More Oaxaca: Food, Food, and Mezcal
We knew when we planned this trip that food was going to be at the center of all of our activities. Oaxaca has not failed in that respect. There are foods here that I’d never even HEARD of, even though I live in Mexico. Different region, different food. Not as much seafood (mariscos) here, but there are memelas, tetelas, LOTS of moles, empanadas and quesadillas that are very different from home, the list is never-ending! The food here ranges from…
Oaxaca adventure begins
We have been “accidental Mexpats” for almost 3 and a half years. During that time we’ve experienced “the before times”, full pandemic lockdowns, gradual easing of restrictions, flagrant disregard for a SERIOUS health threat, and eventual calming of emotions and acceptance of the “new normal”. Through this time, our dreams and joy of travel and adventure have languished behind a screen of uncertainty and health prerogatives. We are now embarking on the first of (hopefully) many adventures to new places,…
Circuit Ricardo Tormo – MotoGP 2022
The second part of our trip, in Valencia, was for the purpose of attending the final races (Moto3, Moto2, MotoGP) of the 2022 MotoGP season. Going into these races, the Moto3 championship was the ONLY one that had been decided. The promoters for this race dubbed it “The Decider”. A little corny, but still a tense weekend for Moto2 and MotoGP. We were fortunate to be able to get VIP Village passes, which meant a private grandstand on the front…
Barcelona: Architecture
Going beyond just Gaudi’s well known structures in Barcelona, I had lots of fun taking photos of all kinds of little (and big) architectural details and styles. Purely Gaudi There is SO much Gaudi influence in Barcelona that it can be overwhelming! This trip, we did not go to Parc Guell, although it is AMAZING, we have been the last two times in Barcelona. If it were our first trip, we would not have skipped it. A caveat about many…
Penedès: Cava
As a special experience this trip, we decided to venture out of the city to the region of Penedès – the heart of cava country. If you’ve never experienced Spanish cava – the Spanish version of sparkling wine – then you are missing out. Of the three types of sparkling wine, French champagne is the best known, followed by Italian prosecco, and least known is Spanish cava. In my (not so) humble opinion, my preference runs in the opposite direction…
Barcelona: FOOD
First a note: We have not EATEN at all of these places, some we couldn’t get in, some we just loved the look of the place, some had no gluten-free options. We could spend YEARS in Barcelona and not eat at all the great places. We do the best we can – thank goodness we are walking so much! We have been quite lucky (and diligent) in finding a LOT of celiac friendly restaurants. The EU makes it a priority…
On the road again 🎵
It feels like it has been a REALLY long time since the Basha and I have been off on a travel adventure just for fun. The pandemic really put the brakes on travel for (what felt like) a gabillion years! Here we are in late 2022, and we are off to Spain for a while. The start of the trip will be in Barcelona with my mama (heretofore known as “Madame”). Basha and I have been to Barcelona before, however…
Tourist Adventures in Guadalajara – pt. 1: Jose Clemente Orozco
I’ve been gone. Things have been happening. One was a trip to Guadalajara. This is Basha’s & my first adventure in Mexico outside of our new “home town”. Flights are inexpensive and easy. Our time in GDL was split between playing TOURIST with friends and shopping for FURNITURE at the International Furniture Expo. You can guess which was more fun! We stayed at a lovely little hotel in the historical centro called Hotel Mendoza. Our room looked out over a…
SJC and the BEST News
In all the hubbub about the house, we’ve realized that (1) it is a BIG house, and (2) it is only PARTIALLY furnished! Since nearly all of our worldly belongings were sold last year when we realized that we were Accidental Mexpats – that means that we have very little to bring into the house – and, LOL, for now it is all still “up North”. How do we solve this problem? We’ve looked around at furniture and appliance stores…
Closing the loop – FINALLY
The stress, work, decisions, etc. are finally behind us! Is it “all done” in the PNW? Absolutely not! We got WAY more accomplished than either of us thought was possible. We are in a WAY better position for the eventual “real move” to Mexico (not just the year-and-a-half-plus-and-counting accidental Mexpat experience). We pushed to both physical and mental exhaustion, and then ran for the border. The Basha did virtually ALL of the driving to get us to the border (and…