The Best Way to Discover Unique Parts of a City is to Get Lost

On September 13, 2021September 13, 2021 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn France, Spain, Travel Tips2 Comments

There is an old saying that to really discover a city, you should let yourself get lost in everything it has to offer. It can definitely be true and we have had a couple of instances where we literally got lost while exploring the city. Needless to say, you still have to be cogniscent of your surroundings and make sure that you don’t put yourself in danger. These days it is a little harder to truly get lost since you can always pull up a map on your smart phone, but knowing where you are on a map doesn’t always mean that you actually know where you are. Getting lost can often lead to little surprises that make for incredible memories.

Walking the Streets of Paris – Not only was this the first time that we managed to get lost while walking the streets of a city, but it was actually our first trip to Europe many years ago and before the days of smart phones. It truly did make for some incredible memories, including finding a rare book store that had a first edition Don Quixote that we actually considered buying, but our common sense took over and kept us from making the purchase. There were little shops selling crepes and all sorts of different stores. We did end up buying a small porcelain statue of a boy and girl on a sled that always reminds of us of our time in Paris. We have been back to Paris since then, but this first trip was truly magical.

Winding Streets Below from the Seville Cathedral

Getting Lost in Seville, Spain – We didn’t just get lost once when we visited Seville, but actually got lost a total of three times. The first was just driving into Seville and trying to find our hotel. There were roads closed due to a parade that made it difficult to find with all of the one way streets. The second was when we tried to go back to a shop that we had found earlier in the day, but couldn’t seem to find it again. It did allow us to enjoy all of the narrow streets in the Old Jewish Quarter. It was after finally getting back to the cathedral after being lost that we ate dinner and then decided to take a carriage ride. Little did we know that once again closed streets would cause our driver to get lost and we would end up having a wonderful time just enjoying the moments in the city, although our driver wasn’t particularly happy.

Getting lost in a city doesn’t guarantee you wonderful memories, but you might be surprised by what you see if let yourself get off of the beaten track. We also got lost in Lima, Peru, but as soon as we reached a part of the city where we didn’t feel comfortable, we quickly back tracked to a place that we recognized. Although it takes a leap of faith to do, you might just see some wonderful sights that aren’t talked about in the travel books that you might have read.

Mingling with Giraffes at Sunset Near Amboseli National Park in Kenya

On September 10, 2021September 10, 2021 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Africa, Kenya5 Comments

We saw giraffes all throughout our time in Kenya and Tanzania, but our first encounters with them was in Amboseli National Park. Many of the giraffes that we saw weren’t actually in the parks themselves but outside of the parks where there were often more trees. Due to delays in our flight to Nairobi, we ended up getting to Amboseli at dusk and we ended up seeing our first giraffe with the sun setting behind the acacia trees. We were completely exhausted from being up for 48 hours, so we didn’t pull out our camera and capture the image. We did, however, have our guide, David, take us back out to the trees that surrounded our camp at sunset the following night in order to try and recreate the experience. We were lucky enough to see a family of giraffes amongst the trees as we watched an incredible sunset, one of many that we would end up seeing.

Many Giraffes Amongst Other Animals During the Day

One of the Young Giraffes with the Sunset in the Background

We’re sure that we drove our guide crazy as we had him move our Land Cruiser to different spots around the many giraffes that were enjoying a late dinner in order to catch them in different lighting and angles. At this point of our trip, we had no idea how many giraffes we would ultimately end up seeing, but the experience of watching the young giraffes with the sun setting in the background was certainly a highlight. We even got a photograph of a giraffe at sunrise on the following morning, which only added to our memories of Amboseli. Wherever we saw giraffes, it was clear that they kept a watchful eye on us to make sure that we didn’t move towards them, but that just gave us the opportunity to make eye-contact with them. It certainly made us wonder what they were thinking about us as we stood in our vehicle taking pictures of them.

The Very First Giraffe that We Saw on Our First Full Day

Looking Back at Our Trip to the Beautiful City of Granada, Spain

On September 9, 2021September 9, 2021 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Spain3 Comments

Located at the base of the Sierra Nevada mountains, Granada is a wonderful city located in southern Spain. For obvious reasons, the Alhambra Palace is a definite highlight of a visit to Granada, but there is more to see than just the fortress and palace. The narrow streets, beautiful cathedral, the Royal Chapel, and restaurants and stores make visiting the city worth at least a couple of days in order to see it adequately. The city is very walkable, although many of the narrow streets can be quite steep, so feel free to stop at a local bistro for a quick break to enjoy a glass of Spanish wine.

With an elevation over 2,400 feet (730 meters) above sea level and with roads that crawl up the sides of the Sierra Nevada mountains, there are wonderful views of the city from several vantage points. Some of the best are from the walls of Alhambra, but there are many from neighborhoods as well. Even though the panoramic views are amazing, the best views can be found by walking the side streets and discovering some of the many restaurants and shops that the city has to offer. One of our favorite streets wrapped itself along the sides of Alhambra and provided a different view of the fortress.

Looking Up at Alhambra from the Street Below

When planning a trip to Granada, or southern Spain in general, one should be prepared to be on a relaxing schedule. No one is in a hurry and even though the temperatures can be more mild than other parts of the region, people still go out for walks late into the evening. Granada is located about an hour’s drive from the coast and an hour and a half from the city of Malaga. It was closer to a four and a half hour drive from where we stayed in Estepona. It was certainly worth taking the time to get there. If you intend to go to Alhambra, as you definitely should, be sure to buy your tickets well in advance as they do sell out up to six to eight weeks ahead of time.

Walking a Narrow Street Near the Alhambra Complex

We really enjoyed our time in Granada and it was one of our favorite memories of the region. We also spent time in Seville as well as Ronda, but seeing Alhambra in Granada is a memory of a lifetime. We spent several days in Granada, making our time there very relaxing and enjoying many different restaurants with wonderful food.