One Week in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Last time we made an oversea flight it was on a budget airline, so the fact that United fed us so well blew my mind.

When booking our flight, we chose the gluten-free meal options. The "special" meals were served first, so even though we were sitting pretty far back in the plane, we got our dinner first. Highly recommend ordering a "special" meal (kid's/vegetarian/etc/) for that fact alone.

Our plane from L.A. departed at around 9pm, pretty late even for East Coast standards. We then had a changeover at San Fran, so we didn't get on our big leg until about midnight. Babs fell asleep as soon as we were airborne, but they were serving food, so we woke her to eat. They then handed out ice cream and sandwiches for later, then we didn't see a stewardess again for the next 8 hours (bad for thirsty people who can't sleep).

We watched a few movies, then got as much sleep as one can while squished between a spread-eagle child and a large stranger.

Upon landing in Kuala Lumpur, we took the KLIA Ekspress, with direct service to KL Sentral, the central train/bus station. I suspect we could've taken the KLIA Transit, which makes a couple stops on the way to KL Sentral, for cheaper.

Exiting the train station into a blast of tropical heat while jetlagged wasn't the most pleasant thing I've ever experienced. But I specifically booked an Airbnb for the first 4 nights at a condo a short walk from the station.

We would later come to realize KL is not friendly for walking. Everyone rides motorcycles or takes Grabs (the Uber of SEA). Every condo we stayed at in KL had security guards at the door. This was a perfectly nice place, except that the surrounding 2 blocks were filled with rotting refuse, including the occasional flattened rat.

We were in Brickfields, right next to Little India, and the meal we had on the way to our Airbnb, hot, tired and confused, was one of the best Indian meals I'd had up to that point. Spicy as hell and once we took a good look around we were sure it was going to make us sick, but we'd later come to realize this was par for the course. The open-air kitchen, lack of utensils and napkins, and the handwashing station at the back.

For the first few days, we tried to go out and explore in the mornings. Waking up at 1:30am, waiting 6 hours for a breakfast joint to open, then getting tuckered out by 2pm. Afternoon naps, even though we always desperately wanted to, were a bad idea, as Babs would sleep through dinner and the cycle would repeat. We had to force ourselves to stay awake to get our bodies on the right time zone. It took 5 days or so for Babs, a bit longer for the adults, who are early-risers anyway.

We were blessed with some cloudy days our first week, which made exploring infinitely easier. Our trek about Chinatown concluded with us choosing the very shadiest back-alley noodle cart for some egg-noodle soup, thinking egg noodles were gluten free, which they aren't. Stomachaches resulted.

Side Note: This article has great info on what is/isn't gluten free in Malaysia.

The KLCC park by the Petronas towers was lovely, especially since we were there at 7:30a.m. before it got too hot.

Cities aren't our thing. In KL, shopping malls were the main attraction. Even one of our Grab drivers said there's not much to do here but shop and eat. Malls are a good way to escape the heat and no one seems to mind mall food.

We planned a trip to the Twin Towers Medical Centre in the Petronas Towers to get a Japanese Encephalitis shot, but the doctor we spoke to said it was unnecessary unless we were planning on hanging out in rural areas where there were pig farms. (JE is transmitted by mosquitoes who have had contact with pigs I guess??)

He pushed the malaria tablets pretty hard and told us we'd have to go to a different hospital (Gleneagles) to get the child dose. We fully intended to do so, but after some more research, we simply decided to use all the preventative measures and avoid high-risk areas.

The biggest culture shock for me was going into a bathroom stall at the mall and finding a toilet sunk into the floor. I call them squatty potties, and they're very common in Asia. If there's toilet paper at all, it's usually outside the stalls and doubles as paper towel to dry your hands. The "hose" located next to the toilet is a public bidet and I have never touched one, nor will I ever. I'm sure it's as hygenic as us Europeans sitting on the same toilet seat as innumerable other humans, but I just can't. Perhaps it's only the fear of the unknown.

Our favorite thing in KL was the Maha Vihara Buddhist Temple. We walked into the office to make sure we were allowed to walk around and the monks there said, "Yes, of course. Come in, have some breakfast." Unfortunately we had just eaten (at the sketchiest restaurant I've ever been to in my life (until a little bit later)). But we spoke with the monk, Hemaloka, for almost half an hour as he showed us around the place. It was a humble temple, but getting to chat with Hema, who is from Sri Lanka, and definitely invited us to stay with him there, was beyond lovely.

He asked us to share the pictures of us together with him, and had us add him to Whatsapp on the spot. He messaged us later to thank us and to invite us back (they were having a festival the next day bu unfortunately we had travel plans).

Our second location in KL was up in Batu Caves, the neighborhood, not to be confused with the actual tourist attraction. Once safely locked in our Airbnb condo, I cried in a corner of the kitchen until Mr. Go comforted me. The area looked like a slum, the building's hallways were dark and creepy and I'd failed to realize before booking that there was no wifi.

It turned out wonderfully. Everyone we met in the apartment building was super kind, smiling and saying hello to Babs (she makes us so much more approachable). That area doesn't see many white faces and we attracted a LOT of attention, but it was all curious and friendly. We ate at a few Chinese restaurants that were close by, the waitress would try to speak English with us then go back to the open kitchen and giggle with the rest of the staff. There was a rat scurrying around under the tables and a stray cat begging food off us.

