How to Save Some Money on Vacation

Greetings! Happy Hump Day! I'm so excited that this week is flying by :) Today I thought it would be fun to talk about a few ways that I saved some coin on our trip to Madrid and Zurich. Neither city is particularly inexpensive (especially Zurich), but I found these tips to really help us have a fantastic time without breaking the bank!

Be strategic with pre-trip purchases.
Prior to the trip, I really wanted a perfect travel bag. I found a gorgeous (and expensive) Kelly Moore bag but realized that it just wasn’t right for my needs. When I went back to the drawing board, I found a $55 PacSafe bag, was pure perfection for my trip at 1/3 of the cost. It perfectly housed my DSLR (safely) and more. Plus it's cute, lightweight and made for travelers. It's a win-win-win. See how happy I am?

In the clothing department, I picked pieces that would complete my ‘look’ for the trip as well as ones that would then transition to my summer wardrobe. I purchased 2 pairs of shorts from the Rack (thanks for picking them out Kim!) which will get lots of wear on the weekends, at barbecues or at the beach; some new tops and flowy cardigans which can be worn with pencil skirts at work; a romper and black dress from American Apparel which can both be worn out to dinner, at summer parties or for a random bar night (though those are pretty infrequent these days).

Pack some snacks.
We brought some Kashi granola bars, trail mix and goldfish for late night snacks at the hotel, or to throw in my bag for while we were out sightseeing. No mini-bars! Of course, we did make the occasional stop for goodies while out sightseeing...

but having these as a back up definitely mitigated some late night hunger.

Limit toiletry spending.
Find out what you actually need before hitting up Target’s travel section (my go-to spot), where I could easily spend $50+ without even realizing it, since each item is under $2. Instead, I packed up my Lush shampoo and conditioner bars in plastic wrap...

pulled band-aids and cotton swabs from our bulk collection, made space for my moisturizers, without having to buy new, smaller ones.

Hotel with free breakfast.
This will eliminate one meal per day and they can seriously add up over a week. We were a bit jet lagged, so we ended up sleeping right through breakfast on most mornings, but it was great to have the option! And since breakfast isn't really a huge deal in either place, I was happy to not break the bank on a so-so meal...and save it for bigger things, like lunch.

Hotel with free Internet.
Our hotel in Madrid had free Internet, but Zurich did not. This definitely added up over 3 days! Next time, I'd be sure to find a hotel that did have free Internet. I do recommend bringing an Ethernet cable, since our Madrid hotel required it to be plugged into the wall for the free cyberspace...Wifi was an extra charge.

Limit souvenir shopping.
Of course, I got my chocolate on in Switzerland, but Madrid left a bit to be desired in the souvenir department. Instead of spending money on junky, cheesy items, I felt content with my camera full of photos that can be blown up and framed for a constant (and gorgeous) reminder of our trip.

These can also be great gifts for family and friends!

Find free options  on your trip.
We found lots of free (or very cheap) options on our trip. We did a lot of wandering and exploring, just following maps from our travel books. We also visited the Reina Sofia museum on Saturday evening, which was free at that time. Perfect for seeing Guernica and a few others before moving on to something else without having to pay 8+ Euro a piece.

We also found great parks and gardens, like the Parque del Retiro (the Central Park of Madrid), which was 100% free...aside from a pair of cervezas that we enjoyed near the lake.



Create you own walking tour.
This was especially helpful in Zurich since this city was extremely expensive. In fact, Zurich made Manhattan look cheap. Go figure. On one of the days that Shaun was working, I pulled out my Frommer’s and Eyewitness Travel books and did their suggested walking tours, making pit stops along the way to photo ops, tasty eats to sample and to do a little window shopping. It was a great, free way to see the city!

So there you have it. The easiest ways to save some money on any vacation! What are your tips for saving some coin while traveling?

How to Get Your Eat On in Madrid: Lunch

One of my favorite things about Madrid was...

you guessed it...

the food!

enjoying a bit of queso manchego on crusty bread!
Luckily for me, most of Madrid centers around their culinary expertise. In fact, it seemed to me as though the rest of life was fit in around meal time. But meal time differs significantly than here in the US, in both quality and time of day. Meals are like an event in Madrid.

One is supposed to sit and enjoy food, not squeeze it in when you have a moment or are on-the-go. On-the-go isn’t really a concept in their culture. And it’s kind of nice. Except for the whole coffee thing. I do like my coffee on the go.

