A 'To Do' List

With just 8 weeks to go before we leave, it's time to work on a 'to do' list. I find that working through one of these helps relieve any anxiety about things I might forget.

Flights (with Emirates) are booked.

Hotel in Madrid is booked.

Our tour is booked. I much prefer to do my own thing, but I don't usually travel so far away for such a short time, but my daughters have to get back to work so a measly four weeks it is. We decided to go with Cosmos tours (a member of the Globus family) because they offer the most flexibility. There are some easy excursions included, but there are many more one can choose to do. These are more physically demanding and probably not for me, although I'm sure Ilana and Michelle will take a couple of them. ( can't see me, for instance, riding a camel into the desert for a dinner in an oasis, nice as it sounds.

We found a lovely Airbnb apartment in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, where we will stay for the last week of our holiday. It overlooks the grounds of a castle, has three bedrooms and two bathrooms, and there's a lift! A bonus. Joe assures us that it's in a safe and nice spot (Sanlúcar is his home town), and right next door to a brewhouse. Ilana and Michelle, being beer drinkers, are happy about that. The beach is just 10 minutes away, and the major shopping area is at the same distance.

We still have trains to book, for travel between Sanlúcar and Madrid. That will involve the need for us to take a bus so I have to research that aspect, especially as our first trip down there will be on a Sunday. We also need to reserve rooms in a hotel for our last night, but that can wait until we are in Madrid.

Passports have been checked, to make sure we will have a minimum of six months remaining on our last day of travel. Australian passports are valid up to expiry, but some countries demand that six months window. While Australian will allow you back in right up to the day of expiry, some airlines will refuse to allow you to board a flight if that six months minimum of time is not there. If you travel a lot and you are running out of pages, you may need to apply for another passport. It's not possible to add extra pages.

While we were all checking our passports to be sure they would comply with this rule, my sister discovered that hers expired back in December! A replacement has been ordered and should arrive in 6 weeks. Whew!

Should we buy a Spanish SIM card? Will we need a power adapter for our devices? Perhaps we should include one with a number of USB charging ports. What other travel accessories will we need? And there's access to funds we need to consider. Morocco has a closed currency so how will that work?

So much to research but we've allowed ourselves plenty of time.

To wed or not to wed

My granddaughter phoned me to tell me that she and Joe have decided not to marry after all. My first concern was for them. Was everything okay? She assured me it was all good, but they had decided that they didn't need to formalise their relationship - they are not planning on children in the immediate future (she is still studying and working part-time, and he has just commenced a full-time job with Qantas). Her concern was for us and some others who had booked and paid for their trips.

Wedding or no wedding, I'm still going, I told her. When I asked Ilana and Michelle they said they are still keen to go, so we have kept on with our plans.

Thank you, Alexandra and Joe, for considering a wedding in Spain. Even if it's not to go ahead, we are!

New Trip

Since my last post (was it that long ago!) I've moved house and am living in the Sunshine Coast hinterland.

After a year here, I was ready to think about some more long-distance travel. I'm always up for a trip to Italy (I still have to explore the south of that country) but while I was thinking about that, my granddaughter rang me. She and her Spanish boyfriend decided that they would marry - in Spain, where his family live. (He lives and works in Sydney.) They would have a major wedding in Spain, and a later celebration here in Australia.

What a great excuse to plan a trip to Spain! My daughters, Ilana and Michelle, were also keen. They said they were not going all that way just for a few days (they are like their mother in that respect) and so we're extending our stay to see as much of Spain as possible, along with Portugal and Morocco.

Plans are well underway. In the meantime, we're busy, with the help of Google Earth, checking out all the places we want to see while we are in that part of the world.