Just a Brief Post from the Left Coast

Greetings from sunny San Diego! So what if I moved here for the fictional character of Ron Burgandy.. of course I didn't. It was actually all for Brick. Anyway, almost one week ago, I left everything I knew for sun, warmth and the security of no job. Pretty much all three of these factors have remained constant for the past 6 days.

Had I planned and prepared, I would have driven cross country and had plenty of adventurous photos to share with you all. Unfortunately, planning isn't really my thing. Things either happen on a whim or just sort of fall into my lap.. I shouldn't jinx myself. I ended up flying. On a half empty JetBlue flight. I had an entire row to myself. We didn't have to wait at all for the plane to taxi. Smooth sailing.. fast forward 20 minutes into the flight. Enter Pilot.

"Hi Folks, Thank you for joining JetBlue on today's cross-country flight from Boston's Logan International Airport to San Diego's Charles Lindbergh Field. One of the sensors in the cabin is flashing signifying that one of our doors hasn't been securely fastened. I assure you this is an anomaly, but to be safe, we'll be returning to Logan".

I knew the other perks of the flight were too good to be true. We remained grounded at the gate, on the plane, for 1.5 hours only for the engineers to determine there was some ice on the sensor. All's well that ends well, I suppose. I'd ride JetBlue any day, so long as I knew I'd have an entire row to myself. Keep up the good work, JB!

In any case, for those of you semi-familiar with San Diego, I'm living in Pacific Beach by Mission Bay Park. It truly is amazing.. expensive, but amazing. Once I purchase a working camera, I'll be happy to upload photos of paradise. But for now, I'll leave you to dream as I jaunt off to meet some strangers (soon enough, they'll be friends) for a vast amount of adult beverages.

Happy Friday wherever you are!

Friggin' Freezing in Inishmore

Ahhhh! I've finally made it out of my New Years haze. What can I say. I'm older now, and my body is way less resilient - a five day ski weekend means two weeks of recovery. It definitely makes me yearn for the good ole days...my very first New Years abroad was spent in the glorious land of my relatives: Ireland. My friend Meriel and I had finagled an invitation to our friend Barry's parents' house in Galway. His family was extremely gracious and welcomed us with open arms - they had a gorgeous New Years Eve dinner in our honor, and then sent us on our way to enjoy the parties in downtown Galway. 

The start to a wondrous week, right? Uh, just one problem - us lasses were a mere 20 years old at the time, and had little knowledge of something called "restraint" when it came to the consumption of alcohol. You can fill in the blanks, but after 2 days, our hostess (Barry's mom) made the polite suggestion that an overnight visit to Inishmore (one of the Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland) might be a good idea.

Now, dear reader, I'm not sure if you've been to Ireland in January, but it is what I would define as cold. Now drop cold ten degrees, add a persistent sea breeze, and rain into the mix, and you've got a general weather report for the Aran Islands. Bottom line: it is only a winter tourist destination for people who are literally forced to go there.

We crossed Galway Bay in the dark, so I'm not sure what the view was like - I do remember feeling like we were getting tossed around in a dingy, and Barry vomiting in a barrel due to seasickness. However, I will say that once we landed we were able to find warm and cheap accommodations at the youth hostel a short walk from the pier. Hanging out at the adjoining pub for hours of drinking, conversation, and "Who Wants to be a British Millionaire" actually ended up being one of the most memorable nights of the trip. The isolation (with the exception of the few other buildings in town) was an amazing feeling.

The following day we were lucky enough, with a slight break in the weather, to rent bikes and cycle to Dun Aonghasa - ruins of a fortress dating back over 2,000 years. Not to mention an amazing view of the Atlantic Ocean. 

(Barry and I at Dun Aonghasa - Meriel WIMPED OUT!)

We survived the boat ride back that evening, and were rewarded with another couple days of pubs & pints.

Yes, I may moan about the weather, but all in all the Aran Islands are totally worth a visit!

Happy New Year!