Afternoon thunderstorms are common, and we always packed our rainjackets in our backpack.

The Batu Caves was neat to visit, but packed with Chinese tourists. With all the other Buddhist and Hindu temples in Malaysia, we decided we probably could have skipped that one.

To escape the heat and to keep Babs fully entertained, we took a bus (from the Gombak station) up to the Genting Highlands. From the Premium Outlets, you take a gondola the rest of the way up to essentially Malaysian Disney World (though it's on a smaller scale).

Filled with amusement parks of various kinds, it was a full-day adventure. All-day ride wristbands were 60 ringgits, or $15 USD. We were there when it opened at 10am and left in the early afternoon when lines for rides grew to a 45-minute wait.

You can step off the Gondola at the Chin Swee Caves Temple for free. This is tricky because if you're going down, getting back on the Gondola is dependent upon someone getting out of a car, and at 4pm when everyone is trying to get home that can take a while.

The drive down the mountain in our Grab was the scariest car ride I've ever had, and the only 1-star review we've left for our dozens of Grab drivers so far.

The food in Malaysia was very good, but every dish is based around rice. Nasi lemak is a dish every restaurant has and is a fried chicken chunk with rice, hot chili sauce on the side, peanuts, half a hard boiled egg and a handful of dried, salted sardines. It's a safe choice if you don't know what anything else is, but at the end of the week all I wanted was a plate full of fresh greens.

We got ourselves (via bus and Grab) near the airport, to catch an early flight to Thailand the next day. All I will say about that is: whatever you do, avoid the Night Queen Motel. It is unfit to shower in.

More on Thailand next.

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Traveling to Malaysia with Kids - Prep

This year, to make it a real challenge for ourselves, we decided to go to the other side of the world. My initial plan was Thailand, but the tourist visa process after 30 days can get a little complicated. So to avoid that completely, we decided to shift our focus a little further south. U.S. citizens can travel to Malaysia visa-free for up to 90 days.

We secured a house-sit for an expat couple in Chiang Mai, Thailand, for 9 days, so we'll get our jaunt up into Thailand for about 2 weeks before heading back to Malaysia.

More on House Sitting abroad Here.

Vaccines
The BIGGEST drag in prepping for this trip has been figuring out vaccination needs.

Yellow Fever is a concern if you're traveling from (or have 12+ hour layovers in) a country with associated risk, as of now that's parts of South America and Africa. So this wasn't a concern for us.

Typhoid: 1 injection or a 4-series oral, Typhoid will run anywhere from $70-$160 and that's not including the travel clinic's consultation fee. Many Walgreens carry this one and if they don't, many can order it and have it in next day for you.

Japanese Encephalitis: I'm so tired of saying this word. A 2-series, each shot costing between $241 and $322, the JE vax was about to run my family $1500. I called 5  clinics, made and cancelled a bunch of appointments and annoyed my family doctor with questions. Then Mr. Go had a brainstorm: What if we waited and got the JE vax when we GOT to Malaysia? It's bound to be cheaper, right? RIGHT!

The Twin Towers Medical Centre in Kuala Lumpur offers all the vaccines for a fraction of the price (170 MYR = $41 USD). I emailed them some questions and got prompt answers. No appointment is necessary, but if I Whatsapp message them before coming in, it can cut down on wait time. Also bonus: for reasons beyond my understanding, at the TTMC the JE vax is only 1 shot, not two. Babs was suuuuuuper happy about that. I'll post about that experience in a couple weeks!

We decided to get Typhoid in the states, because it's transmitted by improperly handled food and that's something we want to be ready for the moment we land. We figured we could wait on the JE vax, since JE is transmitted by mosquitoes and in the heart of KL they're not as big of an issue as the more rural areas. The skeeters that transmit JE bite at dark, so we'll employ more caution at dusk until the vaccine takes full effect (about 1 week after receipt).

But finding a clinic to give my 5-year-old a typhoid vax was easier said than done. Walgreens won't vaccinate kids under 7 and the oral typhoid vax is for kids 6 and older. The closest clinic was a 500-mile round trip overnight jaunt. The International Society for Travel Medicine has a directory of clinics, but a Google Maps search of "Travel Vaccine Clinic" will turn up some facilities not on the ISTM list.

Weather
Malaysia is pretty much right on the equator, meaning the temperature doesn't change much during the year. Highs will hover around the mid- to high-80s while lows plummet to about 70 Farenheit at night. Oh and being a peninsula on the ocean, it's super humid! That, combined with the cultural restrictions below, means things might get sweaty.

Culture
Malaysia is a fairly conservative culture. Metro areas like Kuala Lumpur have fewer implied restrictions, but if you don't want to get stared at in rural areas, women should cover their knees and shoulders. Especially in religious temples.

I plan on bringing a scarf to cover my shoulders and leggings to go under my dress and shorts. Time will tell if that will be enough, but it will be easy to buy clothes, especially in the 32-million-population Kuala Lumpur, once I poke around and figure out from the locals what's appropriate.

