b) Driving gave us more flexibility to leave when we wanted to vs a pre-determined schedule

c) Driving also gave us the flexibility and freedom to stop when we wanted to to spend more time to explore perhaps a waterfall or a scenic spot (which we or grab a meal at a local gas station cafeteria or explore a small town grocery store to grab a few snacks and in that interacting with the locals.

But the cons of driving were:

a) Gas is expensive in Europe. It is sold in liters vs gallons.

b) European cities especially the central historic parts of town have very, very, very narrow cobblestone pathways because they don’t qualify to be called roads. Some of these are literally so narrow that you could not get an SUV in through it. We were renting a Kia Niro and even in this midsize car, we had at some points, maybe 6 inches on each side.

c) Unexpected speeding tickets (if you speed which I did since I was getting honked at for going under the speed limit). I didn’t get pulled over there but received a speeding ticket via email through my rental car company and had to pay the fees which was a generous $75 if I paid within the early grace period or I would have to pay the $120 if I chose to wait. Needless to say, I paid.

d) You have to deal with the issues of having a car such as a flat tire or worse an accident. Now we didn’t have an accident (Thank God) but we did have to change our tire. But I called the rental car company (unfortunately, they don’t have toll free numbers and thus I had to pay international calling rates since I opted out of initiating the international plan.)

e) Renting a car and getting rental car insurance. It is advisable to get complete coverage when renting a car because you never know the road conditions you are going to encounter, possible accidents or damage. But if you rent with a credit card, many credit card companies will cover the insurance for rental cars. It is advisable to check with your credit card company before deciding.

Planning your detailed itinerary per city.

I would advise watching a few or more YouTube videos and taking notes of key places or sites that you are interested in visiting. Also, I would suggest researching a city on the internet and once again taking notes on what you might be interested in attending.

I totally nerded out when planning this trip but it absolutely paid off. So I planned out a certain number of days in each city based on how much there was to do and realistically how much we could do per day given the summer heat wave etc. Then I added in the time needed to drive from once city to another and included an hour or two extra to allow for bathroom/gas/meal stops along the way.

Also if you are planning day trips to other cities, you are not spending any time in the city you are based in so make sure you allow yourself enough days / time to explore and enjoy the city you are based in.

Also as much as I love day trips, I really like the idea of spending an evening/night in a certain city. Every city has a very different look and feel at night that you may not get to experience it if you are only there during the day.

I also got my self organized by taking a blank journal and dividing it up in the different cities we were planning and then adding all my detailed notes including the key places to hit in each city, the various tours we were committed to attend and the details regarding the airbnbs etc. I even printed out our car rental agreement, our tickets to the various tours/ sites along with our flight itinerary. I used washi tape to secure it all in the book. Like I said, I totally nerded out and it was definitely worth it since I had all our travels/trip info secure in one book. When we got to a particular city, I would simply open up the secured washi tape section and I would have all I need to go on without any hiccups. You can always come up with your own system but make sure you are organized with contact phone numbers, emails, addresses etc so that you are prepared.

Airline tickets

I used Cheapo Air although there are many other websites that you can use. Understand that the best deals unfortunately are not offered on the website but you have to call the toll free number and speak to a representative.

You may also want to use points to pay for a part of or all of your ticket.

Hotels vs Air BNBs vs Hostels

Hostels:

Let me start by prefacing that I have never used a hostel but have spoken to many who have travelled across Europe and have stayed in hostels thus the little I share is from their experience. So a hostel is basically an apartment or a house where there are multiple beds in one room and you share a common bathroom/ kitchen/ living room etc. These are preferred by students or travelers on a budget since it gives you a bed to sleep in and a shower but understand that what you save in money, you sacrifice in comfort and privacy. Also, hostels like hotels or Air bnbs vary in quality and price so I would suggest you research online and read the reviews before committing to one.

Air BNBs:

I personally prefer Air BNBs when I’m travelling especially with family since I have the option of renting the entire home/apartment that usually comes with a kitchen and basic amenities. On Air BNB, one can search for specific number of bedrooms, bathrooms, parking spots, elevators, airconditioning, washer/dryer etc so that you can find a place that works for you. I have also used Air Bnbs in the United States when travelling for meetings etc and I find it to be quiet affordable and preferable to staying in a hotel. Air Bnb’s also tend to be available in the historic / central part of town which makes it very easy to get around without a car.

My learnings from Air BNBs are

a) Air-conditioning: Read the fine print and the list of amenities. In Europe, air conditioning is NOT a standard feature thus make sure you confirm that the apartment has it especially in the summer when temperatures can be in the 90’s – 100s in the daytime and in the 80’s at night. I like my air-conditioning and cannot deal with fans and an open window to be comfortable but it’s up to your personal comfort level.

b) Washer/dryer - I also preferred to have a washer /dryer when in Europe since I tend to travel light and need to wash my clothes every few days. Dryers are also not a standard feature in most of Spain. And even when there were dryers in the home, they were too small and did not dry the clothes, so I would just hang /lay the clothes out all over the apartment and they would usually dry in a few hours. Take a small zip lock bag with enough detergent to do a few loads. I have realized that I use way too much detergent anyways so I have now started using about ¼ of what I use to use. Although some places will provide detergent, don’t assume they do. Just take a cup of detergent with you and you are usually good for 3-4 loads of laundry.