But aside from that, the rest is pretty great. It's a system that I could really get behind.

Lunch.
The biggest meal of the day. It usually takes place around 2pm. Later than most lunches here in the US, but don't worry...dinner won't be until 10PM, so eat up while you can!

All of the cafes in Madrid are packed with people enjoying some outdoor time and taking a moment to have a nice, long and enjoyable lunch.

It all starts with a cerveza (beer) and I love that this is socially acceptable there, even in the middle of the work day.

Why not?

A large lunch usually starts with a small plate, such as cold jamon on toast...

or warm pork loin with fried onions and softened brie on toast

and followed by a heartier dish, like salad with goat cheese croquettes or roasted duck breast.

And it's most certainly finished by enjoying some coffee...or in my case, caffe con leche (coffee with steamed milk). Yum.

I also love that it’s completely acceptable to enjoy a cerveza, a plate of queso manchego and a bread basket for lunch. Which I may or may not have done on a solo afternoon. Or 2.

And yet, like most cities, you’ll be hard pressed to find overweight people. And if you are completely spent after a big, cerveza-filled meal? No worries. Next comes siesta, so take a short nap and get back to work!

So what do you think? Could you get down with this way of eating? Are you down with lunch as your biggest meal?

Though I think I'd find it tough to get myself back to work after such a big lunch outside in the beautiful weather, I would love to eat like this every day!

Madrid Recap: Guernica, Patatas Fritas + Museo de Jamon

Friends! I'm back!

It didn't hit me until I sat down to start blogging again, just how much I missed writing! And all of you guys! I'm happy to be back in action. But certainly rocking a case of the post-vacation blues. I can't believe it's passed by already! At the same time, I'm excited that the summer is upon us and I have more trips (for work and for personal enjoyment) planned over the next few months. I love traveling!

So as you can imagine, I have a lot to tell you. I think I'll just start with some recaps from the trip. As you may know, we began the trip in Madrid, Spain. I adored this city!

 

It's so gorgeous, so well-kept and bustling enough to remind me of New York. Though Shaun worked on Monday and Tuesday (leaving me to my own devices...more on that later), we had some of Saturday night and all day Sunday to explore and 'be on vacation' together.

Our first stop was the Reina Sofia museum, where Shaun was determined to see Picasso's Guernica (a painting that, when he first mentioned it, I looked at him emptily and said...huh? I {sheepishly admitted that I} had never heard of it.). Though I am not really an art person (he studied it in school), I was happy to go along for the ride. When we were in Paris, he insisted on seeing the Mona Lisa at the Louvre, and he ranked Guernica in the same class. Can't say no to that one! Since no photos were allowed near the painting, I borrowed this one from pablopicasso.org.

Click for source

Yay? Nay? Art lovers out there? I have mixed thoughts about it. On the opposite wall, there was a series of photographs of the painting in various stages as it was being painted, and repainted as Picasso changed his mind. I thought it was fascinating to see the work in progress and how the final work morphed from original versions!

Anyhoo, following the museum, we obviously had to stop for some street eats...my favorite kind! We stumbled upon a tiny shop with fresh potato chips - patatas fritas! - in the window.

I heard that they are hiring me to be their spokesperson after this salesy-looking photo.

We decided to wander back toward our hotel (following a map of course), and we came across the Museo de Jamon (which literally translates to the Museum of Ham, clever no?), a tiny meat shop where one could order pork as though from a butcher, but also order meals there. In case you didn't know, Spain is allllll about the ham!

Jamon Iberico or Jamon Serrano, it is a cured ham and comes from the leg of Serrano and Iberian pigs which are native to Spain. These animals aren't your typical pig. They are raised eating acorns and other natural items to ensure top quality texture and taste. And friends, I've never had anything quite like it. It's super thinly sliced and almost lightly leathery in texture. Even Shaun threw his non-pork eating ways to the wind and seriously got down with some of this ham. Prosciutto, who? Just about every restaurant in Spain serves this jamon and we ate it at every chance we could.

We may or may not have eaten this every day of our trip. And we may or may not have cried a little to wave goodbye to it last Wednesday as we departed for Switzerland.

Ok, I've rambled on long enough for you. I have lots more to tell you about in the coming days. Meanwhile, are you an art appreciator? Is a museum first on your list of things to see? And most importantly, have you ever heard of or tried Serrano ham?!