Packing
I'm in the process of making a spreadsheet, but this blog post has been super helpful and informative. There are plenty of things I'll be waiting to buy until we get there, which is both freeing and stressful. I do like having everything I might possibly need at my fingertips at any given moment, but when restricted to 2 bags, that's not possible.

20 days until we leave from LA on this new adventure!! 😬


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Top 6 Essentials for Travel to Europe

Reflecting on 2.5 months abroad, we're coming to realize what things were absolutely essential, what were not, and what we wished we'd brought. In no particular order...

1. Rain jackets
Lightweight, easy to carry in a backpack and doubled as a sweater on windy days.

November through January in Southern Spain can get nippy, especially at elevation. But you don't want to carry a bulky jacket or big sweater. Layering is key. A mid-weight sweater and a rain jacket to block the wind was the perfect combo.

The stylish jackets you see the Go adults sporting are the Marmot Precip.

2. Travel towels
For the times when your Airbnb is a little stingy with the bath linens. Our REI travel towels would have been great to have in the backpack on rainy days or on days when our wanderings brought us to the beach.

3. Travel car seat
We forgot ours at home, so we bought one in Chicago and then never used it. But if you might take a taxi or rent a car, save on the carseat rental fee and get a MiFold. It's small enough to carry around in your backpack when you go out exploring.

4. Outlet converter
Your chargers aren't going to work in European outlets. This adapter doubled as our charging block for phones, laptops and kindles, as it had two USB ports.

5. Portable battery charger
If you have an iPhone with good battery life, you'll probably be fine, but our crappy old phones lose battery life within 8 hours when you're constantly on GoogleMaps and TripAdvisor. I can't tell you how many times this Anker portable battery saved our skin.

6. Hardcover Notebook and Pen
Specifically for the 4-year-old child being toted around to historically significant that were not interesting to her. We had no space to bring toys, except one or two small dolls that she eventually grew bored of.

This 1,50 euro hardcover notebook, together with 2 euros in writing utensils, were her constant companions. She was able to create, to play open-ended games quietly by herself on planes, trains, at busy restaurants, and on rainy or sick days when we were cooped up.

We called it her Travel Journal. I was so proud to see her happily scribbling away, asking me how to spell words or to play tic-tac-toe. It was all she needed to entertain herself for 2.5 months and we carried it absolutely everywhere with us. Every child is different, but some sort of open-ended creative toy is highly recommended.


Any other vagabonding essentials I missed?


*Disclaimer: this post contains affiliate links. You don't pay any extra, but I get a kickback for purchases made via some of these links. That's why I only recommend products we truly love!*

Best Travel Skin Care Products

You don't want to bring your 5 oz. bottle of facewash when you're traveling. First of all, there's no space. Secondly, when flying, you don't want to check a bag if you don't have to. So how do you keep your skin clear for all those vacation photos?

These three skin care products are perfect for traveling:

I label this as "Travel Skin Care Products" but I use these at home too, because it's easy and fast. I'm a mom, I don't have time for clay masks and cucumber eyes.

Everyone's skin is different. Honestly, everyone's skin is different on different days. The monthly changes in hormone cycles and lifelong changes make it difficult to find one skincare routine that works.

Real Talk: I have supremely oily skin. In the morning my face is so shiny you could see your reflection on my forehead. My acne was never really bad, but I always had at least one big zit on my face. And not the fairly benign surface-level whitehead, oh no. The deep, painful boil type that emerged from my face like a volcano. If your skin is similar, this may work for you too.

These Yes facial wipes have 1% salicylic acid, a good chemical for combating acne. It also removes makeup pretty effectively. (I use a different wipe for mascara and save these wipes for my T-zone).

They are perfect for travel (especially camping and van living) when access to water for face washing is spotty or inconvenient.

After washing your face with your preferred method, if you live in a dry climate you'll want to moisturize. But what lotion can moisturize without adding oil, plus give you a boost in fighting acne?

Enter Neutrogena Rapid Clear Lotion:

With 2% salicylic acid as the active ingredient and no oil to weigh down your skin. Plus it comes in a conveniently travel-sized 1.7 fluid ounce bottle.

To skimp and make the small bottle last, only use it on your problem areas and use a different lotion (I like Gold Bond) for areas not prone to acne.

But arguably the best product for saving my face has been this Neutrogena Light Wand:

Yeah I definitely brought it to Spain with me for 2 1/2 months. And I used it, too. It's small enough to fit in my cosmetic bag and is powered by one AAA battery.

You have to catch pimples early for this to work, though. Once it develops a head it's too late for you and may god have mercy on your soul. As soon as you feel that tenderness under your skin, zap it with this bad boy.

It blasts light under the skin to kill bacteria, stopping the zit before it blows up. It's important to wait for the entire 2-minute light cycle to finish. Use it on a clean, lotion-free skin for best results.


There you go! Small products that are effective, convenient and good for travel. Happy trails!

Flying Home Via Madrid

After a few days in Seville, we headed onward to Madrid, the last leg of our journey.

I'd checked on train tickets from Seville to Madrid and saw the number 74. Assuming it meant 74 euros total for 3 travelers (since that's the way Alsa's website works), I thought it was a done deal. But nay, Renfe shows you prices per individual ticket rather than the total. So booking passage to Madrid became a little more difficult.