c) Breakfast- Europe is not big on breakfast and thus most places are not open for what we as Americans like for breakfast. I usually will pick up a few things from the local grocery/convenient store (eggs, milk, bread, cheese, butter) and will cook a breakfast at home. We not only save money this way, but we also make sure we start the day full so that we don’t need to stop to get food first thing out the door and can usually wait till lunch. Most apartments/homes also have Keurig machines but make sure you are getting the right size/shape of the cups. I also prefer to take my own instant chai/ coffee packets with me thus saving money and having my favorite on hand when out.

d) Cooking meals – when we travelled to Costa Rica last summer, we didn’t care too much for the food, so I ended up cooking a few things and we saved money and had a delicious meal. Some suggestions are pasta, salads, fresh fruits, granola, frozen pizza that we baked in the over etc.

e) Also you can always reheat your leftovers if you have any. This is really helpful when travelling with teenage boys who are ALWAYS HUNGRY.

f) Also if travelling with a baby / young child, most places accommodate by providing cribs, play pens etc. Make sure to read the list of amenities before signing up for an Airbnb.

Hotels:

Hotels are great and have amenities like having your room cleaned daily with fresh towels etc. Most hotels will also have a restaurant / bar that you can eat a quick bite if you are not keen on leaving after a long workshop.

Ways to See a City

a) Every city has free walking tours available. I was told about this by fellow young travelers who have used this all over the world. Apparently if you google, “free walking tours”, you’ll be able to find someone who is willing to give you a free walking tour of the city.

b) Red Bus – these are double decker buses that are available in most cities. They go around pre-determined route that stops at the key places in the city. You can hop on and hop off or simply stay on the bus.

c) Group Tours - in a small group setting which include a few historical sites. Usually its one tour guide to up to 25 or so visitors. Sometimes you get a little device with headphones that allows you to listen to the tour guide clearly without having to be within earshot.

d) Private tour by a local tour guide – definitely more expensive but more convenient if you are travelling with family and want a private tour guide to show you around. We had one in Istanbul when traveling there a few years ago. This worked for our 3 generations travelling together. The tour guide was very accommodating for our family. I also used this to hire a tour guide for the Alhambra.

TOURSBYLOCALS.COM is a great website to find someone.

e) Biking tours – so these are good. You meet in a designated spot and are assigned a bicycle and follow the group leader from one location to another stopping to learn about the various sites.

f) Electric bikes/ segways – this is super cool!!! Since very minimal energy is needed to ride these and they are a lot of fun. We rented electric bikes in Sevilla and absolutely had the best 3 hour tour of parts of the city that covered a good couple of miles. Walking it would have been too much. This was especially good with my boys since it broke the monotony of yet another tour in a group.

g) On your own – so another way to do it is to just do it on your own. Walk around, hop on and off a red bus or just invest in a guide book and /or do your research before you go. Most sites also have Audio guides that you can listen to as you explore various parts of the location be it a museum or a historical site.

h) The boys also rented a scooter that was just leaned against the wall. I thought it belonged to someone, but they were smarter than me and knew that they could rent it using whatever app was printed on the scooter. I actually got on it and then wouldn’t give it back to them since I was sooo tired of walking and the scooter was cool, fast and fun.

i) We used google maps to get around but this was not always effective.

MOOVITis an app that a friend recommended that I wish I had downloaded. It is very helpful since it has local train and bus routes.

Tip: Student ID – Most museums etc will offer a discounted entrance fee for students but you MUST have your valid student id with you. That is a considerable savings.

Packing Light

The best thing you can do to help make your trip successful is to pack light. I spent a lot of time watching Rick Steve’s packing videos, reading articles and printing out packing lists and it definitely paid off. I also didn’t like the idea of paying $40 - $60 for a checked bag. We each had a roll on bag along with a backpack. We did not carry the backpacks around when we were sightseeing due to the pickpockets that frequent the touristy parts of town and instead left them at the apartment. I also packed a cloth carry-on bag that folded into my backpack but opened up big enough to either check in or carry on. We used this bag to hold our dirty laundry between the cities and ended up folding it up and carrying it back home in my backpack. I also left open the option of checking in a bag if I had shopped excessively but was able to get it all in in our normal luggage thus saving money in checked bags fees.

So here is my suggestion to packing light. Remember to take a small zip lock bag with enough detergent to do a few loads

- Pack enough clothes for 2-3 days which includes usually 2 outfits per day and something to sleep in. Also make sure the clothes are light weight and easy to pack and you can mix and match the clothes to create multiple looks. Since I like to stay in Airbnbs I made sure I rented places with washers and then simply did a load or two of laundry between the three of us and we were good to go. But you can always hand wash  clothes and hang them to dry.

- Pack extra clean undergarments/ socks to keep you going.

- I ordered these packing cubes (again from Amazon although I believe Walmart/Target sell them too). I really like these since it helps me stay organized.

- Also I followed the suggestion to pack my bag a few weeks before my trip. This allowed me to go back and take away /replace things I didn’t really need. Most of us overpack and this allows us to pack right.

- Make sure you take a hat/cap and sunglasses. Makes a big difference when spending hours out in the sun.

