Tag Archives | relationship

Krabi for Couples

By The Fighting Couple on July 7, 2012 in General, Slideshowable

Picture this setting: A sleepy beach town stuck in slow motion. The sun drifting below the horizon throwing pinks and orange streaks across the water and sky. Walking hand in hand along the golden sandy strip of beach with you lover. A light ocean breeze comes across the water. Behind you, a thick lush jungle wraps the town like a warm comforter. If you believe that this paradise simply sounds too good to be true, you have never been to Krabi, Thailand.

Krabi is located an hour south of Bangkok, Thailand via airplane, or a stunning 2 hour boat ride from Phuket. Phuket is a great base to visit the entire area. If you are looking for holidays in Phuket start here. More about incredible Phuket in a future post. The Krabi area offers beach of choice: Koh Lanta, Ao Nang, Koh Pi Pi, Railai ect. We stayed in Ao Nang and highly recommend it for its food, access to boats, and quality yet affordable accommodations.

What to do

Make your visit to Krabi the ultimate quest to find the perfect beach. The night before your adventure, head into one of the small grocery stores along the main road in Ao Nang. Load a basket with some of your favorite picnic items. Don’t forget your favorite beverages. You will need some water as well, as it was not readily available at many of the beaches we explored. Step one: head down to the beach area in the early morning (early = 8 a.m. on vacation for us). Step two: approach at least two, preferably three of the boat kiosks along the water front and ask for the 4 to 5 beach private long boat tour. Don’t go cheap and book a boat with a bunch of other people…the price is really not that much more, and going out as a couple is so much more fun.

Time to get on the water! You will pay your bill which should range from $50-75 for the entire day. Then they will direct you to a truck that will take you down to their boat launch. Board your craft and off you go! The boat drivers typically speak enough English, Swedish, German, or Japanese to make basic communication possible. The driver takes you from one small island to the next in you quest for the perfect beach at your leisure. The sand is as white as sugar and the water is warm, about 80 degrees. Luci hates cold water so it was perfect for her! It will be a day, that you will never, never forget. Take a look at some of these pictures:

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Where to stay

One of the great things about Krabi is the big “monster” resorts have yet to arrive. (This is a very good thing.) What you will find in terms of accommodation varies in quality and correlating price. There is everything for basic hostel type with shared facilities to self-catering cottages. We elected to stay in two different bed and breakfasts. Our priority was price and comfort. Staying right on the beach wasn’t a big deal to us. Both locations were a short 3 minute ride to the water and both places had their own shuttle AKA pick up truck. Not a problem.

Phu Pi Maan

Phu Pi Maan– Despite the poor choice of name…this resort is really wonderful. The resort offers free transport to and from town. It is really easy. We also liked being off the main drag. Rooms were clean and large. Beds are a bit hard, but we are softies from the states. One of our favorite parts of this place is the pool. It is a split level with makes it perfect for couples. The owners are devout Muslims so alcohol in any form is not available for purchase. Don’t miss June and Jane’s Massage just down the street, great massage for a great price. We paid $50 for two hour massage and scrub for the two of us! A clean facility and nice people!

Phu Petra Resort

Phu Petra-The best service we had in Thailand was at this superb little resort a couple minutes from town. Much like Phu Pi Maan, free transport was offered to and from Ao Nang. Phu Petra is a little more upscale, with its huge suites and setting at the base of stunning limestone cliffs. Breakfast is included in the price and is more than adequate. You’ll have your choice of made to order omelets, meats, fruits and fresh juices. The front desk is a fountain of knowledge on the area and can make just about anything happen for you.

What to Eat

Krabi is seafood mecca! We did struggle to find traditional Thai in the area. It’s definitely a tourist zone! Load up on the good traditional Thai fare in Bangkok. We did find the perfect seafood grill. Perched on the side of a small hill overlooking the city is the Lae Lay Grill. This place is so good that we ate there twice during our stay! (This is unusual for us, we typically like to explore a different place every night.) So yes, it is that good. We love the open kitchen as you walk in. They take their food prep serious! Service is above average, and the quality of the food is high. The best part is of course the view of the ocean that the place offers. Try the rice cooked in a pineapple and the seafood platter. We ate there our last night and we were speechless watching the sunset. (the Fighting Couple speechless? We didn’t think this was possible.)

The warm waters of Southern Thailand are truly meant for couples. Take the challenge to find the perfect beach! Southern Thailand has so much to offer! Stop dreaming and make it happen!

