I’m off to Spain! It’s been a crazy week getting ready to be on vacation for 10 days. On top of that our office is in the middle of moving to our new corporate office, BEDQuarters (clever, huh?), and so I had to have my entire cube packed up and ready to go. Thursday was my very last day at our current office and I have to say I was a little sad leaving there. I have lots of great memories from the beginning of my career at Mattress Firm. However, I’ve grown and learned so much since starting there and can’t wait to continue to grow with Mattress Firm in our beautiful new space! Anyways, back to the trip. I wrote down a few reminders, tips and to-dos before travelling internationally!
Dolla, Dolla Bills --> Euro, Euro Bills
We always like to order our Euros ahead of time to save the hassle of doing it at the airport when you’re just ready to be where you’re going. It’s pretty easy and then you know you’ve got your money and you’re ready to spend it! Split it up between your travel group or keep it in different places JUST IN CASE you get robbed or something crazy. Not likely but sh*t happens. I also have a pretty sweet money belt to rock under my clothes if I’m feeling sketched out and don’t want to keep it in my purse.
Update Your Bank
Make sure to share your travel plans with your bank so they’re aware of your card being used in other cities. I didn’t do this before going to New York last year and my card was declined while I was purchasing my Louis Vuitton (I saved all my pennies for this one and was so proud about my purchase) and I was a teeny bit embarrassed when they swiped my card and they gave me a big fat DECLINED. Lesson learned. It takes just a few minutes and is really easy to do online to avoid any holds on your card.
Beauty and Brains
Not only have you done all of the prep work to research and find the best locations, hotels, restaurants, and sights to see but you also have to get yourself ready to go! Before heading to Spain my best friend Madison did my eyelashes and tan and she did amazing! Thank God for talented friends to make you feel pretty. It was my first time getting eyelash extensions and I love, love, love them! She did such a great job and they look so natural. Def going to be a regular client :)
Speaking of Research…
It was really a family effort to plan our Spain vacay. We each had different things that were important to us to see and if we wanted to go somewhere or do something, we booked it! I love to find the hotels because I want to be in the heart of the cities we visit, ensure there is WiFi (priorities), check the reviews from other travelers and make sure it’s cute and clean. I used Expedia to find our hotels because they make it really easy to find all of the information I want. Other than that I mainly scoured Pinterest to create the perfect Spain board filled with places to go and things to do.
Out of Office
As you probably know, I love my job, but that doesn’t mean I don’t need or want to unplug occasionally. It sounds nerdy, but I was really looking forward to setting my out of office email to let the working world know I’m 100% unavailable and off to Espana :) It’s nice to be responsibility-free for a few days and enjoy the people, scenes, food and drinks of Spain without any interruptions. I really will miss my friends at work though! I’m lucky I get to work with some of my best friends. Just make sure you’re all buttoned up on your to-dos and have worked ahead so you don’t leave any slack behind for others to do and then you can sleep happy :)
Charged Up
I had to do a little digging on what types of plugs they have in Spain and we pre-ordered our adapters so we could have access to juice when we arrived. They pretty much work with any devices and hair tool but under no circumstance was I bringing my hair dryer. I have a bad track record of shorting out buildings (London 2012) or almost catching one on fire (Italy 2014) and now have a real fear of blow drying my hair internationally. This girl will be showering at night and going all natural :)
Lights, Camera, Action
I’m excited to use the GoPro for the first time! I’m not as creative as some people out there using GoPro’s like a pro but we’re going to try! Also in my bag is a selfie stick (or “selfless stick” since it came from the Dream Bed box), a real camera (I think people still use those) and of course the good ole’ iPhone. iPhone keeps reminding me I don’t have storage so had to cover my ability to capture memories just in case. Get ready because I’m probably about to blow up the ‘gram and snapchat with all of my vacay pics. Wouldn’t you?!
The Suitcase
Came in right at 48lbs! *Pats self on back* I have to brag on my luggage really quick. I love it. When you get luggage as a gift it’s not really that cool at the time but every time I travel I want to hug my suitcase and my parents who bought them for me. It’s a hard shell so it doesn’t get banged up and it has a fun print so it’s always easy to spot on the baggage claim. Except when it doesn’t arrive when you do. Still trying to erase that memory from my mind (Milan 2014). I used our fancy-pantsy itinerary my Dad whipped up for us to pack outfits I wanted to wear in each city. After strategically planning the outfits, shoes and accessories (and destroying my apartment in the process) I finally got my bag together! Add a backpack filled with the essentials like my passport, my Surface, chargers, headphones, phone, and my makeup because no one looks cute after being on a plane for hours, I was ready to go!
Travel Plans
It’s a #spAiNDERSON family vacation and my mom, dad, brother and I are flying into Madrid and will go to Granada, Valencia, and Barcelona while we’re there. I’m most looking forward to seeing a flamenco show in Madrid, taking a cooking class in Valencia and the beaches in Barcelona. Can’t wait to share more from our trip as we go! Until then….adios, America!
Thanks for reading All Kinds of Vibes! Xoxo, Megan