ABC's of Travel

I was tagged by Liz to give my ABC's of travel.

A: Age you went on your first international trip:  My first international trip landed me in sunny Costa Rica when I was a mere 17 years of age.

B: Best (foreign) beer you’ve had and where:  My favorite foreign beer was a Kozel in Prague, Czech Republic.  

C: Cuisine (favorite): Nobody can deny that each country has it's dish that keeps one yearning for more; Spain's tortilla, Italy's pizza, and USA's buffalo chicken pizza.  However, the two countries that keep me wanting more are the Czech Republic's dumplings and Argentina's grilled meat with chimichurri sauce.  The best meal that I ever had was a sausage and mixed vegetable tortilla cooked in a large cast-iron pan over an open flame, cooked by an Argentinean in the north woods of Minnesota.

D: Destinations, favorite, least favorite and why:  My favorite destination to this point was Salzburg.  I'm not sure why it stays at the top of my list besides the beautiful surrounding of the picturesque alps and it's lake district that surrounds it.  My least favorite place by a long shot is the hole in the wall town of Mulhouse, France.  I honestly cannot say one good thing about Mulhouse.  The food was overpriced, the hotel was overpriced, and the old town was boarded up.

E: Event you experienced abroad that made you say “wow”:  The pictures in my previous post speak for themselves.  The Los Gansos of Leiketio, Spain.

F: Favorite mode of transportation:  I absolutely love the concept of trains.  Easy on, easy off, and magnificent unspoiled landscapes to take in.  Unfortunately, quite expensive.

G: Greatest feeling while traveling:  The "wow" effect.

H: Hottest place you’ve traveled to: Marrakech, Morocco.  I remember eating breakfast on the top of our Riad and thinking "Wow, it is hot!".  I kept thinking that the sun was bigger and closer, which it might have been.

I: Incredible service you’ve experienced and where:  The United States of America.  

J: Journey that took the longest: When I traveled to Vienna from Valladolid for the first leg of my study abroad spring break. I took a plane from Valladolid to London, London to Bratislava, and a bus from Bratislava to Vienna.  I think that the whole trip took around 16 hours.

K: Keepsake from your travels: Pictures.  I'm a true believer that a picture is worth at least a thousand words.

L: Let-down sight, why and where:  Palatine Hill, Rome.  Difficult to see the history that accompanies the famous Roman Empire.

M: Moment where you fell in love with travel: As a child my parents always took me on plenty of road trips and I fell in love with national travel on one of our trips to the Wyoming, North Dakota, Colorado areas.  I first fell in love with international travel when I traveled to Costa Rica. 

N: Nicest hotel you’ve stayed in:  The nicest hotel that I have ever stayed in was the Mamaison Riverside Hotel in Prague.  It had the most comfortable bed I have ever slept in in my life. 

O: Obsession—what are you obsessed with taking pictures of while traveling?:  I love taking pictures of signs and English graffiti.

P: Passport stamps, how many and from where? 23 stamps.  Madrid, O'hare, Bratislava, London, Morocco, Dublin, Berlin, Czech Republic, etc.

Q: Quirkiest attraction you’ve visited and where:  Anything in Las Vegas. 

R: Recommended sight, event or experience: I really recommend going to see the Las Fallas festival in Valencia, Spain.

S: Splurge; something you have no problem forking over money for while traveling: As of lately I have realized the value of a good massage to relieve must needed stress that travel inflects on the human body.

T: Touristy thing you’ve done: Leaning Tower of Pisa posed picture.  "Oh look, I'm pushing this tower on you!  I must be strong".

U: Unforgettable travel memory: Too many to count.  Sweat Lodge on the Stockbridge-Munsee Reservation, Wisconsin was pretty unforgettable.

V: Visas, how many and for where? Two visas, both for Spain and "educational" purposes.

W: Wine, best glass of wine while traveling and where?  I never drank wine or coffee before I came to Spain, and for good reason.  I love a good Spanish Rioja.  

X: eXcellent view and from where?: The top of Ganekogorta mountain in Pais Vasco, Spain.

Y: Years spent traveling?: I have been traveling since I was a baby, but I have been traveling abroad for nearly a year and a half total.

Z: Zealous sports fans and where?: Spanish sports fans are fanatics of their football, but nothing beats the people of Wisconsin for their local teams.  Rain, Shine, hail, below freezing temperatures, nothing can keep these fans from seeing their favorite teams.


Now I have to tag people who I would like to do their own ABC's of travel.


Tony
Melissa
Kyle