- I usually take no more than 2-3 pairs of shoes including a pair of walking shoes, sandals and a semi fancy pair to wear to a nice dinner although NO ONE cares what shoes you have on.

Pickpocketing

- Pickpocketing is extremely common in Europe. I saw video after video warning me about not having my valuables in a backpack. Not to mention, even our cab driver immediately warned us about this. I was prepared. I had a cloth messenger bag that I had bought from Walmart for under $15 which I used throughout. I also ordered a passport wallet/pouch with RFID protection from Amazon. You can get one for under $20.

- RFID is an acronym for “radio-frequency identification” and refers to a technology whereby digital data encoded in RFID tags / credit cards are captured by a reader via radio waves. I had our passports, credit cards and cash all with me safety tucked in the zipper pouch and slots in the passport wallet. I carried this wallet in the messenger bag and wore in in the front of my body ensuring safety.

Electronics/chargers

I don’t like to travel with my laptop or any electronics except for my phone and a battery pack.

But my 21 year old son had his laptop which he used to unwind once we were back in the apartment.

As far as chargers, make sure you order your European (round ) plugs from Amazon or eBay. I ordered the basic ones that had the option of a regular plug and 2 USB charge input slots. These were perfect.

I also ordered a more expensive multi-prong/plug option plug since it gave me the option of using it either in the States or anywhere in the world. Unfortunately I was unable to use this since every apartment we stayed in only had the round insert plugs.

We also had 2 battery pack recharges which we used between the three of us all day when out to make sure our phones were charged. Just remember to recharge at the end of the night so that you can use it again.

TAPAS

- Tapas literally means small plates. Spain is famous for i TAPAS. Avoid the touristy restaurants in the plazas and find the busy ones in the small cobble stone streets.

- Also, pork is a very popular all across Spain so make sure to ask if a dish has pork even if it shows to be a meat/chicken or fish dish. We were surprised how much pork was on everything.

- And eating vegetarian is a bit tricky since there are a lot of carbs and fried vegetables. Also just ordering a vegetarian sandwich or salad doesn’t mean it will be all vegetables. It usually comes with a serving of shredded tuna which makes it challenging to pick all the tuna out. We just learned to ask questions and order specifically without any meat / tuna etc.

- We went tapas hopping for dinner which was awesome. So basically we would stop in a café/bar/ restaurant and order one tapas each. We would all get a taste of it and then move on to another restaurant and order another tapas until we had covered 4-5 places including desert. I also recommend watching a few YouTube videos about tapas in each city and then go check those out.

- Horchata milk – made of some kind of nuts was also quite delicious. Usually available in desert places.

- Try the Salmorejo – it comes in different varieties and is quiet refreshing.

- I also really enjoyed ox tail, calamari, and variations of patatas bravas – their version of French fries.

Souvenir shopping

- I am not a big shopper so I tend to pick up magnets from the different cities I travel to. Also I like picking up postcards of the places I’ve visited since my own pictures never quiet capture the place like a professionally taken pic on a post card does. I also like picking up journals from the different cities that I then use once I’m back. Journals and magnets also make great gifts and are small and light enough to carry back. Other gift ideas are caps, coffee mugs, and placemats for kids.

- I also like to pick up things if I like it since usually I don’t go back to the same place again unless you actually have a few hours to go in and out of the shops.

- I also love stopping in the gift shops at the various sites and have found that they usually have the best quality and selection of souvenirs. I like picking up smaller pocket size books if I like the place. These have pictures and the history and are still easy to carry back in my carry on luggage.

VAT– is the tax that we pay when travelling all across Europe.

- For example, all restaurants charge a 10% VAT. Also you are NOT expected to tip the waiters in Europe because they actually make a decent hourly wage and the VAT covers the tip.

- You can always leave a Euro or two or less if the service was exceptional

- Also, VAT is refundable at the airport but it’s not as easy as I originally thought.

- So for larger purchases (I think 150 Euros or more), certain stores will give you forms to submit at the airport to get the 10 % VAT refunded. But you have to go to the airport early enough and have all your necessary forms/receipts on hand AND have the items you have purchased ready to show them in order to have the VAT refunded.

Getting around in Spain – Cabs vs Uber vs Walking

- Plan on spending money on getting around because it’s just faster and easier that way. I found that both cabs and Ubers were about the same price. If you plan on using Uber or Lyft, you’ll have to enter your passport info on the app the first time you use it.

- Another way to get around is using trains and busses – we didn’t use these so can’t give you any tips on these.

- Most people I know never take a cab or an Uber to get around but simply prefer to walk. Now that is definitely an option but we were already walking 6-8 miles a day. Also, a 2 minute walk on the GPS usually ended up being a 10-15 minutes walk. We needed respite in the summer heat wave that was going through Spain and we were over it, thus we were grateful to have the option of someone else driving us.

Our itinerary was:
Madrid – June 29 – July 1, 2019

Toldedo – July 1

Cordoba – July 1 – July 3

Seville – July 3 – July 5

Granada – July 5 – July 7

Back to Madrid on July 7 to fly back home to Miami.

We didn’t have enough days to go to Barcelona so that will be another trip.

