Vacation Alternatives

As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, I am going to Spain in November with two other friends. It is one of those "volunteer" holidays with some extra personal travel time added. We are going to be volunteer English conversationalists for six days!

Our Spanish "gig", organized by a company called Vaughan Town, will consist of a tapas reception on a Saturday night in Madrid and then an early bus ride the next day to our destination at Pedraza, a medieval town about an hour and a half outside of the city. The accommodation is a hotel located in a scenic area with lots of space to walk and sights to see. The hotel room is paid for, and our meals as well (which include red wine). The only "catch" is that we have to talk to Spanish business people, in English, for six days! Apparently there are lots of fun activities and of course interesting people to meet. I know it sounds a lot like work, especially if you've been a teacher all your life, but I believe it will be a nice vacation alternative.

Parking your butt on a sunny beach when there is two feet of snow back home is wonderful, and riding the "Hop-on-Hop-off " in a major city like New York or Singapore to take in the sights is great, but I've done that (a lot!) and it's time for something different. Making conversation for six days straight will mean that we'll have to be "up" and on our game. And we will likely be ready for some alone time at the end of it. But I'm anticipating that we will have met some pretty interesting people and gained some unique insights about life in Spain, the best places to visit, how to make the best Sangria and, who knows perhaps even establish some lasting relationships!

image of Pedazra from Wanderingeducators.com

 We have been planning this trip for a while. Although six days of our two weeks will be taken up with us pretending to have kissed the Blarney Stone, the rest of the time is ours. Our free time will be split between Madrid and Barcelona, taking in the sights and soaking up the Spanish culture. Since our accommodation is taken care of in Pedraza, it was up to us to find a place to hang our hats for the rest of the visit.

I have been very fortunate to be going with two ladies who have been excellent travel agents. They booked our "self catering" accommodation through Airbnb, an online agency where you can find apartments, rooms etc. for rent by their owners. The flats that they booked in both cities have two bedrooms, living space, kitchen etc. and even a washing machine! .... all the comforts of home (and probably even a place to hang our hats!) Keeping in mind that we haven't actually been there yet, I think it's going to be great (will give you the verdict when I get back).

So if your planning a trip it might be worth looking into "alternative accommodations" as opposed to a hotel, particularly if you are gong to be in one place for a while. Airbnb and Homeaway are two sights that are very popular ..... definitely worth checking out!

This is the living space in the apartment we booked in Madrid

So, needless to say I am looking forward to my "alternative" style vacation as well as our "alternative" accommodations. Now ... the important stuff ....... what to wear!