Month: November 2024

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Road Trip to Spain in the Summer of 2009 – Traveled Through the Whole of Europe With a Car

We, three friends have just broken up with our girlfriends in a short period of time (funny story, don’t ask) so naturally we decided to go wild during these summer. We were sitting one day in the local pub, talking about surfing and the sea and some other stuff. My friend Benny had the idea to go on a road trip to Spain and he did not have to say it twice. We were packed the next day and decided to start in the evening, towards the unknown. We did not know how long we will be away, where are we even going, where will we sleep and eat. We did not care. We sat in the car and started our journey from Slovenia.

We drove the whole night, because our plan was to cross the whole Italy and sleep somewhere in France. We reached Provence, France in the morning. We decided to go take a shower – which of course we did not have, so we went to look for the second closest thing – the see and the beach. We found the beach in Montpellier and it was really nice. They had organized little trains, that drove all the time, from the parking to the sandy beach. After we were done bathing we went to drive further towards Spain. Our first goal was a city on the north of Spain, called Zarautz.

Zarautz is famous for it’s surfing tradition and practically everybody in the city surf. The old and the young. When we arrived there, we sneaked in the nearest camp to take a shower. There we met the people from a surfing club from Slovenia, so we started to hang out. We then stayed with them for three nice days. In these days, we rented surfs and bought neoprene suits. I have found out, that surfing is not as easy as it seems. During my tries to stand up on the surf board, I constantly ended being hit and erased from the surf board by a giant wave.

But the feeling, when you finally manage to paddle enough to ride a big wave is incredible. It usually ends in a disaster, but it’s all worth it. Once I caught a really big wave and managed to drive over my friend with the surf board. He was not very pleased, but he survived. We then hung out at the camp, with all the nice surfers from all over the world. The surfers are really open-minded and talkative people, so they were really a pleasure to be around.

After three days, we decided to leave Zarautz and go further through Spain in our quest for the ultimate party.We also met a girl named Tyasha in the camp and she decided that she will join us…So we went into the sunset and into new adventures. Our first stop was in a city called Victoria. The locals come to Victoria to party, as there is a lively night life. We arrived and started looking for a place to sleep over. All the cheap hostels were booked, so we decided that we will sleep in the car in the parking zone in front of an hostel. We went out, dance to the fullest, enjoyed the typical pubs. Interesting thing about these pubs is that they also serve a lot of different food. They are basically eat and drink clubs. My friend met a nice Spanish lady and went home with her.

It was good for me, because we had more space in the car. We picked him up on the next day, 60km away in a small Spanish village. Good times. Then we headed south, visited Pamplona, which is infamous for it’s festival called San Fermin. It happens once a year, young and brave men run in front of the raging bulls. Masses of tourists come to Pamplona on San Fermin, to watch the run and enjoy the party. Pamplona was really nice, but we soon headed towards Barcelona. Barcelona made quite an impression on me, because of it’s size and cleanliness. We parked our car in the suburbs in front of a small park. We got drunk again, headed out, visited the infamous Los Rambmla street, which is a home to masses of prostitutes and street artists.

Rambla street is really weird. You can meet every possible strange person there-from transsexual prostitutes to petty street thieves to pimps. Not exactly a place to be at night. We spent the next day visiting the local sites, like Sagrada familia, Park Guiel, Camp Nou- the soccer stadium of FC Barcelona. It is really a nice city, with lots to do. In the evening, we started towards Slovenia and after a long drive arrived home. Spain is a really nice country, worth visiting. And by my experience, a road trip is the best way to do it.

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Destination Wedding – Why Not?

Are you considering a destination wedding? Are you planning to ask friends and family to attend or participate in your destination wedding? Are you wondering whether it’s selfish to plan a destination wedding? If your answer to any of these questions is “yes,” read on!

If you are like most couples, your wedding is the ultimate celebration and start to your future life together. You expect it to be a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ experience. For this reason, I hope you won’t settle for anything less than your ideal – including your ideal location.

Apart from the obvious lure of gorgeous destinations and the chance to travel to a locale where neither of you has been, you may have practical reasons for planning a destination wedding. First of all, it’s a Darwinian approach to paring the guest list! It may eliminate countless headaches concerning who to invite and who not to invite. Usually, only those who are especially close to a couple will travel a long distance for their wedding. But this is true even for those couples who marry in the country where the majority of their guests reside.

Guests who can’t afford the expense of traveling to a destination wedding often find other ways to participate in the big occasion. Some throw wedding showers and many attend pre and post wedding festivities. You can take special care to make sure those who can’t attend the wedding are involved in other ways. You can also throw an ‘after wedding’ party to celebrate with those who can’t make it to the wedding.

Brides and grooms some times pay for the travel and lodging expenses of those people they especially want in attendance. This might include members of your wedding party, parents, siblings and grandparents. If your wedding is small, and destination weddings often are – these travel and lodging expenses may not be much greater than the costs you would incur by having a large wedding in your hometown.