Sites to see in the following cities

Madrid: This is a really cool city kind of like New York or London but has its own vibe about it. There are so many museums to explore and so many art galleries, restaurants etc. Night life is quiet popular in Madrid and places are packed even at 2 in the morning. Definitely a place to go back and visit again.

- Plaza Mejor

- Plaza de Espana

- Puerta del Sol

- San Miguel Market or Mercado de San Miguel – great place for Tapas. You can go from stall to stall and order small portions of various foods. Absolutely loved this place.

All the above are within walking distance from each other and can be covered in one afternoon.

- Royal Palace –similar to our White House. You can get tickets and go inside. We chose to just hang out on the steps of the historic building across from it and listen to some street musician.

- Sabatino Gardens – we didn’t make it here

- Almedina Cathedral

- Museums – Prado Museum, Reina Sofia Museum and Thyssen Museum.

Each museum has its own entrance fee. We went to the Prado Museum. Also note that sometimes, they have special exhibits that need an additional ticket. Buy them at the front or else you will not be allowed to enter that part. The Prado museum had a special exhibit on a few artist including Rembrandt and unfortunately we were unable to enter and I did not have the energy to go back outside and stand in the long line to get in.

I recommend the audio guides that you can rent once inside if you don’t have a tour guide.

- Buen Retiro Park – is right across the street from the Prado Museum. I personally like tour guides to really understand the history behind each place but this is one park that you can just walk thorough. It has the Crystal palace in one part of the park. I would recommend you go in the early evening so that you can enjoy it all. We were there at 1 pm and it was way too hot to be outside. There is also an area where one can rent paddle boats etc.

- Salamanca – is the area of town that has the luxury name brand shopping stores

- Malasana – artistic area of town similar to Wynwood in Miami. We tried to go but the cab driver dropped us off at some random street and pointed us in some direction. After walking around in circles for 30 minutes, we took another cab back to the central part of town and went to dinner instead.

Tapas in Madrid

- One of my favorite places in Madrid was Rosi LA Loca– a cute little restaurant with fusion tapas that was literally the BEST food we had all across Spain.

- We also enjoyed MAJADERITOS CAFE– which happens to be just down from Rosi La Loca. Good food and good service.

- St. Ginnesis famous for its churros con chocolate and is open 24/7. We also stopped at a few other places that had excellent variations of churros con chocolate.

- We also had plenty of good and bad gelato icecream – go to a place that is busy. Those tend to be the better quality ones.

TOLEDO– The entire town of Toledo is considered a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It is an absolutely beautiful city that can easily be explored in a day. Outside cars are not allowed in the city so you must park your car and walk in. I would recommend getting a tour guide or signing up with a tour group to be able to see the different sites. We didn’t do that and chose to explore it on our own and I have to admit, we just got lost and kept walking around in circles. We found a cathedral and paid the 4 euros per person to go in and climb their tower and were able to get a beautiful view of Toledo but we completely missed all the other historic sites. So don’t do what we did but instead invest in a tour guide and make it worth your while.

- Cathedral – there are several but this one is famous from the 13thcentury

- Museo del Greco – Greco is a very well known artist and this museum is supposed to be amazing

- Puerta – The Old Gate

- Alcazar de Toledo – with its army museum

- There are many little museums to explore including the Museum of Witchcraft (Brujeria)

- Mercado de San Augustine

Cordoba

I LOVED CORDOBA!!!

- The MEZQUITA – also known as The Mosque Cathedral was one of my favorite places in Spain.

- The Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos

- The Jewish Quarters

Definitely sign up with a tour to really learn about it all.

We signed up for a 3 hour tour that covered the Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos, The Jewish Quarters and the Mezquita. This was a very good experience to learn about these places wihin just a few hours.

- The Roman Bridge – we loved walking across it to get to the other side in the evenings. There is a children’s park and a workout park on the other side. The boys wanted to go explore there so we did. Also halfway on the bridge is a statue of Archangel Rafael – the favorite of Cordoba.

- Calleja de los Flores – The patios of Cordoba are famous and you’ll get a taste of this when on the tour.

- Medinat de Zahra – this is outside of town about an hour or so and has the ruins of one of the imams. I chose not to go there but it’s definitely worth it if you’re a history buff.

- Palacio de Vianna – didn’t make it here either.

SHOPPING IN CORDOBA

- I loved the souvenir shopping I did in Cordoba the best. I found the prices and quality to be good and reasonable compared to the other places we went to.

There is this store called BARAKA in the cobblestone / central part of Cordoba. This place has all kinds of really beautiful art by local artist. I was particularly drawn to the Islamic art they sold. The pieces ranged from 10 euros to 300 euros. I really wish I had picked up a few more things from there especially the ones that were framed and ready to be hung. I didn’t think I had place in our bags to bring it back but I totally could have pulled it off. Also they don’t ship. I asked. I bought 2 prints (one of the Mezquita and the other was from the Alhambra which I didn’t realize until I actually saw it with my own eyes when at the Alhambra in Granada). They were only 14 euros each but it cost me a lot more to have them framed once back home.

Sevilla - We loved Sevilla. We really enjoyed this beautiful city. We rented an Airbnb in the historic part of town but got to explore the rest when we went on our Urban bike tour.

Places to see and we actually saw it all.

- The Real Alcazar de Seville – must get a tour guide or the audio guides – this is also the home of the famous Game of Thrones Water Gardens of Dorne in the Mujedar Palace.