Instead of a 4 hour, 200 euro/passenger train ride, we opted to spend half that for a 7 hour bus ride (via carrier Socibus). Mr. Go likes buses better anyway, something about a better scenic view than trains. Given my tendency toward motion sickness, I was not looking forward to it.

We downloaded shows on our phones to keep Babs entertained, made sure we had puke bags handy and set off.

ProTip: Much of the time, bus routes, especially between smaller destinations, are not listed online. Save grief and money by going to the bus station beforehand to scope out the destinations and timetables. 

I stocked up on some snacks prior, because I had no idea how many times the bus was going to stop. I'm glad I did. We had one 15-minute stop about halfway through the trip, at a roadside gas station.

Babs felt sick for a little while, so I held her head over the plastic bag. Luckily no vomit, but she fell asleep with her forehead sagging against my palm.

She'd been snoozing on my lap for about 10 minutes when our bus was stopped and searched by the Guardia Civil. I knew I was completely innocent, but my heart started thumping anyway when the golden retriever came on board to sniff everyone. Two passengers had to deboard for a search. After a quick search of the luggage under the bus, we were released.

We stopped in Madrid, just a few kilometers from our airport destination, so the bus could top off on some oil, I think. A Spanish girl translated for us, but we were not convinced she knew what she was talking about. We loitered in the bus station for 20 minutes until the bus returned and brought us to the airport, where we called the SHS Hotel Aeropuerto shuttle.

We'd been using Airbnb this whole time. This was our first actual hotel since the States. Aside from the outrageous restaurant prices, it was lovely. Crisp sheets, an unending flow of hot water and good wifi.

Madrid has great public transportation, and between the hotel shuttle, the train and the green bus (with a stop directly outside our hotel), we were able to make the 7km jaunt from our hotel to city center for the next two days.

We didn't do a whole lot of exploring in Madrid. We were Over It, and cities aren't our favorite anyway. Madrid didn't even seem to have an old town proper. The Plaza Mayor and Puerta del Sol that are touted as the 'center' of the city were simply large plazas surrounded by shops. We didn't see any of the narrow cobblestone lanes that marked our other Old Towns.

Madrid felt like New York City to me. As we were making our way to the Puerta del Sol to check it out, I looked down the major pedestrian streets to find a sea of people. It made me shudder. We didn't spend much time there.

Instead we walked through El Retiro, one of the city's big parks. Mr. Go wanted to take a boat on the lake, but when we reached it we realized the lake was no more than a large pool. So we walked around it, then headed off for sushi.

Sibuya Urban Sushi Bar was phenomenal. As a large city with something for everyone, we found plenty of gluten-free options. Celioso was an exclusive gluten-free bakery with cupcakes, cakes, breads and cookies. Not all-star caliber, but we were tickled to sit down for coffee and cake just like Spaniards.

The next day, we managed to slip in just ahead of the lunch rush at the #1 rated restaurant in Madrid Los Montes de Galicia. With entrees starting at 20 euros, it was one of the pricier meals, but still cheaper than some mediocre meals in Denver, plus it was absolutely delicious. They served us two free tapas plates, plus a free dessert for Babs, who, as per usual, charmed all the wait staff.

We were so clever to book our flight to Spain in the evening, so our bodies could sleep on the long 9-hour leg. For some reason we neglected to do the same on the return journey. Our flight back to the states left at 8am (via Wow & Norwegian Air) which meant taking the airport shuttle at 5am.

With the sunlight streaming in through the plane windows, it was nearly impossible for Babs to snooze. We cajoled her into a 20-minute nap but for the remaining 8 hours and 40 minutes, she was wide awake.

We watched a movie, we listened to a book, we had snacks out of my backpack, she colored a little, took seventeen trips to the bathroom. She was a wreck by the end, tired but wired from a day of inactivity.

We landed in Chicago at 3pm, (10pm Spanish time). Then we proceeded to stand in the customs line for an hour. Due to the government shutdown, there were very few staff working and it was chaos. Finally we got our bag, got our rental car and drove an hour and a half to a Motel 6 in Saukville, WI.

It was 6:30pm (1:30am Spanish time) so we picked up a pizza from the Domino's next to the hotel. Babs couldn't stay awake long enough to eat it, so we saved her slice for her breakfast. (At 2am when we all woke up.)

At a 24-hour Subway we realized we could have basically an omelet by piling veggies on their egg patties. We puttered around at 24-hour Walmarts and Meijer (Babs needed snowboots) until it was time to return the car to the Green Bay airport and meet my in-laws, who would deliver us home.

The feeling of walking into my house was beyond lovely. I thought my house was small before, but after living in European apartments for months, our place seemed enormous. It was clean and spacious and smelled like home.

Not even the 2 feet of icy snow could spoil my happiness at being home. Re-integrating into U.S. society was easy. I appreciate the dependability so much more. And the ease of everything! To be able to call or go somewhere and explain what I need and to understand instructions.

I feel like I'm still processing everything. The ways in which we stretched the limits of our capabilities will have lasting effects in every area of our lives. The experiences and lessons we learned will continue to affect us as we reintegrate ourselves into our lives, as does any stint of extended travel.

