I could make a list of all the reasons why I haven’t written a post in over a month. I think my most reasonable one is the fact that I was traveling for the first two weeks of November and had very limited Internet access. I know all of my loyal fans have been dying of curiosity about the goings-on in my life and so I will do my best to post more regularly from now on.

For my travel break, Eve and I went to Granada, Madrid, Barcelona, Praha and Budapest. It was a good number of cities for 15 days but I will admit jumping around from city to city can get extremely tiring. I saw a number of incredible things, ate a lot of great food, and met some very interesting people. I attempted to butcher the Spanish language but luckily Eve’s high school knowledge flooded back and I just followed along with the occasional Gracias. I have learned so many things about myself and the wild world of traveling. These are my top ten travel tips:

1. Know what your PIN code is for your debit card. Because if you type your PIN number in incorrectly 25 times, your card will shut down and you will have no money in Granada for 2 days.
2. It is worth it to book tickets for the La Alhambra in advance. Or you could choose to wake up at 5:45am and wait in line in the cold for two hours. Up to you.
3. There is a certain sense of adventure associated with not booking a hostel. However, this sense of adventure does not occur when it is Halloween afternoon and you have no place to stay.
4. Go to the Renia Sophia and Prado museums in Madrid. They are free most weekdays from 6-8 and house some of the most incredible artwork.
5. Wait in the 1 hour line to get to the top of the Sangrada Familia in Barcelona. Primarily for the view at the top but also for the nice Canadian couple you will meet along the way.
6. EAT TAPAS EVERYWHERE. In many cities in Spain, the purchase of an alcoholic beverage will come with a small plate of food. This ranges from delicious little sausages to actual ham and cheese sandwiches. Something the U.S. should consider adopting. Considering how Americans don’t eat enough…
7. Visit the hospital in Praha. While the unattractive building is outside the main city, it has luke-warm staff who speak minimal English. Who doesn’t love describing his or her symptoms with hand gestures?
8. Send postcards in the same country where you buy the stamps. Overwise your friends and loved ones will receive Madrid postcards and wonder why there are also postage markings from Budapest.
9. Do couch surfing! It was one of the best experiences of the whole trip. I made lasting friendships with an apartment full of the friendliest Hungarians I have ever met.
10. Make mistakes. Live life in new, scary places. Take pictures. You appreciate your home so much by visiting others.