- The Cathedral and Giralda Tower which is located in the Cathedral. 35 small flights of stairs will take you all the way to the top and give you an awesome view of the city. – we used the audio guides but were also really tired at this time. Also in the Cathedral are the remains of Christopher Columbus – very cool.

- The Jewish Quarters – Barrio Santa Cruz

- Plaza de Espana

- Parque de Maria Luisa

- Espacio Metropol Parasol or Las Setas – this stunning architecture beauty that cost just a few Euros to get to the top but is definitely worth it. We ate dinner at one of the local plaza restaurants (which I don’t recommend since they are very touristy and the food is usually overpriced and not good). And we walked over the the Setas. Sunset is a good time to go and it takes less than an hour to enjoy the view.

- Flamenco Show – I recommend the MUSEO DEL BAILE FLAMENCO (the Flamenco museum) to really get a taste of the 4 different styles of Flamenco. We absolutely loved the dancers!!!

We explored Sevilla on electric bikes which we rented through URBAN MOTORS in Sevilla. If you google it, it will take you to Trip Advisor which is where I found this gem of a tour. We had the best experience with our tour guide. We also happened to be the only three people that had signed up for this and so had the tour guide all to ourselves. She was also sweet enough to let me stop and take pictures in front of a few pretty doors.

El Commercial– in Sevilla is a cool little spot to grab breakfast. We sat at the bar for breakfast and ordered the famous Spanish coffee (similar to the Cuban Coffee served all across South Florida). We ordered Churros con chocolate which was fresh and hot and is one of their breakfast items. We also ordered Spanish tortillas which is basically like a quiche made of potatoes and eggs. There are many different variations of these made with different vegetables and meats. It’s a thick very filling portion so plan on sharing.

GRANADA – I loved Granada and would definitely love to go back to visit again. We didn’t get to see it all since we really only had one full day there.

- The beautiful ALHAMBRA which includes the Nasrid Palaces and the Generalife Gardens.

You can purchase the Granada Card for about $40 which will give you an assigned time to see the Nasrid palace. But it also allows you access to the Cathedral etc.

If you chose not to get the Granada Card, go directly to the Alhambra website and buy tickets from there BUT make sure you have an allotted time to enter the NASRID palaces. There are some tickets that allow you into Alhambra but you cannot enter the Nasrid palace. That would be very very sad. Also it took us 3 hours with a personal tour guide to see all of Alhambra. I would NOT recommend you do this on your own or with audio guides. Make sure you get a private tour guide or sign up with a tour group. Unfortunately I waited too late and was unable to sign up with a tour group which were all full. So I ended up booking a private tour guide and it was absolutely worth the $300 I spent.

Also make sure you have your passports with you because there are multiple security check in places along with police dogs etc. You will not be allowed to enter without your passport and your id is not enough.

- The Albayzin Quarters – the Muslim Quarters – we walked around a bit on these hilly cobblestone pathways.

- Mirador de San Nicolas – which is the viewing point to get a beautiful view of the Alhambra especially at night so go there after sunset.

- The Alcaiceria market – which is similar to a souk with all these shops selling stuff from Morocco and India. I was not impressed because I found the quality to be poor and the prices to be too much. There are also regular shops which I actually preferred.

- The Granada Cathedral which was built on top of the mosque is the second largest in Spain. I wish we had gone to see this but unfortunately we didn’t and we definitely regretted it.

- The Royal Chapel which is right next to the Granada Cathedra. where Queen Isabel I and King Ferdinand II are buried.

- The Sierra Nevada – are the beautiful mountain ranges that are just a short hour or so drive from Granada. We didn’t go there either but it would be something to visit in winter.

- The Granada Baths – didn’t make it there either.

Travel is oxygen for our souls. It helps us get away from our daily routine so that we may explore a new part of the world and in doing so, we open the possibilities of meeting parts of ourselves that we didn’t know existed. One does not need to be rich to travel. You must simply have a desire to see the world and you will find a way. There are definitely ways to travel economically or to travel as luxuriously as you can afford and no matter how you chose to do it, Just do it!!!

I hope this is helpful!!!

Love, Light and Blessings.

Anita

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Love, Light and Blessings,
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My Most Personal Piece Ever.

Written in 2014, published in 2016 for a few weeks and then I made it private again and here it is now. I've since already spoken about the sexual abuse I've experience in the Facebook Live videos.

Just the other day, I had a conversation regarding the rampant low self-esteem in the teenage girls of our generation. It reminded me of a non-fiction book I read back in 1995 about a longitudinal research study conducted with teenage girls of different ethnic and racial backgrounds. It basically found that overall most adolescent girls suffered from low self esteem as a result of their body size and shape but white girls were much more conscious of their bodies than their counterparts.   A very high percentage of white girls thought they were "fat" while black girls were much more comfortable in their own skin. Latin girls tended to shift between the two extremes. 

I started to reflect on my own issues with my body that I've struggled with over the years. I've never and I mean, never been a size 6 which for me was my ideal size. I am also aware that I've used food as a friend to comfort me when I felt bad about myself.  I am a survivor. I was sexually abused from the age of 2 years old to about 12 years old...by six different people that I remember. I was molested but thank God, never raped. I didn't think anything of it at the time or even for years as an adult because I just assumed that everyone around me had been too. It was only as an adult that the enormity of my experience finally dawned on me. 