We've already had a few conversations about what adventures 2019 will bring us, but for right now, we are thoroughly enjoying home.

Arcos de la Frontera & Going to the Hospital in Foreign Country

Our second house sit of the trip brought us to Arcos de la Frontera for 10 days. (More on becoming a house sitter in this post.) Mr. Go and our friend had their own Airbnb for the first two days while Babs and I cared for three lovely cats.

It took me another day and a half to recover from my food poisoning while Mr. Go and our friend explored Arcos, which is really quite tiny. The charming whitewashed old town, with its castle and church high on the hill, was rife with shops and restaurants.

The narrow lanes climbing up the high hill were a struggle for automotive traffic. If a truck had to stop to make a delivery, all the vehicles behind just had to wait. And pedestrians had to find a doorway to hop into when a car went by or else be nicked by the side mirror.

Our apartment was incredibly comfortable. We had a clothes dryer for the first time in two months and relished the efficiency of not waiting for the stuff on the rack to dry in the sun. The homeowners were an American & a British former American and very much our kind of people. She left games and markers out for Babs and upon her return, brought a gift from Barcelona for her!

There was a playground directly outside our front door that was always filled with kids. Annoying on New Year's Eve when they were tossing firecrackers at our windows, but otherwise fun for Babs to walk outside and have kids to play with. One girl with whom she played several times saw us on the sidewalk one day and greeted Babs with a hug just like they were old friends.

The cats were indoor/outdoor, but still somehow felt clean. As clean as a cat can be, anyway. It was a breeze to care for them. I never realized how lovely it is to have the warm weight and gentle vibration of its purrs on your lap (or chest, or hip). The oldest cat was a snuggler and slept in bed with Mr. Go, while Babs and I cuddled in the other guest room.

In the coming week we would discover several lovely hiking trails around Arcos, some that led to the lake and others wrapping along the river and around the castle.

But after two days in Arcos, our friend left for home and Mr. Go joined us at the apartment, tired and wrecked. As I was putting breakfast on the table, Babs headed upstairs to wash her hands, caught her toe on the first step and BAM, started screaming.

Her parents frantically rushed to her. All teeth were intact. There was no blood. That was good. I scooped her up and a second later, the blood came in big red drips. Mr. Go removed the paper towel after a moment to inspect then looked at me, face sheet-white, "We have to go to the hospital."

I had been dreading this situation, but knew it was all but inevitable. With three people on such an extended stay the odds were someone was going to need medical attention. I was just glad there was nothing broken.

Luckily, Mr. Go's Airbnb host had given our friend the phone number of her taxi driver friend, who'd driven him back to Jerez that morning. I called him and managed, in Spanish and a panic, to arrange a pickup.

Google told me there were two hospitals in Arcos, but it was a Saturday, and hours of operation on weekends were spotty. Our taxi driver, Juan Luis, bless him eternally, knew where to take us.

We checked in at the window and were pointed down the hall. I had a child who needed stitches, so when I saw an open door and a nurse in the room, I went in, I didn't care that she was still waiting on a patient. My typically hesitant Spanish was forced out of me by a million years of maternal instinct.

"Mi hija necesita puntos."

She pointed across the hall to the waiting room we hadn't noticed before. But before we sheepishly sat down, she removed the paper towel from Babs' chin to take a look, probably thinking these silly Americans were overreacting. But her eyebrows shot up and she nodded at me. Yep, stitches for sure.

There were two or three people waiting, and two or three nurses on duty. We were seen within 10 minutes. I was instructed to lay on the bed and hold Babs on my chest, pinning her arms down. Mr. Go was to hold her legs. One nurse held her head while another did the stitches.

To her credit, my daughter was so brave. She cried for a few minutes after the injury, but not a tear after that. Not even when they gave her two shots of anesthetic in the chin. She wound up with three stitches.

A doctor did a brief exam of her chin and jaw to check for anything broken. She spoke about a dozen words of English and not very confidently. We were to come back in 7-10 days to have the stitches removed. We asked what questions we could and thought we sort of understood the instructions. But when Juan Luis dropped us back off at home, we scheduled a consultation with our dear Doctor Friend in Colorado. DF told us the stitches looked well done and gave us the run down.

"It's really hard to mess up the aftercare for stitches," she told me, sensing our panic through the video screen. Nothing could have eased my worry any better.

DF recommended leaving the stitches in for 3-5 days, so we split the difference and on day 6, went to the other hospital in town, as it was closer to our apartment. But the nurse told us the stitches weren't ready to come out. So we tried again the next day, at the hospital we received the stitches.

Luckily, our previous doctor was there. I'm pretty sure she let us cut the line of 5 or so patients. We slipped in and within five minutes were out again.

Mr. Go had purchased us Arch RoamRight travel insurance before our trip and the hospital took that info on our first visit. I'll update this post if/when the bill comes in the mail.

We took it easy after the injury. Probably too easy. We made Babs drink her meals through a straw for several days, worried about her jaw and spills down her chin.

Arcos was very comfortable. If there hadn't been an injury we'd have been going out way more often to explore. We liked the small-town feel, the beautiful scenery and the charming old town.

