After my planned week in Mexico turned into multiple years, I gave up on the notion of planning my trips preferring, instead, to just wing it. It has served me well for the past few years and I’m loathe to change it. However, I’m faced with the need to combine my aversion to planning with my aversion to paying a lot and I’m finding that being a cheap-ass is winning out over not liking to plan.

In mid-August, I will be leaving Mexico and heading out on a 5-month trip which will take me to the following countries:

US
Spain
Portugal
Morocco
Switzerland
Egypt
Jordan
Israel
England
Scotland

Depending on how things are at the moment I may also try to squeeze in Lebanon and/or Syria while I’m in the Middle East and tack on a cheap package holiday to Greece or Turkey after Scotland.

It’s an ambitious trip – especially considering that a full month of the time will be spent walking the Camino de Santiago across northern Spain.

Even though the planning part is stressing me out, I’m excited to be getting back out into the world and stepping foot on some new soil. For those who are curious, I’ll be tracking my spending during the trip so people can get an idea of what a similar trip would cost them.

Europe/Middle East Trip Spending:

Flight NYC-Barcelona – $408 USD
Flight Tel Aviv-London – $125 USD

The reason I’ve not been updating the site is because I haven’t been doing much travel that I think people would find interesting. The fact is, I’ve pretty much settled down in Mexico. I’ve now passed my three-year anniversary here and have only left for quick trips to Guatemala and back to the US. As a result, my life is pretty much the same as everyone else’s: I work, I hang out with friends, I eat good meals and drink good wine and I basically just live. I did get married a little over a year ago…that was pretty different!

As anyone who has written a personal blog or read someone else’s knows: writing about the daily grind can be almost as boring as reading about someone else’s daily grind. Thus the travel blog hiatus.

However, things they are a changin’ and as I have a pretty hefty trip involving lots of planning coming up, I’ve decided to dust off the old site, give it a face lift and get blogging again. It’s kind of exciting.

The parade was pretty similar so parades you would see in the US except the music had a much more Latin flair with most bands including marimbas in their lineup.  The notable exception to the Latin music was the bad that played Lady Gaga.

One thing I really noticed was the shoes the women were wearing.  I suppose this is because I find walking on the streets of Antigua to be challenging enough when I’m in sport sandals (the streets here are badly done cobble stones so can be a pain in the ass – sometimes literally) so watching these girls walk this parade on these streets in high heels – in one case, 3″ spikes – was impressive.

One of the bands was really amazing. Not only did they play well but they put on a great show.  They wore black and white uniforms and you can check them out in the video and pictures below!

I ordered the home made Chicken Tortellini with the Di Magro sauce which was amazing.  It was a great mix of flavors and textures – though I generally prefer for my veggies to be a little more al dente.  The sauce is made from Chard, Peas, Asparagus, Ham and Parmesean in a light cream sauce.

The ambiance leaves a bit to be desired.  There is a back room so perhaps it’s a bit more cozy but I ate in the front room at a table right in front of the door.  There is construction going on outside so the view was not that great and the two drunk brits at the “bar” didn’t help but hey, it’s the food that really matters.

I will definitely be back to La Toscana – perhaps to try the Spinach and Cheese ravioli that everyone raves about.

La Toscana is located at 1a Avenida Sur no. 17A in Antigua.

The serving size is reasonable for the price and it comes with some ingredients you can add-in as desired (onion, cliantro, lime, etc.).  I found the soup to be pretty bland and definitely not as flavorful as similar soups at El Caldero in San Cristobal.  I had to add salt to feel like it had any flavor.

The setting is nice.  The main space is a large courtyard but as it was a slow night, everyong was in a side room which opened onto the street.  It was good for people watching if you were lucky enough to get a window seat.

I would be willing to give it another try but I would probably skip the soup next time.

La Fonda de la Calle Real is located at 5a Avenida Norte and a few other branch locations in Antigua, Guatemala.

Needless to say, I was very excited to hear that they were on the menu for dinner at Earth Lodge.  Imagine my dismay to discover that Chilaquiles in Guatemala (or at least at Earth Lodge) are substantially different than Chilaquiles in Mexico.

In Guatemala, they prepare Chilaquiles with Chayote (pictured right), which is a green, fairly flavorless, squash-like vegetable.  They start the dish by skinning the Chayote, slicing it in half, and removing the core.  After that, they fill it with a thick (almost 1/3 inch) layer of a thick, salty cheese.  Finally, the dip the stuffed Chayote in batter and fry them until lightly brown.  The dish is finished with a light red sauce and, though fried and very cheesy, is not at all heavy or greasy.  The vegetable becomes firm though easily cut with just a fork and seems to take on the flavors of the other ingredients.

I still prefer the Mexican version of Chiliquiles, but this was better than I anticipated though likely not something I would order again.

Final product served with rice, salad and garlic bread:

This photo was taken on 5 September 2010 from the front porch of Earth Lodge.

Situated just a few blocks from the Central Park, El Hostal is out of the way enough that it’s not too noisy but close enough that getting to other places is quick and easy.  It’s located almost directly across from the well-known Café No Se and I’m a bit surprised it’s not more popular.  Granted, it’s a bit more expensive than some of the other places in town (note the aforementioned $1 more per night) but it’s worth it.

The rooms are clean, the beds are bug free and comfortable (they are actual mattresses, not just foam pads), the reception staff is friendly and helpful and the free breakfast is yummy and plentiful.  Were I to nitpick, the only things I would change would be more comfortable seating in the common area (currently there is only one couch, a hammock and some fairly uncomfortable chairs) and more room between bunk beds.  The beds they’re using are not, I suspect, supposed to be used as bunk beds but rather are regular beds nailed together.  This means that there is only about 2.5 feet from the top of one bed to the bottom of the other which means you can’t sit up in bed.  Somewhat uncomfortable and inconvenient but in the grand scheme of things, not a huge problem.  I could avoid it were I to sleep in the front dorm room which doesn’t have bunks but that room also faces the street so it is significantly louder.  If you’re tall though you would want that room as one of my roommates was 6’4” and had to sleep diagonally across his bed and his feet still hung off the end.

As I type this I am winging my way from Chicago to Guatemala City via Fort Lauderdale.  It’s been a challenging summer full of personal and financial losses that have been frustrating and today’s trip started by following that pattern as the ticketing agent demanded proof of ongoing travel before they’d let me board the plane.

This is the first time this has ever happened to me and was immensely frustrating.  After much heated debate and clock watching I finally ended up purchasing a short segment on a Mexican bus line to “prove” that I’d be leaving Guatemala within 90 days.  Thankfully I’m familiar with the bus system in Mexico otherwise I would have been in trouble.  As it was, I made it onto my plane with 5 minutes to spare.  I can only hope that this was the final hurdle and there will be smooth sailing going forward.