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

South Africa

I have been to South Africa twice, once in the 1996 (pic above) and again in 2016 (pics below). When visiting, travelers cannot miss out on a safari at Kruger National Park, a park about the same size as Israel! If you’re lucky, you’ll be able to see the Big 5:...

Andorra

Country Information: Andorra is a landlocked country, sandwiched between the French and Spanish borders. The country is a parliamentary democracy that is ruled as a co-principality by two princes—the French president and a Spanish Bishop. There roughly 86,000...