It happened while I was in the middle of attending a NLP (Nuero Linguistic Programming) Workshop. I was paired with a partner to practice a change work exercise. But instead of what we were suppose to do, up came these memories and emotions that my partner knew were more than she could handle. She immediately called the Master Trainer who worked with me to process the memories and the pain.  I came home from that weekend thinking everything was fine but it so wasn't. I had just had a miscarriage of my first pregnancy after being married and I had been devastated. And to top it off, here were all these memories to deal with.

Now before I go any further, I think it's important that I explain that I wasn't molested on a daily basis for ten years...no nothing like it...it was occasionally and far and few between but even one incident and one perpetrator is one too many and I had six different ones that I could remember and at least a dozen or so incidents that I can recall.  But I had a happy childhood overall inspite of this. Remember, I didn't realize the severity of it until I was an adult.

Anyways, I fell into a state of depression as I processed the grief and literally went through the 5 stages of grief. For about six months, I was angry, so angry at the grown men, the teenage boy who lived down the hall, a few others and even an older male cousin who violated an innocent little girl. I was a pretty baby, fair skinned and sweet looking. It was almost like I had a sign on my forehead that said, "Molest me!"  Next came the sadness. The tears just wouldn't stop! I cried and cried for the little girl who went through it all, being confused and feeling guilty. Confused because she knew it was wrong but it felt good at times and guilty for actually enjoying it at times. You see, we are physically wired to enjoy sexual stimulation no matter what our age or maturity.

And finally I plea bargained with God. Now remember I had just had a miscarriage. So the bargain was, "God let me have a child and I promise you I will protect him/her so that he/she never has to experience the pain that I did." Finally, I made my peace! I was a survivor! I was who I was because of the sum of my experiences and that included being molested. This was back in 1997. My son, Aly, who is now 16 years old was born the next year. And when I finally completed my Masters of Social Work degree in 2008 and started working in a residential drug rehab program as a therapist, I had a sixth sense of knowing when a client, male or female, had been sexually abused, before they told me. I was able to work with many clients using various NLP techniques to help them release the pain and guilt from those extremely painful experiences. That is when I realized that going through the sexual abuse had a purpose and a reason. I went through it and was able to work through it so that I could help others. My life is and has always been about service to others. But I've had to experience certain things including the experience of going through a divorce and being a single mom to help me understand that first hand. Its like I attended not just university to get a Bachelors and Masters degree, but I attended the school of life!

Wow, I so did not intend to share all this here. God knows, I've wanted to for years but I've always convinced myself that sharing this would be embarrassing for my family and I would open myself to criticism and judgement. But I'm at a point in my life where sharing these are crucial to my life's work and purpose. And if someone choses to judge me in that, that's on them. I'm absolutely okay with that.  Also, for those who are wondering where my parents were in all of this, my mom was only seventeen years old when she had me and was totally unaware of what was going on. And of course I said nothing due to fear and conflicting guilt.

As much as I had processed my past, there was still a part of it that just stayed with me. I didn't know how to handle the attention of men. I was actually a cute size 12 after marriage and needless to say, men hit on me. They flirted with me and made innuendos which I found to be very uncomfortable and so I ate...and I gained weight and I went into a depression and I became invisible. Seriously, who hits on a depressed, overweight, fat woman? Nobody! So it worked for a while. But sleep walking through life is never the answer. And I wasn't created to sleep walk through my life.  So I woke up. The divorce was a wake up call... and such an effective one. And now ten years later, I stand before you, single, independent, strong, grounded and let's not forget, beautiful in my own skin.

Update: I wrote this piece over 2 years ago and back then I had shared it with a select group of friends who responded with love and empathy.  Many also shared their own personal struggles with sexual abuse that they had never spoken about. I share this piece now with the intention to create a safe and respectful space for anyone to share anything that they need to get off your chest.

          Thank you in advance for keeping an open mind and heart.

Love, Light and Blessings,

From one sufi to another.

Anita

POD - Picture of the Day

Love, Light and Blessings

Anita

Random Things I'm Enjoying These Days!

I was always creative but never considered myself an artist. Even as I started to blog almost five years ago and launched my ETSY jewelry shop some three years ago, I still could not call myself an artist. 

I have finally grown into my artist self. I feel blessed to have the presence of the arts in all it's many forms. I learned to play with watercolors a few years ago while at Liz Lameroux's BE PRESENT retreat. I ordered these sets of watercolors which I LOVE!!!  I finally went and treated myself to a coloring book with paisleys. Ofcourse I used my 50% off coupon and so only paid around $6 for the book. I wasn't sure if the pages would hold up under the watercolor paints but it totally did. Here is a picture of the dining table from last week:

The coloring book, the Grumbacher watercolors, brushes that look beautiful in this old green coffee cup with the snowflakes on it, my empty Harvard cup that I enjoyed my Morrocan Mint Stash tea, a cup to rinse the brushes off and a sheet of paper towel to dab the excess paint off the brush before painting.

A work in progress.

This heavenly smelling candle that makes this crackling sound as it burns.