10 Things to See at Angkor Wat….besides Angkor Wat.

By The Fighting Couple on June 19, 2012 in General, Slideshowable

Ask any traveler…and one of the locations in their top 10 will likely include a visit to Angkor Wat. What makes this location so special? We just returned from a visit to these historic Hindu and Buddhist temples, and trust us, there is plenty that makes this place worthy of anyone’s top 10 list. We came up with a list of our favorite things about visiting Angkor Wat. Enjoy!

1) Cambodian Ferraris (aka tuk tuks)– It is a little hokey, but we really enjoyed using the tuk tuks. Why you ask? First of all, we had a great driver. He offered ideas on what to see and when which proved very helpful. But our favorite part of the tuk tuk was the smells. Driving through the forests that surround the temples, we would catch the scent of flowers and trees. Tuk tuks offer cheap and easy transport between temples, lodging and foodstuffs.

2) The Pink Temple-One of our favorite temples wasn’t even on the Angkor Wat premises. The Pink temple or its formal name Banteay Srey Temple is a 45 min. drive by car away from Angkor Wat. What makes this temple special is the color of the sandstone. It is quite remarkable. We also found these ruins were in a little better shape than other temples in the area. The reliefs on the sculptures were much more complete.

3) The People-This should really be at the top of the list. The people of Cambodia are some of the most hospitable and generous we have come across. Life in Cambodia has been marked by political upheaval, economic turmoil and human atrocities that are legendary. This is a given. What was shocking to us, was the how despite this background, the people retain a positive if not even optimistic outlook on life. We miss our friends in Cambodia.

4) Amuk Soup–How can a soup make the top ten list? Easy. It is just that good! It was our first full day of touring the ruins and we were sweltering in the heat. We were already beat at mid day. Our trusty guide Mr. Thy, asked, “hungry?” Sheepishly we both nodded. He drove us to what looked like a nice restaurant, then we drove behind it and there was kind of a garage looking building. We were not impressed. Large fans were mounted on the walls and the tables looked a makeshift. As the adage goes, never judge a book by its cover. We had one of the best culinary experiences in all of our travels in South East Asia. It was here that we were introduced to Amuk Soup. The workingman’s soup is a delightful blend of shallots, lemongrass, garlic, and kaffir lime. It was the perfect pick me up. Try it!

5) The Tomb Raider Temple—Yes, we had to pay our homage to Angelina Jolie. The Tomb Raider Temple or Ta Prohm is located a few minutes away from the main Angkor Wat complex. It was built in the Khmer style in 1187 AD. What is most remarkable about this temple complex is how the jungle is taking over. Huge trees have invaded the temple and are sucking it down into the jungle. This temple makes for some amazing pictures.

6) Palm sugar-the second food item on the list! This one is pure sugar! One of our guides explained the process of collecting the nectar from the male spores, heating the sugar up, and putting it is the bite-sized forms. Palm sugar is a sweet treat between temples.

7) Cambodian Massage-How could we not mention one of our fave parts of visiting Cambodia? Two words: Cheap Massages. We use the word cheap in reference only to the price. The quality was above and beyond! We enjoyed our Cambodian massages more than our Thai ones!

8) Monk watching– We know, this one sounds just a little creepy. But we are a little weird…we live in Idaho we don’t have monks. We sad for an hour and just watched them interact. It was fascinating. The bright orange togas for the males and the flowing white robes of the females made for great pics.

9) Baby monkeys-How could this not make the list? Seriously!

10)Angkor Wat at Sunrise-I know, I know, everyone does this….and for good reason. The sunrise at this holy of holies is simply something to behold. The skyline is especially impressive preceding and during the rainy season. The clouds reflecting the light make for a few moments of magic. Making yourself get up at O’dark hundred in order to join with the throngs of camera wielding tourists can be a little discouraging. But the views are simply breathtaking. The pictures simply do not do it justice.

A word about getting to Angkor Wat. There is the hard way which is cheap, take a bus from Bangkok. Leave in the spring, you should get there by the fall. Or there is the easy way which will cost your first born, take Bangkok Air from Bangkok. The have a monopoly and get a king’s ransom for the 45 min. flight.

That’s the list! What an amazing/crazy place. Cambodia-the first reaction we received when we let our friends and family know we were headed to Cambodia was utter shock and horror! “You guys are going where?” Cambodia and Angkor Wat have become one of the Fighting Couple’s favorite places.