Some couples elope. In this case, a destination wedding makes complete sense. Eloping omits lengthy, expensive and often contentious wedding planning. It insures privacy and secrecy – if that’s what you want. Under these circumstances, a destination wedding is more likely to be a destination ceremony. Maybe the secrecy of elopement and the destination itself will provide you with the feeling of private celebration you desire. In this case guests aren’t wanted! You can have an ‘after party’ later – when you’re ready to announce your marriage.

There are few occasions in life as momentous as getting married, and there are few celebrations that hold as much meaning as weddings. No couple wants to look back on their wedding day with regret. If you are like most couples, your wedding is an event that you’ve anticipated for a long time. It is an occasion invested with all your hopes and dreams for the future.

Those who care about you will hopefully put their own needs and wishes on the back burner. True friends are those who support you even when it means they have to sacrifice something to make you happy. I choose to believe that those people who show up for destination weddings are true believers. They believe in romance, in marriage and in the union of the two people whose marriage they come to celebrate.

Copyright Johanna Nauraine, 2010

REPRINT RIGHTS Statement: This article is free for republishing by visitors provided the Author Bio and Copyright is retained and the author’s website link remains active.

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Road Trip to Spain in the Summer of 2009 – Traveled Through the Whole of Europe With a Car

We, three friends have just broken up with our girlfriends in a short period of time (funny story, don’t ask) so naturally we decided to go wild during these summer. We were sitting one day in the local pub, talking about surfing and the sea and some other stuff. My friend Benny had the idea to go on a road trip to Spain and he did not have to say it twice. We were packed the next day and decided to start in the evening, towards the unknown. We did not know how long we will be away, where are we even going, where will we sleep and eat. We did not care. We sat in the car and started our journey from Slovenia.

We drove the whole night, because our plan was to cross the whole Italy and sleep somewhere in France. We reached Provence, France in the morning. We decided to go take a shower – which of course we did not have, so we went to look for the second closest thing – the see and the beach. We found the beach in Montpellier and it was really nice. They had organized little trains, that drove all the time, from the parking to the sandy beach. After we were done bathing we went to drive further towards Spain. Our first goal was a city on the north of Spain, called Zarautz.

Zarautz is famous for it’s surfing tradition and practically everybody in the city surf. The old and the young. When we arrived there, we sneaked in the nearest camp to take a shower. There we met the people from a surfing club from Slovenia, so we started to hang out. We then stayed with them for three nice days. In these days, we rented surfs and bought neoprene suits. I have found out, that surfing is not as easy as it seems. During my tries to stand up on the surf board, I constantly ended being hit and erased from the surf board by a giant wave.

But the feeling, when you finally manage to paddle enough to ride a big wave is incredible. It usually ends in a disaster, but it’s all worth it. Once I caught a really big wave and managed to drive over my friend with the surf board. He was not very pleased, but he survived. We then hung out at the camp, with all the nice surfers from all over the world. The surfers are really open-minded and talkative people, so they were really a pleasure to be around.

After three days, we decided to leave Zarautz and go further through Spain in our quest for the ultimate party.We also met a girl named Tyasha in the camp and she decided that she will join us…So we went into the sunset and into new adventures. Our first stop was in a city called Victoria. The locals come to Victoria to party, as there is a lively night life. We arrived and started looking for a place to sleep over. All the cheap hostels were booked, so we decided that we will sleep in the car in the parking zone in front of an hostel. We went out, dance to the fullest, enjoyed the typical pubs. Interesting thing about these pubs is that they also serve a lot of different food. They are basically eat and drink clubs. My friend met a nice Spanish lady and went home with her.

It was good for me, because we had more space in the car. We picked him up on the next day, 60km away in a small Spanish village. Good times. Then we headed south, visited Pamplona, which is infamous for it’s festival called San Fermin. It happens once a year, young and brave men run in front of the raging bulls. Masses of tourists come to Pamplona on San Fermin, to watch the run and enjoy the party. Pamplona was really nice, but we soon headed towards Barcelona. Barcelona made quite an impression on me, because of it’s size and cleanliness. We parked our car in the suburbs in front of a small park. We got drunk again, headed out, visited the infamous Los Rambmla street, which is a home to masses of prostitutes and street artists.

Rambla street is really weird. You can meet every possible strange person there-from transsexual prostitutes to petty street thieves to pimps. Not exactly a place to be at night. We spent the next day visiting the local sites, like Sagrada familia, Park Guiel, Camp Nou- the soccer stadium of FC Barcelona. It is really a nice city, with lots to do. In the evening, we started towards Slovenia and after a long drive arrived home. Spain is a really nice country, worth visiting. And by my experience, a road trip is the best way to do it.