When Blonde and Brunette began to plan our home exchange trip to Spain we wanted to throw in a few extra destinations. Much consternation ensued as to how to get from place to place with one firm decision being that we would drive from Calella to Valencia. At least until we found out that sounded tedious. Then we switched to taking a high speed train - which we missed by two … [Read more...]
Archives for 2013
A home exchange and a flatulent turtle in Madrid
After 5 weeks in Spain Blonde and Brunette were fairly bedraggled. We'd had a wonderful time but had also had many frustrations, not every single one of which was our fault. Maybe. We had arranged to exchange Blonde's condo in Boston for both a condo in Spain on the lovely Costa Brava and a home, from the same family, in Madrid. We knew the home in Madrid was in the suburbs … [Read more...]
Places we’ve loved: Akureyri, Iceland
Blonde was fortunate enough to win a trip to Iceland courtesy of SadCars. Brunette has a highly uncooperative respiratory system that would clearly have gone on strike in the chilly climate of Iceland. Luckily we have a third "honorary" sister, "Pinky". (OK "Pinky" refers to {some of} her hair color. You should respectfully think of her as Nola of NewTake Travel but we … [Read more...]
Was government surveillance focused on Blonde and Brunette in Seville?
After two days of intensive sightseeing in Seville in withering heat we decided that we had seen the major sights and that was enough of that. It was time to find somewhere to swim! This was the first town in nearly 5 weeks of being in Spain where the swimming sisters did not have access to a pool or a beach. Brunette determined that the best course of action for our final day … [Read more...]
Our hot quickie in Cordoba, Spain!
One positive thing came out of the nearly 7 hours we spent in the Renfe train station in Barcelona trying to get someone, anyone, to know what to do with the discounted train passes we had purchased online before our trip. That one positive thing was that once we finally reached a manager, and rudely interrupted him planning a vacation for himself in Malta, he became very … [Read more...]
Places we’ve loved: Collioure, France
When Blonde and Brunette did our first home exchange we committed to a month in Calella Palafrugell in the Costa Brava (aka Catalan) region of Spain. We’d spent three weeks in the region the previous year so were looking for new places to explore this time. We were told that Collioure, France was a lovely coastal town less than two hours from our home base. It … [Read more...]
Conjuring in Calella
Last year Blonde and Brunette were in the Costa Brava region of Spain and kept intending to go to the Cap Roig Botanic Gardens but somehow never quite made it there. When we began to plan a return trip to the region this year the person with whom we were arranging a home exchange mentioned the annual music festival held at the gardens. Brunette began feverishly plotting an … [Read more...]
A few of the many reasons you should visit Iceland!
Reykjavik Iceland’s capitol city is a very manageable size, hustle and bustle free without being a slacker, and so honest that even if two women were stupid enough to leave their car doors locked but the back gate to their SUV unlocked for hours, allowing anyone instant access to the contents of a medium-sized electronics store with a respectable selection of women’s clothing … [Read more...]
Our one year anniversary of travel blogging
We began this blog barely a year ago. It was begun with no goal other than to see if people would enjoy reading about our travels, our frequently-inadvisable behavior and our humor. After more than 10 years of traveling as a sister duo Blonde and Brunette (thanks to Brunette) had a treasure trove of notes and what we thought was an endless supply of stories and photos. Blonde … [Read more...]
The Dubai Museum – a highly inaccurate recounting of the meaning of the dioramas
On a recentish trip to Dubai Blonde and Brunette made a determined effort to learn as much of the history of Dubai as we could, eagerly seeking out museums and historical artifacts. OK, that isn't true at all. We'd gone on a group tour (gasp!) which included a stop at the Dubai Museum. As the next stop for the day was a boat ride over to the souk we saw the museum as something … [Read more...]