It's Like We Know What We Are Doing

May 28-30, 2017 I knew I should have paid more attention to what we were doing in Panama.  I mean, I had a general idea of what was going down.  We were staying "in the jungle" for two nights and "at the beach" for four nights.  But I didn't actually take into account what staying "in the jungle" really meant. Before we arrived at the lodge, I updated my status on Facebook.  "I don't know where we're going, but everything will be ok as long as there's WiFi and a hair dryer."  Oh, I was so young back then. Adele found the Jungle Land Floating Resort on TripAdvisor one day.  It checked off all of the boxes.  Going into Panama for the first time, we didn't want to just stay in the city (or beach, as it turned out).  We wanted to see nature and animals.  We wanted to visit the jungle.  With a name like Jungle Land, it seemed like the best option. The cool thing about Jungle Land is that if you stay overnight, a...

September 9th, 2015 I really fought for this hotel.  I read an article in Conde Nast Traveler that talked about a boutique hotel with a working bakery in the lobby.   Hotel Praktik Bakery .  The price was within our budget (odd for CNT hotels).  And did I mention fresh baked bread in the lobby??  I saved the hotel on TripAdvisor.  And it was always the hotel I shifted back to when we were talking about Barcelona.  Adele kept finding others.  But I was adamant.  Fresh. Baked. Bread. Even the dog is excited for this place!! Imagine my disappointment when the joy of the fresh baked bread couldn't make up for the hotel itself. Now let me step back for a moment, the hotel was beautiful.  It was hip and shiny and new.  Crisp white lines everywhere.  The hotel was inviting.  Both the smell wafting from the lobby and the minimalist decor.  It wanted me to like everything. With bread and wine the way it goes (acc...

September 4th, 2015 The difference between our last hotel and our new hotel was striking. We unwillingly left the five star life behind as we drove to Haro.  The modern architecture and amenities of the Marques de Riscal were in our rearview mirror.  Our new location would be just a bit different. Enter the Hotel Los Augustinos . Los Augustinos is arguably the best hotel in Haro.  But let's be realistic.  There aren't a ton of hotels to choose from.  This building has had many incarnations since it was built in 1373. Yeah.  You read that right. 1373 is not just a number.  It's an actual year .  Knowing this has place has so much history kind of baffles my mind. So the building.  It started off as a convent, but in the centuries since, it has been a military garrison, a prison, and a hospital.  In 1989, the former convent became a hotel.  Or as the Los Augustinos likes to say, a four star hotel. Cool...

September 3rd, 2015 As we walked up the hill, we knew the Marques de Riscal was going to be a special hotel.  We don't stay in places like this.  It just doesn't happen.  I travel enough that hotels are a place to collapse into a heap at the end of the night.  I'd rather spend money on food and wine and experiences.  The hotels we choose needs to be just nice enough with just enough amenities.  After this hotel, my idea about hotel stays may have shifted a little. But first, we need to rewind a few years.  One day, Adele found a picture on Travel Channel's Facebook page and shared it to my wall.  The picture was of the Marques de Riscal , a completely random and beautiful hotel in a small town in Spain.  We both knew Spain was inevitable.  And most of the pictures we shared for Spain (or other destinations) were of things we had dreamed about, but would ultimately never consider.  This one though, this one was special. I ...