But we were getting kind of tired. We'd been exploring Spain for over two months. Always thinking about what we should do next, where to go and how to be prepared and safe. Entertaining Babs and ourselves, struggling to communicate, to keep putting ourselves out there even when it was uncomfortable, because otherwise what's the point?

Taking a slice out of our normal routine to live in a different country has not been easy. It has been beautiful, delicious and fun. Navigating medical issues in a foreign country (various infections, bloody noses and stitches) were some of the more challenging moments, but challenges of all sizes came daily.

I was ready for a rest. To let my brain rest by falling back into the comforts of the known, of an old routine. I needed a break from exploring. I'll be ready for more before too long, but we were counting the days to our flight back home.

We just had a few more days to spend in Seville and Madrid first.

Get Free Lodging Internationally: House and Pet Sitting

When in need of a pet-sitter in the past, we've used Mindmyhouse.com with great success (this post), but as potential home- and pet-sitters, we went with TrustedHouseSitters.com, for the sheer volume of available pet sits. The fee is a bit steep at $120/year, but having scored 17 nights of free lodging so far, it's already paid for itself.

This article has a good breakdown of the different house-sitting websites out there and even some coupon codes for discounts. On TrustedHouseSitters, you can sign up for a Home Sitter or Homeowner membership separately, or combine the two for an extra fee.

The competition can be stiff, so make sure your profile is as complete as possible to make homeowners feel comfortable with you. We even added a video to introduce ourselves. I applied for 7 house sits, each of which had up to 10 other applicants. We were chosen for two sits, would have gotten three but the travel dates didn't end up working out.

Our first house sit was located in the tiny (pop. 1200) cave town of Galera.

We got some lovely mountain scenery on our walks with the dogs. Galera doesn't have much to distinguish itself, other than the Tutugi and Castellon Alto sites, where artifacts (and even 3000+ year old mummified human remains) from ancient settlements were found. The Galera museum houses the mummy and you can visit for 2,50 euro.

There's a little copse of English and English-speakers in Galera. Our Scottish neighbor acted as our homeowner's assist, bringing us pellets for the stove and other supplies. He has three dogs of his own and would sometimes join us on walks. In fact, the whole neighborhood was littered with cats, dogs and at least one chicken that we could see.

The cave in which we resided was small but cozy. It had all the modern amenities you'd expect, just carved out of the side of a mountain instead of built with bricks or wood.

Lucky for me, Mr. Go is an early riser, and so was tasked with feeding Meg, the 13-year-old dachshund. Each morning he did acrobatics in his efforts to clean up her overnight accidents before she stepped in them as she tried to remind him from under his feet that she was hungry, while also feeding her quickly to quiet her frantic whines before she woke Babs. For as slow as she moved the rest of the day, for 10 minutes around feeding times, she was as sprightly as a pup.

After everyone had breakfast, we took our morning stroll with the three other dogs (Meg took a nap after the morning excitement), and sometimes the cats tagged along too. Of the remaining three dogs, Bobblehead had hydrocephalus and was unable to walk on her own, Benji probably had fleas and Pippin was a bully with an underbite. (She was our favorite, though.)

We love dogs of all shapes, sizes and special needs. And these dogs were quirky and charming and we will talk fondly of them for a long time. But between poor old Meg's incontinence and handling Bobblehead, who inevitably lies in a little bit of pee until I can get her puppy pads changed and bathe her, I had a hard time getting myself to feel clean, and that wore on me by the end of the week.

Bob's hydrocephalus also means she needs you to hold her head into her bowls to eat and drink, and needs to be carried in a sling for walks, which we never begrudged. (The sling was pretty fun.) But I did learn through experience to put a puppy pad in the sling for when she needs to wee during a walk.

The two cats were self-sufficient in the way cats are. One was MIA for the first 36 hours we were there. I haven't cared for a cat in my adult life, and had to remember to clear all the food off the counter if the cats were in the house, lest someone help themselves.

The homeowner was super nice (she even gave us a lift from the next town over) and really appreciated the daily updates I sent her, complete with pictures of her menagerie. She left a box of Christmas decorations out for Babs to put up around the cave, which helped us to feel festive on our unorthodox holiday.

The owner had warned us to be vigilant for fleas and on our last few days in the cave, flea bites started showing up on Babs' arms. The homeowner had another week out of town, so we were to hand off the cave and crew to the next home sitter and give her all the complex instructions. However, she was late and we had to split to catch our bus, so the owner's sister stepped in to meet the next gal, though I did give her a call after we were settled in Seville to give her a few key pointers (mainly, to put a pad in the sling).

The seven days we spent in The Cave were challenging in some ways and undoubtedly memorable. Each dog was lovable and I appreciated them all. We had missed snuggling with warm, furry pups. Though I tease that our own is a nuisance, it made me miss my Flotsam.

After the house sit has been completed, you have to request a review from the homeowner via TrustedHouseSitters.com. The homeowner also has to request a review from the sitter, which is a flaw in my opinion. It allows both sides to potentially hide bad experiences from prospective house-sits.

But we got a stellar 5-star review to add to our profile. Here's hoping it will inspire confidence in homeowners to choose us for future house sits wherever in the world we go.