This past week, I had the pleasure of spending New Year's with 16 of my very good friends on Long Lake in Bridgton, Maine. For those of you that are unfamiliar with this small lakes region town and for those of you that are fans of the infamous Stephen King, Bridgton is the scene of his horror novella, The Mist. Very briefly, "The Mist" tells the story of how the small town of Bridgton becomes enveloped by an unnatural mist that releases strange creatures which attack the human population.

As luck would have it, there was a light snow storm, but a thick fog hiding the lake on New Year's Eve Day. Fortunately, the house has huge windows which helped to makes these natural elements even more real. And even more fortunately, I was left alone in the house for about an hour after we had watched a couple of scary movies, while several of my friends went to go New Year's Eve shopping. And perhaps even most freaky, there was a strange man working on the hot water pump on the outside of the house. Needless to say, all of these elements combined inevitably led to twisted & gruesome thoughts in my head. I'm ok though - don't you worry.

Anyway, hope y'all had a Happy New Year!

Holiday Beachcombing

Merry Christmas from Nauset Lighthouse in Cape Cod, Massachusetts!

The tourists may be gone until Memorial Day weekend, but there are still plenty of beaches to walk on and lighthouses to see. Off season on Cape Cod t'aint really that bad. I retract my "Bah Humbug" from earlier in the week. My family and I spent the afternoon walking along the GORGEOUS National Shoreline, and driving past some of the "summer homes" in Chatham, MA. For a low-key holiday...this was perfect.

Galavanting TV's Upcoming Live Broadcast

Exciting news! The ladies behind Galavanting will be introducing a new project to the travel blog niche next week.

On Monday December 29th, Galavanting TV will be broadcasting a short program live from Colmar, France via broadband. The show will center around the Colmar Christmas Markets which run annually through December 31st.

What can you expect? Hot tips, local destination information, and live footage. Kim Mance will also be joined by Gary Vaynerchuck, host of Wine Library TV. Vaynerchuck will share his expertise on which wines to check out in the region of Alsace.

At the end of the program, viewers will have the opportunity to win a $25 giveaway of Hazel Mail custom postcards, so be sure to tune in!

Happy Holidays!

A Festivus for the Rest of Us

I get EXTREMELY restless this time of year. Over a month of shopping and listening to Christmas songs - it is enough to DRIVE ONE INSANE. The only times I have enjoyed Christmas is when I have been fortunate enough to wave goodbye to Santa Claus, Christmas lights, eggnog, mistletoe, caroling, Christmas trees, chimneys, stockings, hung, and care - okay, well maybe not the last two, but you get the point. Back in my college days the fam and our closest family friends spent one or two Christmas eves packing and Christmas day on a plane down to Key West, Florida. Which is a brilliant trip  that I would highly recommend, but a story for another day.

This year money is a little tight and "the mom" is planning a Christmas at home. So, the travel plans are a lot less tropical, and doing a lot less to get me away from the Santa Claus. This year the plan is to head up North for New Years Eve to a little place called Maine, for 5 days of skiing, sledding, Wu-Tang Clan-ing, and hot tubbing. 

I've never done anything quite like this for New Years, so I'll have to let you know how it goes. However, pulling together this type of trip really proved to be rather easy. You see there is this thing called the internet - ahh kidding - most ski areas have Ski & Stay packages that are semi-reasonable. Or, if you are willing to stay off the mountain sites like VaMoose.com,  VacationRentals.com, and VacationHomeRentals.com will provide pricing, descriptions, availability, and pictures for houses & cabins in the surrounding areas. There are definitely some great deals to be found.

Stay tuned for pics & tales. 

The Arab Baths of Granada

Sitting huddled around the heater with our vino tinto and Manchego cheese, wrapped in blankets for extra warmth – we hatched our escape plan. We were tired of being so cold! You’d think we were in Antarctica – and not the Costa del Sol.

The Costa del Sol in southern Spain supposedly has over 300 days of sunshine a year – not that it wasn’t sunny. It was just so cold that the town now appeared devoid of people virtually turning into a ghost town overnight. A local bar owner told us that it was just too cold - the Spanish were staying inside.

