Preparing for Spain/Morocco/Portugal

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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 Chinese, this was a serious undertaking, and reminded me that, if at all possible, being able to communicate while in a foreign country is essential.

That being said, I discussed my concerns with Rhiannon, and she has since decided on Spain/Portugal, because thanks to my old translating job for the US Navy, I am still fairly fluent in Spanish. She's also developed a keen interest in King Ferdinand & Queen Isabella. In addition to this, we've agreed that we'd have to do a day-trip down the southernmost point and cross over in to Africa, at Morocco. Hopefully we aren't too late for some protesting, or some random shouting.

Anyways....flash forward to today, and we have our plane tickets, passports, and an 8-day EurRail Select pass for the 2 of us. I've only booked one hotel room, for the 1st night in Madrid, and from there we plan just to float day to day from town to town, and settling down where we best see fit. My rough sketch has us arriving in Madrid, spending the night, a late afternoon train ride the next day to Barcelona, a day there, then basically following the coast of Spain down to the south, crossing over to Morocco for a few hours/half a day, and continuning around until we enter Portugal. We'd end our visit of Portugal in the capital of Lisbon, and then back to Madrid for our return flight to the states.

So, my hopes with this "travel-blog" (oh, geez, I'm so hip), is that I can record our adventures, and maybe share some pictures with a narrative, instead of just random pictures posted to Facebook. I'm hoping to be able to find free WiFi spots in most places where we stop, and to post pictures and details whenever possible. I think this will make a great memory book of sorts for Rhiannon as she gets older. Regardless, bring on the tapas, the dances, and the inevitable international incident that's sure to occur due to my comical attempt at speaking Spanish.

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