Granada, Spain

Granada was one of the major landmarks of our journey. Friends who'd visited the previous year said it was a must-see, and every Spaniard we told we were heading Granada-direction kissed their fingertips and said, "Bueno."

For the first two days, we stayed 2km south of the city center. We walked around, played on parks and ate good food. We were in the neighborhood called Zaidin and it was a clean, nice area, and walking up into the city was easy.

Then we moved for the next 4 nights up smack dab in city center, just across the river from the Alhambra.

The Alhambra is the major draw of Granada.

The fortress was built in the 9th century, but King Fancy Pants Muhammad Ibn al-Ahmar fixed it up to his standards and moved his residence there in the year of our lord 1238. The Kings of the Nazari dynasty continued adding to the compound until 1492, when Ferdinand and Isabella, Christian monarchs of Spain, conquered the Alhambra and transformation of the palace for the Christian Kings began.

You could spend all day wandering the grounds of the Alhambra, Alcazar, Generalife and the gardens. (Bring snacks or you'll be eating out of vending machines.) We didn't even get over to the Generalife, and we spent several hours there. If you want entrance into the Nasrid Palaces (the truly spectacular architecture-- like lace carved into stone), you pay 14 euro per ticket and you have a specific time of entrance.

Book online ahead of time if you're visiting on the weekend or during peak tourist months. For us, on a weekday in early December, we were fine buying our tickets on site.

Note: it takes about 15 minutes to walk to the palaces from the main entrance, so keep that in mind when booking.

We walked up to the Alhambra via the path that starts at Cuesta del Rey Chico, just on the other side of the river from our Airbnb and highly recommend it for its quiet charm. The other walk up to the site, via Cuesta de Gomerez, is more populated, though it takes you through the Puerta de Granada and along a lane populated by shops and old buildings, which is cool too.

The history of the entire central Granada area is gorgeous. Tiny cobblestone lanes where cars share space with the dominant pedestrian traffic, looming churches and incredible architecture. Perhaps unfortunately, that history is what makes the area a bustling tourist destination. We heard more tourists speaking English here than anywhere else we've traveled. The narrow lanes were clustered with tour groups and lost tourists clutching their maps, cameras and cellphones.

Our Airbnb listing led me to believe we were staying in a room in a cute couple's home, but alas, it was a hostal. The building was lovely, a historic building actually protected by law from renovations. Our private space was a room, most of which was taken up by the double bed. The bathroom and kitchenette were shared spaces, accessed across the open-air patio (a bit of a chilly dozen steps in December).

The view of the Alhambra from our window was lovely, though:

Then my poor daughter had a UTI. She had a fever and had to pee every 15 minutes. Every time her fever went down we thought we were in the clear and drug her out for a day of walking around, enjoying the history. By the afternoon, she'd be glassy-eyed and sleeping on her dad's shoulder.

We plied her with orange juice (cranberries have no special powers against UTIs) and any liquids we could get her to drink to flush the bacteria out. Liquid Tylenol to keep her fever down (in Spain acetamenophine is called paracetamol) and in three or four days she was alright.

While we appreciated the history of the Alhambra, our favorite things to do in Granada were a bit more humble. There's an archaeological museum (free), on Carrera del Darro that doesn't show up on Google Maps, but it was pleasant and interesting.

By the Granada Cathedral is the Centro de Arte de Jose Guerrero, a modern art exhibit that is also free and a lovely stop for warming up on chilly December days and taking a break from the bustling traffic.

The UTI, the cramped conditions in the surprise hostal and the commercialized feel of the main city areas (and the horrific 6E haircut I got at the hairdressing school) dampened our stay in Granada somewhat. But we had an excellent time and it was undoubtedly spectacular. Though by the end of our six nights in and around the city, we were excited for our next destination: the 1,200-person town of Galera, pet-sitting in a cave-dwelling.

More on THAT adventure in the next post. Hasta luego.

Three Days in Baza, Spain

Before you get it into your head that it's pronounced Buhzah, it's actually Bah-tha.

We arrived in Baza on a bank holiday. They seem to have a lot of those around here, and sometimes even Spaniards are surprised by them.

Our Airbnb was 2km north of the city, so we grabbed some groceries at the only 'grocery store' that was open on a holiday, an alimentación (aka a 'chino', as the Spanish call them). Most alimentacións stock the bare-bones essentials and candy, but this one even had 'fresh' vegetables, though it was a sad collage of cabbage, onions, carrots and potatoes.

Our Airbnb host was kind enough to give us a lift home for our first day. This Airbnb was a cortijo, basically a farmhouse, on 13 hectares (1 hectare = 2.5 acres) of olive and almond trees.

This English family's ranch included an 8-year-old daughter, chickens, a turkey, a duck, a donkey, three dogs, at least one cat that I could see, and also their friend's horse. It. Was. Amazing. Our apartment, adjoining their 200-year-old farmhouse, had a woodstove and that charming ranch house feel with its stucco walls and wood beam ceiling.

We sat on the patio in the sun and had coffee with our hosts in the morning, then after our excursions in the town, had a beer with them in the evenings before dinner.

