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

Chad

This girl was staring at me ... they OBVIOUSLY don't get many tourists here! Country Information:  15 million people live in Chad and the capital is N’Djamena. The primary languages are French and Arabic, though Chad is called the “Babel Tower of the world” because of...

Israel

Country Information: Israel, a country only half the size of Lake Michigan! The capital of Israel is Jerusalem. There are approximately 10 million people living here. The official languages of Israel are Hebrew, Arabic, and English. The majority of Israelis practice...

Monaco

Had a great dinner and time at the casino with the family in 2018 In 2018, my family and I took a Backroads bike trip pedaling from Provence in central/south France all the way to Cannes, on the coast. While in France staying in Cape Ferrat, we decided to hire a...