Our lovely beach weather from mere days before had taken a turn for the worse – plummeting from a pleasant nineteen degrees to a very chilly six. Unheard of for this part of the country, even at this time of the year!

My husband Curtis (of Flashpacking Life) and I had spent the last two weeks in Nerja with friends who were visiting from home. Just as they were leaving, my friend Athena arrived from California, leaving behind scorching temperatures and raging forest fires.

When the cold snap struck, the three of us couldn’t stop thinking about the Arab baths in Granada. We made it our mission to go soak in the hot baths and finally thaw ourselves out.

The Aljibe Banos Arabes must be booked in advance. Each session lasts for an hour and a half; if you pay an extra nine euros, you’ll also get a 15-minute aromatherapy massage. For the baths only, it will cost you 17 euros, so the full deal with massage is 26 euros (if you visit on a weekend or holiday, you’ll pay an extra two euros).

The sessions start every two hours beginning at 10:00 am, with the last session at 10:00 pm (they close at midnight). Towels and lockers are provided free of charge, as are water and the tastiest sweet mint tea ever.

We arrived in Granada hours ahead of our scheduled bath session so that we could wander the streets and enjoy a tasty lunch before our soak. Wandering around the Albayzin – the North African part of town - with its narrow cobbled streets, shops full of colorful clothing and intricate carvings, and the endless choice of restaurants sporting hookahs, we felt like we were in Morocco.

Slipping into one of the restaurants where the smell of incense wafted about, we took a seat at a table tucked into what felt like our own secret nook. We had to duck under the archway (well, not Athena, who’s about the size of a Smurf) to get to the beautifully inlaid table awash in candlelight.

We ordered a delicious pot of Chai tea and the lamb with couscous – which was absolutely to die for!
With full bellies we continued our wander – eventually stumbling upon the perfect spot for a breathtaking view of the Alhambra, with the snow-covered Sierra Nevada Mountains in the background.

And then it was bath time! The free map that I had picked up from a tourist info booth helped us navigate our way to the small street (which looks more like an alley) that houses the baths.

After changing into our swimsuits, we heaved open the heavy wood and iron door and entered a different world.

There are seven different pools: six of them ranging from warm to hot, with one cold plunge pool. The idea is to alternate between the cold and warm pools, never letting your body get overheated. The cold pool sits at the centre of the room, lit from below and backed with a beautifully tiled wall. Marble and tile reign here and the room is designed to provide some privacy in the nooks and crannies of various baths – some of which are hidden by arch ways or columns.

The number of guests per session is limited, which is great. There were eight people in total in the baths during ours, so we never even had to share a pool with anyone else. The atmosphere is tranquil, relaxing and romantic. If you speak, it’s in a hushed whisper.

We were all given a number upon arrival, and when it was time for the massages, the cute masseur wandered the baths, softly calling out a number in Spanish.

When my turn came, I was given a choice between a back/neck massage and a leg massage – so, of course, I chose the back. As I lay on my stomach on the massage table, the masseur untied the strings on my bikini and covered me with beautifully scented oil. Then his big strong hands worked their magic as I drifted deeper into the relaxation. The only thing keeping me from falling asleep was the occasional drip of cool water against my warm skin, the condensation from the ceiling.

Those fifteen minutes were over too quickly – but they were worth every penny. After a quick shower to wash off the oil, I slipped back into the baths as Curtis began his 15 minutes of fabulous pampering.

Twenty minutes later, a man in a white lab coat appeared. He looked very serious and important as he snaked his way through the baths. But then he pulled out a flashlight, flashing each pool of people with his blinking light several times.

We bathers looked at each other questioningly, barely suppressing giggles at this weird sight. After a moment of confusion, we guessed it must be the signal for the end of our session.

The flickering flashlight finished our time in the hammans but we left our newfound paradise of warmth and tranquility filled with a spiritual sense of ahhhhhhhh.

Lindsie and Curtis are traveling the world for a year - follow their adventure on Flashpacking Wife.