On recommendation from our hosts, we went to restaurante Kaliskka, worth a 5-star Google review and a paragraph here. The menu del dia (13,50/person) included two plates for each of us, a drink and a dessert, and absolutely everything was good. Though they don't bake it themselves, they had gluten free bread to give us, and were kind enough to make one of my dishes with rice instead of noodles.

We didn't aggressively explore Baza, simply because hanging out at the cortijo was so much fun (Babs spent our last evening watching T.V. and playing Spanish twister in her new friend's room), but we did stumble upon a fiesta in the central plaza with dancing and free food.

The Wednesday market is held over by the old train station, and its many stalls offered candy, cheese, cured meats and lots of clothing, not that we bought anything. Baza was cute, it has some historic points of interest, like the Arabic baths, which we never did make it to, and of course all the churches and plazas. But you can get that history in many other little Spanish towns. No, the best part about Baza was our Airbnb experience on the cortijo because it was so different from anything we'd done up to that point.

Babs was not afraid of the horse, so much so that she didn't get out of its way and when it knocked her over got a bloody nose. Nose not broken, but now she snores, should I be worried?!

She was over the moon to have met a dog small enough that she could carry in her arms and toted this poor, patient dog around all over the place.

Since we toy with the idea of being ranchers ourselves, we were giddy to stay on a farm with an actual donkey and pick our hosts's brains. Mr. Go tried to go to work for them, but an ice storm had ravaged the olive trees weeks ago, and they'd decided to delay the harvest.

While walking the 2km into town, we saw the harvest of surrounding huertas (orchards) in progress. An 'ancient method' as described by our host: you beat the tree with a stick and the olives fall off.

Charming.

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Little People International Nursery, Albir, Valencia, Spain

Babs attended preschool at Little People International in Spain for the month of November. Mr. Go and I were more apprehensive about it than the child was. Would she be able to understand the other kids? Would she fit in and have fun?? Communication between myself and the director of the school hadn't been real great, but, as per the norm, we needn't have worried.

The school was great. Turns out it was a good thing the director didn't let me pre-pay, because the "registration fee" that the application spoke of, simply didn't occur. And--after living two days in Albir, we realized we didn't want to stay put in one town for the full 2 months, and paid only for 1 month. A whole 410 euro (390/month plus 20 euro supply fee= $465 USD).

The school is located on a nice, quiet side street with a locked front gate. There are three classrooms, one for infants, one for 3 years and up, and one for older children (10ish years old). The kids all get to eat together and play outside together, and according to the director, the middle class kids love to babysit the infants. It was all very cozy and familiar inside.

The majority of the kids are international, from Norway and the Netherlands, but there were several Spanish kids whose families lived in the area. The school focuses on bilingual education, helping the kids all learn Spanish. And all of the teachers also spoke English.

We felt welcomed immediately. Snacks and lunch were provided. They have food catered in, and Babs' teacher also eats gluten-free, so there were no problems there.

We chose this school because it had a website and we were able to communicate with them (sort of) before we arrived in Spain and ensure Babs would be able to attend. But once we arrived in Spain and started exploring these small towns all along the coast, we noticed a million pre-schools and nurseries. We didn't pop in to talk to them, but I imagine one of them might have had room for Babs for a month. So we probably didn't really need to limit ourselves to only what we could find online.

The weekend before we left Albir, the school director had organized a trip for the class to what we in the states would call a Children's Museum or like a children's farm. And I use the term 'organized' loosely. We had asked her if anyone might be able to give us a lift up there, since it was 50km north and we have no car, but then wound up figuring out public transportation anyway. So she definitely didn't think we were going to make it, and so Babs' name was not on the list of children at check-in. It turned out fine, they just added her name to the list, but it just illustrates the level of organization and communication.

Attendance to the Granja Escuela de Baladre cost us 32E, which also was never mentioned to us in any of the conversations prior to arriving there. But it ended up only costing 30, because we paid with a 50 and the guy only had a 20 for change. That seemed to happen sometimes with giving change, people just round down with a shrug.

The day was fun, though I wouldn't say it was worth 30E. They had a 'baking demonstration' where all the kids got to add ingredients for cookies into a bowl and take turns stirring, then kneading the dough and adding chocolate chips. Then the garden visit, where a man ate weeds off the ground to illustrate that everything was edible, but seemed to only encourage kids to put random things from the ground in their mouth. The kids made mud/seed balls, which apparently they use to fertilize the ground? He was speaking Spanish so I only caught about 25% of it.

Then there was a paella lunch (which included a beer), followed by a farm visit, where Babs got to pet a 20-year-old pig. The farm, very admirably, rescued wayward animals, such as 3 pigs, some chickens and a raccoon.

We got a chance to meet some of the families whose kids attended school with ours, and one Spanish family gave great reasons for why she chose to pay to put her kid in this school rather than opt for a public school (which would have been closer to her home and free). Class sizes are smaller, and the focus is really heavy on bilingual education.

Overall we were very happy with the school, and it made living in Albir for a month mostly worth it. Though we laughed at ourselves when we started to complain about living in a tourist town for a month. We escaped the frigid midwestern winter for a while to enjoy the sunshine in Spain... It's all good.


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