Spain

At Las Ramblas in Barcelona

I think I’ve been to Spain more than any other country in the world (excluding Mexico, Jamaica and the Bahamas, Costa Rica, where I used to work.)

I spent two summer studying Spanish in the coastal city of Malaga, and have traveled through out the country. One of the finest and funnest cities on the planet is Barcelona, known for its vibrant nightlife, food, and beaches. Adventurers would also enjoy Pamplona for the famous “Running of the Bulls” race celebrated as part of the San Fermin festival. I hope to run this race before I get too old!!!

The capital city of Spain is Madrid, which is fun to visit for a day or two. Many people fly into Madrid and then travel elsewhere in Spain. The official language of Spain is Castilian Spanish, but Catalan, Galician, Basque, and Aranese are all official languages in respective regions. The majority of the population practices Roman Catholicism.

One of my favorite cities in Spain is Granada, in southern Spain’s Andalusia region, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. It’s known for the Alhambra and medieval architecture dating to the Moorish occupation.

A fun fact about Spain is that there is a festival in Buñol, the East of Spain, called La Tomatina, a giant tomato throwing festival held at the end of every summer!

Bucket List … watching FC Barcelona
Family in the square in Madrid

Lebanon

Yep, Hesbollah controlled territory! At the famed cedar forest, two-thousand year old trees Lebanon in revolution in 2019 Lebanon in revolution in 2019 Country Information: The capital of Lebanon is Beirut. About 6 million people live here and the official language is...

Chile

Me with the Arancibia family, Hector, Paulita, Erika Valparaiso, Chile in 1981 During the summer of 1981, as a rising junior at Boca Raton High School, I applied to be an exchange student with American Field Service, or AFS. I was accepted into the program and...

Belize

Family in Ambergris Caye Tropical and rainy Belize! Loved our time vacationing in Ambergris Caye! Belize gained independence in 1981 and has a total population of roughly 350,000.  Belize is the only Central American nation where English is the official language....