by Jack and Wendy
Follow us on twitter at @jacklhalsey and @wendylooksleaps . . . or not

These travel tips were inspired by our recent trip to Spain. Take them with a pizca de sal – we don’t really know what we’re doing either.

Pintxo and tapas bar hopping is so fun, but pace yourself. If you’re only ordering one specialty per bar, but also having a glass of wine at each place, the alcohol will catch up with you rapido.

While we’re on the subject, we should tell you that sometimes wine and beer are cheaper than bottled water or soda in a restaurant. Which is AWESOME, but again, pace yourself.

Upon arriving in a new city, one of your first tasks when settling in is to go buy several bottles of water in one of the little sundry shops or grocery stores. They will likely be cheaper than the hotel mini bar and you will want them on hand. Especially when you are still jet lagged and have been bar hopping.

If you’re packing light, remember that most hotels have complimentary tolietries. However, the selection varies, so take the unused ones with you. If the next hotel has that awful generic shower gel/shampoo combo dispenser, you’ll be glad to have the little bar of soap from the previous hotel.

If you rent a car, get the navigation device. Even with this, you will likely veer off track occasionally. You will have moments where you wonder if driving is really permitted down that narrow street filled with people. Is it really a street? Or a sidewalk? People are standing there staring at your car, will they eventually move? Your guess is as good as ours in those situations.

The elevators to underground car garages are very tricky. You may want to book a small rental car if you think you’ll be dealing with these. And the full coverage insurance. Seriously.

Spanish rest stops are a thing of beauty. Go to fill up your gas tank, stay for the amenities. Clean. Stores selling all kinds of stuff you would totally buy if you weren’t traveling light, like gallons of olive oil, wine, pastries. A cafeteria selling fresh coffee, juice and sandwiches, as well as plate lunches. And did we mention clean?

Plan ahead and get gas before you need it – we almost ran out because we assumed there would be more opportunities than there were during one leg of the journey.

We don’t drink a lot of soda, but find a cold Coke helps calm motion sickness from trains or cars.

It is fun to learn phrases in a new language and try them out. Be patient and confident. And if you’re traveling with someone else, work together. For example, we observed that the person trying to order in a restaurant was so busy concentrating on what to say that it was easy to fall apart when asked a follow up question. But the person not speaking actually picks up on the question instead and can jump in. Just keep trying – it gets easier.

Serving complimentary snacks with drinks is common in Spain, and just so civilized, don’t you think? Sometimes you’ll get a slice of tortilla. Sometimes it’s potato chips, or peanuts, or olives – and sometimes something sweet. Maybe they pair the snack with the drink – we were served sugary gummy candy with a gin fizz at Chicote in Madrid, and rainbow pastel popcorn with our delicious gin and tonics at Dickens in San Sebastian.

Everyone knows tapas and pintxos are amazing. But there are also plenty of other types of restaurants. You may want a change from regional specialties. We’ve eaten great pizza, kabobs and arepas in Spain. Burgers, however, can be a mixed bag.

Stay safe by using common sense, just like you would in any big or unfamiliar city. Be cautious when people are invading your space – but sometimes it’s hard to avoid in a city. Keep your wallet in the front pocket of your jeans. Use your crossbody purses. Rest your hand over the purse when you’re in really crowded places, like the metro. Pack light – don’t drag around so much stuff you can’t keep up with it. Put your naviagtion device under the car seat when you make a pit stop. Lock up your ipads and passports in the hotel safe, maybe along with a little emergency money.

Speaking of money, think ahead a little. Break your large bills and put some aside for tipping housekeeping or paying tolls on the highways. Or going on a crazy pinxtos spree.

ABC stands for Always Be Charging. This means that whenever you are in a hotel room, make use of your converter/charger. Especially before you go to sleep, connect and charge. With two people taking an ipad and iphone apiece, but only one converter, batteries drain fast and charging can be slow.

When you go to a cafe, bar, restaurant, and especially a musuem – use the bathroom before you go. Sometimes you can’t quickly find an accessible, clean, free public bathroom – so think ahead. And remember, many bathroom lights are timed, so note where the switch is located. Don’t panic if the lights go out when you’re mid-pee – just hit the switch and they should work again.

The famous department store El Corte Ingles in Madrid has an amazing food market on the top floor that we discovered too late. We were on a quest to buy paprika, and noticed a whole wonderland of gourmet food stalls. We didn’t have the opportunity then, but wanted to return to sample the burgers, the sushi, the wine…ok, everything.

Sometimes there feels like a lack of vegetable options in Spanish restaruants. There’s a lot of potato. Some peppers. After eating lots of ham, cheese, eggs, bread and seafood (please note: not complaining!), we try to find lunch cafes with decent salads.

We also love drinking the fresh orange juice in Spain to get a delicious dose of vitamin C.

Pack a few fabric softener sheets. They’ll make your luggage smell good and are easy to cart to the laundromat. We’ve used the laundromat in Spain once, and it was pretty straightforward. Of course we spent 5 frantic minutes trying to figure out how to start the machines, though the instructions were right there in front of us. We totally get how contestants in the Amazing Race TV show trip up and make stupid mistakes when they’re in a hurry.

Sometimes, you just gotta go to Starbucks. Although we love the espresso and cafe con leche.

In Valladolid and San Sebastian we noticed cafes near the Universities advertising practice English nights. We weren’t able to check one out but think it would be a cool way to interact with locals for those of us with little or no Spanish.

Go to a lesser known city or small town, Valladolid, Logrono, or Cadiz come to mind. The cafes, architecture and culture that you love in Madrid and Seville are here too. Often at a much more reasonable rate.

Get to the airport early on your day of departure. There are so many checkpoints – boarding pass printout and passport check. Security. Then passport stamp. Somewhere in the order there might be an airport underground shuttle to get to the right area of the airport. Getting from one terminal to another could be a 20 minute walk. Then review boarding pass/passport before proceeding to gate.

The Egg McMuffin from the McDonald’s in the Madrid-Barajas Airport will re-ignite your love for this classic breakfast sandwich. The yolks were actually not cooked all the way through, a delicious difference.

Final tip in this post is obvious, but here it is: Go to Spain!