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Anyone that's used the subway system of any large city can tell you that it's probably the best way to get around. Why we don't have far more cities with subways, I'll never understand. We are staying another night at the Maydrit Hotel, here in Madrid, and while it's one of the nicest and cleanest hotels I've ever stayed in, it's not exactly in a prime location. It's perhaps only a kilometer from the airport, but there are no real sights of interest, or very many restaurants within walking distance. We discovered this last night while taking a walkabout after dinner. Consulting the little map I'd picked up at the tourism bureau at the airport, I realized that while we were technically in Madrid, we'd have to spend a small fortune in cab fare or waste ... read more

So, back in 2006, I took my oldest daughter, Zoë, who was 10 years old at the time, to England for 7-8 days. Problem was, I have 2 daughters, and my youngest daughter, Rhiannon, was only 5 years old at the time. Not only was she 5, but she was a VERY tempermental 5. I knew that there was no way physically nor emotionally that I could survive such a trip and remain sane. In order to keep things "fair", I made an agreement with Rhiannon that, upon turning 10, she could pick ANY place on the map and we'd go. Over the years, Rhiannon has picked all sorts of locations - Japan, Egypt, Austrailia, Russia, etc. Now, last year, I went hiking in REMOTE parts of China. Seeing as how I don't speak nor read ... read more