Travel Tips and Alcázar Visit

See that bus just to the left of the center of the photo? I took several buses on the trip to Jerez. It’s been a long time since I travelled internationally, and over 20 since I’ve traveled to Europe! A lot has, obviously, changed. I was expecting increased security, but I was NOT expecting to have to go through passport checks AND the equivalent of TSA at every. single. stop. At each leg of the journey, the TSA experience was different, and I had to repack some things (liquids, mostly). It took me almost 2 hours to navigate the airport and security in Madrid. I wasn’t the only one–people were running to their flights around me. I made it –I was second to last in the line–only minutes before the gate closed. But I did make it, thnakfully!

Photo credit: Lewis Clark (https://geograph.org.uk/photo/2415565)

I didn’t have timeto eat, though I did have enough time to at least graba Tango in Heathrow. It’s one of my favorite drinks.  I picked up a few tips from Jetsetting Fools (https://jetsettingfools.com/long-haul-flight-essentials/), which were helpful. The most useful tips were to bring a travel toothbrush and toothpaste as well as facial wipes. I took a red eye, so when I landed in London, it felt like I had just woken up, and I’m sure my breath smelled that way too! I had enough time to brush my teeth and wash my face with a Cetaphil wipe. I felt human again after that. It was a real lifesaver.

Now that I’ve had enough time to get over the jet lag and settle in, I started exploring a bit. Yesterday I went to Alcázar. The site is amazing, and it was only 5 euros admission. What a steal! Sadly, the cámara oscura was closed, but I hope to revisit when it is open. Here’s a short video explaining a bit about the site from the Andalucian Tourism Channel on Youtube: