Vicki and son Ben: Alicante Spain


This is another installment of Vicki B & 10-year-old Ben on the road
Alicante, Spain
By Vicki Baublitz


Backpacking through Europe sounds so fun and romantic, doesn’t it?

The reality is that it’s gritty, tedious, and exhausting. I do pretty well in the daytime, fueled by espresso and optimism, but when the sun goes down, the loneliness and fatigue set in. I try to keep it upbeat, but it’s been tough. I’ve been trying to figure out why it’s so hard and have come to a few conclusions.

We’ve come to the realization that we don’t like big cities. When your traveling companion is 10 years old, you aren’t going to be spending 4 hours in the Louvre, or standing in line for an hour to see a famous museum. We go to parks and feed pigeons a lot. And we don’t need to be in Madrid or Rome to do that.

Vicky & Ben: Ben at Villa in Alicante

The Villa in Alicante

Also, we need to slow down. It’s exhausting to have to pack up and move to a new place every day. It’s more transit schedules to figure out, more carrying around a 12-pound backpack, more unfamiliar places.

So when someone recommended this villa in Alicante, where we could rent a whole apartment for only 39 euros a night, I immediately reserved it for our remaining two nights in Spain.
We need to unwind.
Ben agrees.


 

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