In part because traveling by train is just not something I do in the States and in part because it's far more comfortable than traveling by airplane, even if it does take longer, I prefer to travel by train. What's more, these days it costs roughly the same to travel by plane as it does by train, especially if you need to check a bag and if you take into account the cost of getting from whatever airport to your destination's city center, whereas the train usually drops you off right in the midst of things.
That said, there are some tricks to traveling by train in Spain. Here are a few I've learned.
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| Carly & Sione on a train |
Foreword
The key to buying a train ticket in Spain is patience and
persistence.
If patience and persistence are not your forte, I suggest you either
travel by airplane or travel with someone who does possess these
qualities and work out a deal with them where they do the ticket-buying
in exchange for dinner. Or perhaps a nice shoulder rub, since they'll
need it (and perhaps an aspirin) after navigating the system.
I should have pictures for you, but I don't. Which is to say: if I were reading someone's travel blog, I would want some photos, dammit, to break up the text. But I'm not much of a picture-taker. I'm more the type to want to experience a thing first-hand when I'm there rather than through the lens of a camera (she says as though one has to choose between being there & taking the photo).
Last weekend
Last Saturday, Jackie and I went downtown and met up with a couple of friends (Scott & Liz) at the Mill City Farmers Market, which seemed to be more about people selling prepared food and crafty things than about fresh produce, but that was okay by me. Three things to note here:
- People were moving at a slower pace. I did not get the impression that anyone was going to elbow me out of the way or that they were particularly mission-driven. The lady who accidentally shoulder-checked me didn't seem to notice, but it wasn't because she was moving quickly. People were out with their kids and dogs, sitting on the steps in the sun, drinking coffee & eating things from the food carts.
- The French toast comes with a sausage! No, seriously, you don't ask for it extra or anything. You just get this big ol' sausage on top of your little cardboard container of French toast! Wha?!?
- It's a zero-waste market. All the vendors have agreed to only use packaging that is either compostable or recyclable. So cool!
Anyway, it was fun. Milton got a lot of attention, of course, and I had a great time getting to know Scott and Liz.
Just to catch you up real quick: 1) I was in Bend from the end of January through April, and then 2) I spent a couple wonderful days in Portland, visiting friends (Oh, Portland friends, how I miss you!) and doing car-care stuff before I 3) spent three days driving to Minneapolis.
What am I doing here? When I began to consider a year of nomadery, one of the ideas that
occurred to me was that I could finally spend significant periods of
time with people whom I adore and don't get to see very much, like my
mom and my life partners, Jackie and Carly. So I'm in Minneapolis mainly
to see Jackie, who is from this area originally and has been living
here for the last few years, and whom I've missed dearly. A second
objective to being here is the same objective I have whenever I travel
to exotic places: to get a sense of the place, culture and people.
I arrived on Sunday the 4th, and my plan was to unpack, set up shop, and get back to work on Monday without missing a beat. HA!
Here are some of my adventures and learnings from my first week in Minneapolis.
Deep thought of the day:
If Maltese + Poodle = Malty-poo
Does Shih Tzu + Poodle = Shitty-poo?
If so, I'm going to get one just so I have an excuse to go around saying "Shitty-poo" to strangers.
"What kind of dog is that?"
"She's a Shitty-poo. Shitty-poos are generally very friendly, tolerant and independent. I highly recommend a Shitty-poo as a pet."
And now for the travel update. A few things have changed since my last post. Here's the new tentative itinerary:
Let's see. Quickly up to speed: I sold my condo, bought a ticket to Europe, and plan to spend this year house-hopping.
Ooh! *pats self on back* I think that's probably the quickest I've ever explained anything in my life! =*D
The plan:
January to April in Bend, OR
May in Minneapolis, MN
June 3-11 split between Bend & Portland
June 12-30 in Spain, traveling with/visiting friends
July in Paris (because I always wanted to)
August in Munich, doing an intensive German-language course
September to November in Portland
December back in Bend
This makes me happy.