You see, being Indian, I grew up in a family that valued the math and the sciences but not art. Although that's not entirely true. 

My dad is very creative. He enjoys music like no one I know, and he loves acting in Jamatkhana (mosque) plays. He truly revels in the process of rehearsing his lines, putting together his costume and finally performing on stage.  Dad is also very creative when it comes to building things. Home Depot is one of our favorite stores to go to when working on a new DIY project. It was a few years ago when we were brainstorming on ways to hang the curtains in our home, that I realized that I get my creative gene from my dad. 

Mom on the other side is as left brain as they come. She is brilliant but not artistically inclined at all. But then again, she has a great eye for design when it comes to desi (Indian) clothes and jewelry.


So this is what I've been up to these days. Painting, a few DIY projects and creating new jewelry pieces brings me great joy. Most people partake in the annual tradition of spring cleaning but I've noticed that I tend to enjoy fall cleaning a lot more. Somehow, getting ready to start the holiday season with Thanksgiving around the corner and Christmas in the folds, I just love cleaning, purging, organizing and getting the home ready for the celebrations.

Being able to create art is a blessing to me and one which I am very grateful for.
I pray you take some time to play a bit, no matter what the form.

Thank you for reading.

Love, Light and Blessings,
Anita

The Picture of the Day Series - THE RAINBOW

I love taking pictures and I've decided to share just one picture everyday that I have taken more than likely with my IPhone 6 plus and have edited with my favorite photo editing app called, "Snapseed." I love this app although my eldest always teases me about my sub par photo editing skills.

The goal is to share a picture a day with a one liner description. So here goes today's picture.

 The rainbow over South Florida.

Love, Light and Blessings,
Anita

Picture of the Day Series - Day 2

Rays of Sunlight peeking out from behind the heavy clouds.

Love, Light and Blessings
Anita

Books That Have Changed My Life For The Better!

I am often asked to recommend books and I've come to realize that I have a short list that I absolutely recommend to anyone and everyone. In fact, if it were up to me, these would be mandatory reading.

"When the student is ready, the teacher will appear," is one of my favorite quotes. The teacher can be in the form of the lyrics of a song on the radio that suddenly resonate with you in that moment in time and deliver the precise message that you need.  The teacher may also appear in the form of a simple conversation between friends. Other times, the teacher comes in the form of parts of a sermon that you were barely paying attention to, yet that one line just jolted you out of whatever rabbit hole your mind had wandered down to bring you back on your path.  The teacher may also appear in the form of a book as they have for me, time and time again.

I believe that we all have spirit guides and angels who guide us everyday. Now I know I might lose some of you at this point with this "woo woo" talk but humor me. These angels and spirit guides which I believe are assigned to me  by my Higher Power aka God use many of the mediums mentioned above to guide me on my path. We are presented with opportunities to learn these lessons daily in many different forms but alas, we tend to miss many of them. The key I have found is to pay attention to that little voice in my heart and head that whispers, "Pay Attention Anita. This one is important." So I get myself out of my head and pay attention and on most days, get the lesson but there have been many times when I completely miss the lesson and so I get presented with more and more opportunities to learn the lessons.  The storyline changes, the actors change but the lesson is always the one needed.

So without further delay, here is a list of my favorite books of all times. Please note that that I am sharing them in no particular order. I do believe that you will read whichever one you need to read. Just be open!

1. Seagull - Jonathan Livingston

2. Celestine Prophecy - James Redfield

3. Seven Spiritual Laws of Success - Deepak Chopra

4. Conversations with God - Book 1 - Neale Donald Walsch - I read this book some 18 years ago before my children were born.
There is also a book 2 and 3 in this series along with another 20 some books that Neale has written and they are all excellent books but Book 1 remains my favorite. I actually had the opportunity to spend an entire week with this author  a few years ago. I went to Oregon and met a group of 30 some people from all around the USA and the world and we had a once in a life time experience listening to this brilliant teacher in person.

5. The Seat of the Soul - Gary Zukav - now this is a book that sat on my bookshelves for almost ten years. Every couple of years, I would pick it up and attempt to read it but just got lost in the heavy jargon and I would get frustrated and put it back on the shelf. Then some ten plus years later, I picked it up and started to read it and realized that I had already received the messages that were in this book except they had come to me in the form of other authors and their books. But I am still including it here.

6. The Heart of the Soul - Gary Zukav - this book was life changing because it challenged me to really look at my behavior and forced me to face the underlying issues behind them. And as Maya Angelou said, "When you know better, you do better." Thus this book helped me "know myself better."

7. 40 Rules of Love - Elif Shafaq - an exquisitely written book in the most simple form yet the author weaves the tales of two separate families (Rumi and Shams de Tabriz and the character of this woman in her late 40's/50's). The 40 rules of love are pearls of wisdom that are scattered throughout the book and made my heart sing with joy at discovering them. I can't say anymore without giving it away so I'll stop here.

8.The Purpose Driven Life - by Rick Warren. This book kept showing up right around the time of my divorce some ten years ago until I finally realized that I was suppose to read this book. A MUST READ!!!

