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Travel is my favorite kind of bug.

Welcome to my travel blog!  I quit my job in NYC to go on a 100-day travel adventure, and I will be documenting, inspiring and sharing as I go.

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DAY 22:   ACHIEVING ALL THREE OF MY TRAVEL GOALS AT ONCE

5/10/2014

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(Thursday, May 8 - Granada) - When I was planning my travels, I did a lot of thinking about why I wanted to go and what I wanted to get out of the experience.  While there are many specific places I want to go and things I want to do, there are three ‘goals’ I set forth for myself that can be achieved regardless of the city I am in (well except for one). 

Goal #1:  To Have FUN!

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First and foremost, my number one goal is to have fun.  Sometimes we lose sight of the fact that life doesn’t have to be completely about work or to-do lists.  For me, fun is doing what makes me happy, being with people who add value to my life – whether momentarily in a conversation or who become lifelong friends, and stepping out of my comfort zone every so often.

Goal #2:  Hablar Español

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My second goal is to become as fluent as possible in Spanish.  Since high school I have enjoyed speaking Spanish, visiting Spanish-speaking countries and listening to Spanish songs to try to understand the lyrics.  But since I don’t practice very often and don’t need Spanish in my daily life, my average understanding of the language hasn’t improved.  So while I spend a good chunk of time in Spain, I hope to gain a better understanding of the language from listening and speaking perspectives.

Goal #3:  To Master Photography 101

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And finally, my third goal is to master something I’ve always had an interest in, but have never had the time to really explore:  photography.  With this blog and with the empty picture frame waiting in my apartment, I want to produce photos that not only capture what I see, but also evoke the emotions I’m feeling, the atmosphere of the place and/or are just awesome to look at.  A year ago I bought myself a present:  the Canon SL1 which is supposed to be the smallest and lightest DSLR camera.  I want to really understand how to use it and take some badass pictures on this trip.

SO, if you read the title of this post, you are probably wondering how I put all these together?  Well, I was looking on TripAdvisor (my favorite site for recommendations) for things to do in Granada and I found a photography-based tour of Granada.  A guide would show the sites while giving tops on how to use your camera to capture great images.  So after reading some great reviews I signed up.

Yolanda came to meet me in Plaza Nueva and it turned out I was the only one on the tour!  She and I immediately hit it off and started walking through the city while talking (in Spanish) about the basics of photography and my camera.  Although I was hearing some photo-related words for the first time, I was able to understand most of what she said out of context.  She helped me understand the core elements of photography that I had learned before but she really helped me understand how they all work together (aperture, shutter speed, ISO, white balance, metering).  At the end of our three-hour tour, we chatted over a drink at a pub that overlooked the Alhambra.  

There you have it:  fun, Spanish and photography – totally unexpected trio, but it was amazing!
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    Hi! I'm Stacy, a 28 year old Manhattanite who quit her job to go on a 100-day journey across the world.  Follow me as I hot air balloon in Turkey, hike the Todra Gorge in Morocco, horseback ride across Ireland, and take part in all the other active adventures I can find!

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