Category: Traveling

Travel Page

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Hi all!

I wanted to let you know about a page I created that is focused on where I have traveled, and where I would like to travel to in the future. It’s called “Travel Checklist” and you can get to it from the navigation menu “List Love” at the top of the page.

I’ve also created a “Nomad Map” which links to some of my blog posts that are about travel destinations. It was fun to put the map together, and I’m looking forward to adding more! Check it out:

    Happy travels!

    Morocco and Spain Trip Recap

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    "Travel Loot" Cedar Park, 2017
    Photo info: SONY SLT-A77V, 35mm, f/4, 1/20 sec, ISO640
     “Travel Loot” Cedar Park, 2017

    こんばんは。How’s it going?

    Well, I finally finished up with all my back posts of our trip! The photo above shows a few pieces of the loot haul, and in the dish is a small stone that I picked up from the water at Barceloneta beach. I don’t even know if it is imported or not, but the authenticity isn’t important. It’s the memory that it represents that gives it value. One of my favorite movie scenes explains what I mean.

    Anyways, here are a couple lists I made about the trip.

    Total miles traveled: 12,905

    • Plane: 11,273
    • Train: 921
    • Boat: 29
    • Bus/Taxi: 682

    Highlights/Bucket List

    • First trip to Africa – That makes it four continents for me!
    • Crossing from Africa to Europe by ferry – The so-called Strait of Gibraltar have been one of those mythical things since I was a little kid
    • Touching the Mediterranean – Again, like something out of a dream. Isn’t this where the Greek gods/heroes used to play?

    Top Food

    • Boquerones tapas (fried sardines)
    • Tagine
    • Papas bravas
    • Almejas tapas (clams)
    • Jamón bocadillos

    Post Index

    Since I posted my trip entries after-the-fact, here’s a list you can use to easily access each one:

    Handy Notes

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    "Notes" Cedar Park, 2017
    Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/125 sec, ISO1600
     “Notes” Cedar Park, 2017

    こんばんは。

    Today’s photo is of a little notebook that proved to be very handy during our trip. There were a few times in Morocco where I wasn’t able to communicate clearly when it really mattered. The most notable time was when we were trying to buy train tickets. It’s actually a fairly easy process to buy tickets in Morocco, but during Ramadan, the schedule is a little different and also I didn’t understand if there was a change of trains at some point.

    So, before I headed to the ticket counter (there are also automated ticket machines), I wrote down the desired destination, date, number of tickets, and 1st class. I could just show that to the ticket agent and he wrote down the available trains that day. It was so much easier than trying to verbally communicate.

    Google translate is amazing, but in cases like these, pencil and paper win the day!

    I hope you had a nice Sunday!

    またね～

    Returning Home

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    "The Way Home" Casablanca, 2017
    Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/4000 sec, ISO800
     “The Way Home” Casablanca, 2017

    Hello! This is the last day of our Eurafrica trip when we fly back home. 😞

    Another long journey, today’s schedule takes us from Casablanca to Montreal, then on to Chicago and finally home to Austin. ✈

    We opted to take a pre-arranged taxi from the hotel to the airport, which cost about $25 which was nice since the cab took us door-to-door. At the airport, Mariko finally found some Moroccan wine at the duty-free shop. I guess this was pretty much the only chance to buy some! Ever since she had some Moroccan wine at the Morocco area of EPCOT, she’s wanted a bottle or two. So I guess this was one of her quests for the trip!  And happily, the wine made it all the way back home safe and sound, even though they had to scan the wine in Montreal in some fancy contraption in customs.

    By the way, for those traveling to the US, you actually pass through US customs at the Montreal airport. It was very convenient, and I was surprised to hear the Customs agent say, “Welcome home, Mr. Fujimoto,” while we were still in Canada! 🇨🇦 🇺🇸

    Anyways, we arrived in Austin at about 22:00 and my brother was waiting at the gate for us. See, he had just flown in an hour earlier and would spend the next few days visiting us. It was nice to see him after the long journey!

    Oh, when we were in O’Hare, Mariko had to get a Chicago Hot Dog. 🌭 It was pretty good! Welcome back to America, indeed!

    "Chicago Airport Dog" Chicago, 2017
    Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2, 1/60 sec, ISO320
     “Chicago Airport Dog” Chicago, 2017