9. The Prophet - Kahlil Gibran - a short read but one you must take your time with. I read this book also some 18 years ago when I was pregnant with Aly (who is now 17 years old). The chapter on children along with Deepak Chopra's books have outlined how I've chosen to raise my boys. Essentially by honoring them as the individual souls that they are on their own journey. I understand that I have been entrusted with them but they are not my property to impose my own dreams and desires upon. I have and continue to encourage my boys to discover their gifts and use them to serve humanity. I believe that when you follow your passion, you never work a day in your life.

10. The Alchemist - Paulo Coehlo - this is a must read!!!!

11. Brene Brown's books are fantastic and everyone should read them.

 


12. Simple Abundance - A Daybook by Sarah Ban Breathnach.
This book literally saved my life. After Aly was born, I got hit with post partum depression. I was living in Tucson, Arizona with an 8 month old and a husband who was away all day long at work. We had only one car between us which left me stuck at home. Tucson is beautiful but we were renting an apartment in the hills which made it very difficult to just walk to places. I saw this author on Oprah and immediately bought the book and started reading and writing the gratitude journal as directed in this book. Within a month, I started to feel better and more positive. Many of us women tend to lose ourselves in the process of being someone's daughter, someone's wife and then someone's mother. We forget who were were prior to all of that and this book helped me uncover the layers to discover my own dreams and desires.  This is a very powerful book for women. The author also wrote a version of this for men.

13. The Laws of the Spirit World by Khorshed Bhavnagari - This book found me about a year ago and I am still working through it.

I'm sure there are many more books I could recommend and maybe in time, I'll write another post but this is it for now. Please do not rush through any of these books. Instead, take your time and read them and then re read them to really absorb the messages. These took me about 20 years to read as they found me or I found them only when I was ready for them.
Therefore, pay attention to which one tugs at your heart and go read that one first. The others will find you in time.

Love, Light and Blessings,

Anita

Know Thy Worth!

Why am I writing this today? Well, something very interesting happened earlier today. I posted a new collection of handmade earrings on Facebook available to purchase at $18-$20 per pair and someone decided to make the following comment, "Hmmm! None of them are attractive enough to spend 18 or 20 $". "

Here are the earrings I made and posted.

I actually made this frame today just to display these earrings. I used turquoise colored chalk paint on this frame and covered the insert with brown fabric only after stapling chicken wire to the inside of the frame. The entire thing took me less than an hour to put together and yes it's very messy from the back but it does the job. 

So now to make a few things clear, I don't know this person, nor am I friends with her on Facebook yet she not only took the time to check out my earrings but more importantly felt compelled to comment. Facebook notified me of a new comment on my post so I went to go read it and needless to say was taken back at first but then was simply amused. Ofcourse I responded with, "You are certainly entitled to your opinion." And then the messages and comments started. I started getting text messages on my cell and messages on FB ranging from, "On my God, she has no filter, I can't believe she said that," to "What a B....! You should block her." A few of my friends expressed their sadness  that there was this much "hatred" out in the world.  A friend who had immediately responded to my response to this comment was surprised at my what she called a "zen response." But my response was not intended to be zen - like. I simply took it as one person's opinion of art aka my earrings. Art is subjective and as the quote goes, "Beauty (and might I add, worth) is in the eyes of the beholder." 

This comment or any other comment be it positive or negative is simply an opinion of the person expressing it. It's never personal and it certainly has nothing to do with the actual person or thing or event that this person is commenting about.  And it certainly doesn't make her a bad person or a b.....
Abraham Hicks said it best.

I am just like you. I want to be liked and respected. And until a few years ago, I cared very much about what other people thought of me. I was a people pleaser. But somewhere along the way, I learned a very important lesson. I learned my self worth. I am not perfect. In fact, far from it. I am flawed and have so many things that I could and should be improving upon. But I am a good human being. I know my strengths and I know my challenges and I choose what I want to work on or ignore. That is the beauty of the being alive and human. We have choices...tons of it from the minute we wake up in the morning till we get in bed. We get to choose our thoughts and our responses to our thoughts. We get to choose what we eat, wear, do or don't do. Now ofcourse, I can hear some of you now saying, "But we don't have a choice in having to work." Well, I beg to differ. We do have a choice. We simply choose not to blow off work. We choose instead to show up. We might feel that we don't have a choice but we always have a choice. Not making a choice is also a choice. 

 

Another very important lesson I learned very early on was that every choice has a consequence. The word consequence tends to have a negative connotation but in my understanding of the word, a consequence is simply a result of a choice or an action. Consequences can be either positive or negative. 

 

The most freeing realization was that I am me regardless of other people's opinion of me. Thus I don't take compliments personally nor do I take their criticism. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the compliments and welcome the criticism as a way to learn from them but they do not reflect who I am or what my worth is. It is simply the other person's perception. That's it. So back to the earrings conundrum. I obviously think they are beautiful therefore I made them and I know that they are worth more than the $18-20 that I have priced them at. The price of any art reflects the creativity, the time, the talent and the effort of the artist. I am blessed to know that I have enough people who like my work and want more of it and for that I am grateful.

But not everything I create will be liked by everyone and that's okay. People are entitled to their opinion but it has nothing to do with me or my work. Now as far as the lady who commented is concerned, I commend her on following through when she felt compelled to. I wish her well and life goes on. Thank you for reading!

Love, Light and Blessings

Anita

PS: Good news is that the earrings are going fast! :)