Ever wonder what it’s like to update a travel guidebook? After writing about last year’s Portugal research, I thought I’d do the same this year during a whirlwind 3 weeks through southern Spain. Compiled below are the brief, daily Facebook updates I posted while on the road. Let’s roll!
Read More »spain: guidebook research 2015
Although it seems less complicated than last year, in 2014 I’ll be busier & will put a lot more kilometers on some lucky pair of Adidas this year. Good thing I love my job(s)!
Read More »personal: 2014 schedule
First a little background…
Even as a child, I had a strong desire to travel. Interests in biology & chemistry pointed me to medical school… but that proved only to be a distraction in the long run. I remember wading through the foreign language section in Memphis libraries for albums in Russian (yeah, that long ago!), books in basic Hawaiian or whatever French material I could find. Yet at the age of 27, I’d only managed to go as far as the Bahamas, Canada & México. When my ex landed a job as Assistant Director for the University of Washington’s Spanish program in Cádiz, I was all for it. Finally an opportunity to go to Europe! The year was 1998, & I knew the experience would change my life.
Read More »cádiz: exorcising demons
Working with tour groups in Spain, the question of Catalan independence comes up frequently. I do my best to try to explain the issue as concisely & fairly as possible, but this topic truly challenges condensation. Here’s my take.
Read More »catalunya: cause for separation?
Next week I’ll be embarking on another intense work trip beginning with two solid weeks of guidebook research for Rick Steves. A few readers might think: “oooh, how exciting! what a glamorous job!” Fun moments will happen as always, but overall the schedule is so tight that there’s little room for glamour 🙂
Read More »guidebook research: typical day
I’ve been busy the past week attempting to confirm dates & purchasing flights. While I’ve made progress, arranging three months of travel is always insane. Hopefully I’ll have time to write about my experiences along the way, but the reality is that work comes first. If I disappear from the internet from May to July, know I’m alive & well. Here’s where I’ll be…
During 11 crazy years of working for Rick Steves my responsibilities included everything from guiding groups around Europe to updating & writing new content for their guidebooks. Over time, I even helped develop new tours. It was an incredible learning process & very interesting to see what worked & what didn’t. In many ways, the company & I grew together professionally.
Read More »business: what’s in a name
With Buenos Aires content almost finished, it’s time to expand. I could happily write about BA for the rest of my life, but Europe is calling. 2012 is all about Portugal with a bit of Spain too. Darío & I are off to Europe in a few weeks, & there’s no better moment than now to decide what to research & publish.
Read More »business: 2012 releases
With Spain currently deep in crisis mode & elections for President/Prime Minister coming up tomorrow, I sat back last night & thought about how things were so different when I lived in Cádiz in 1998-99. On a personal level, it was an emotional rollercoaster. I naively thought that my partner & I could salvage our relationship with a change of scenery. Silly me. My Spanish experience came to an end when we broke up, & I had to move back to Seattle. But what an amazing ten months.
Read More »personal: when i lived in spain