Other than an extended weekend here and there, the last vacation I’ve had was in 2003, when Steve and I flew into Amsterdam and out of Paris, (he works for KLM) with a stop in Brussels via bullet train. Since then I’ve taken a few 4 day weekend trips to Mexico City, and of course short trips to St Louis to visit family, and San Jose and El Paso to visit Nick’s family. (It’s complicated.)
But now, I’m taking a real 15 day vacation to Europe. 8 days in Madrid, and 5 in Berlin, (and two travel days). And since I have ten years of reward miles saved up, I’m flying first class! Well, first class on America, LAX->DFW->FRA and back. I then had to buy my own tickets on Air Berlin for Frankfort to Madrid, Madrid to Berlin, and then back to Frankfort. My lodging I got through airBnB. Studio apartments in central Madrid, and in Shöneberg, for about $70 a night.
The timing of the trip is for the Arnold Classic Europe Sports Festival, which is next weekend. I had planned to go last year, but deadlines at Disney got in the way. Using reward miles requires making the reservations 6-10 months in advance, so I made these reservations back in March. Even then, my first choice of KLM or Air France had no seats available in first class or business. AA only had the first class seats and only on certain days. Didn’t know how long my job at Disney was going to last. Life as a contractor. Then when it did end, and took months to find the next gig, I wasn’t sure if I would still be able to go. But when I was offer a job at Deluxe, I made sure
So Monday, the day after tomorrow, at 7 am, Martin is taking me to LAX. I have my Ambien ready. I arrive in Madrid at 3 pm on Tuesday, and will pick up the keys to my apartment at 4.
And yes I’m going all by myself. Looking forward to wandering the city, and do some hiking in Casa De Campo. My only disappointment is that my current favorite singer, Pablo Albóran, is performing in Madrid this weekend before I get there, and Barcelona next weekend.
Hope to be posting lots of pics to the image gallery here.
