Prep Post 1: Just try and stop me!

When I read that Spain… yes, my beloved Spain, was going to open to Americans, my heart started racing. 

It’s a story we know all too well: pre-made plans for a Summer 2020 European vacation derailed in early March as the world was put on lock-down, seemingly overnight. Now, over 14 months later, on May 21st el Presidente Sánchez delivers the news to the world … “As of June 7, all vaccinated persons are welcome in our country regardless of their place of origin." 

Now, I would not consider myself a fan of Spain’s current president, but in that instant, he became my favorite pandemic-politician. In what was later described to me by a friend as "in true Lari-style", I immediately grabbed my calendar and my credit card ... my flight on American Airlines to Madrid was booked, purchased, and confirmed before the stroke of midnight.

The next few days were spent joyfully making preliminary plans: car rental, potential destinations, a few contacts, etc. Then... on May 29th the Spanish government’s Ministry of the Interior drops the hammer and announced it will continue to ban ALL non-EU countries until June 30th. WHAT?!!!  (Did I mention that I travel on the cheap... and I mean cheap. So my ticket was of the budget, non-refundable, non-changeable "use it or lose it" kind.) 

What ensues next actually runs a bit par for the Lari-style course. 

So if you are interested in what it is like to travel internationally in the first weeks of the world opening up, read on and continue to follow my blog on my first (of many) travels post-pandemic.