Ever been to Angkor Wat? What was your fave part?

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Couple Travel

By The Fighting Couple on June 12, 2012 in General, Slideshowable

Traveling as a couple is rough! We have been a couple for over 15 years, and traveled to 25 plus countries on 5 continents. One thing that we have learned traveling over this time is that traveling together can be the best and worst. We thought that we would offer you some handy tips on how to travel together.

Traveling with a man-

“Being a woman is a terribly difficult task, since it consists principally in dealing with men.” -Joseph Conrad

Traveling with a man is truly a test of patience and will power. We want to arm you with some tactics that will make your next holiday much more enjoyable. So let’s start with the basics: Hunger.

1 Hunger-One of the intriguing features of male physiology is the constant need for…..food. In the bible of understanding all men aka: The Godfather note when big decisions need to be made…food is included ie “Leave the gun bring the cannoli.” A little known fact is that 61 scenes involve food. Why? Men need Man Fuel. It makes everything go much better. Those little mini-meals they serve on long haul flights? Not gonna cut it. Ladies in order to combat this challenge plan your meals. Make time for food! A little planning goes a long way.

2 Directions-Just like the pitiful scene of Napoleon at Waterloo or Lee at Appomattox, asking a man to hand over his sword and ask for directions is just as humiliating. Admitting defeat, even in the face of insurmountable odds, is next to impossible! Instead, might we suggest that if possible you approach by using rule number one. “Hey I am starving…is there anyway we could stop by this store/café and grab a quick bite?” (see rule #1) At the same time… this will give you a chance to inconspicuously ask for some pointers on where the heck you are. The invention of GPS has quite possibly single handedly saved our marriage. It is now a travel must.

Traveling with a Woman

“The great question that has never been answered and which I have not yet been able to answer, despite my thirty years of research into the feminine soul, is ‘What does a woman want?” -Sigmund Freud

It’s all about the journey, not the destination. Men, for whatever reason have a “let’s get there attitude” when traveling and doing other things. As women, we tend to focus a little more on the path. Men: build in a little extra time into your schedules. Be flexible. Here’s an example from our recent trip to Venice which turned into another 1000 fights. We were driving from Triste, Italy to Venice. We were looking through tourist books and spotted an amazing castle cradling the bay outside of Triste. It wasn’t in our plan. Mike had an Excel spreadsheet that kept a strict schedule with everything we were to see that day and the castle wasn’t on the list. He didn’t even know about the castle. Of course Mike was like, “Gotta get on the road, got to see Venice, got to obey the spreadsheet.” After a fight that resulted in zero pictures of Mike and I together at the castle (in fact, Mike wouldn’t even take pictures of me-our friends were the photographers), we went to the castle. We ended up seeing one of the most incredible sites of our entire trip. Mike admitted he was wrong three weeks after the trip, and I have a few pictures of a fairy tale castle in Italy. Guys take the hint. Be flexible. Slow down a little and enjoy the ride!

A little more talk and a little less action

Talk. Women need to talk. We need to communicate. We need to discuss. Guys: a couple of different options for you. Some of you are talkers as well, so no problem. Some of you are good listeners, no problem. If you are neither or your name is Mike, a few ideas for you. Let your spouse known that you need some time to talk. You finally have some time together, and for women it’s all about communication. If you don’t know what to talk about, we suggest “The Book of If: Questions for the Games of Life and Love” by Evelyn McFarlane and James Saywell. On a four hour drive through Croatia, we found out a lot about each other. Like, “If you could fire someone from work, who would it be,” or “If you could relive one romantic date from high school just as it was, which would it be.” Some answers we had to plead the “fifth.” But overall, it’s a great way to get a conversation going.

Of course one of the most important part of a successful trip as a couple is the place. Why not try one of the Club Med all inclusive resorts? Sun, sand, and your sweetie what more do you need?

There they are, a few ideas to help you travel as a couple. So get out there and explore the world together!

The Danger of Expectations (in Marriage and Travel)

By The Fighting Couple on May 29, 2012 in Best of the Fighting Couple, General, Slideshowable

One of the many precautions we take in our travels is getting the proper immunizations. Before our Amazon trek, we went in to our local medical clinic and said, give us everything you’ve got! We felt like human pin cushions! Those pesky shots, while painful in the short term prepared our bodies to reject the attack of those pesky yellow fever things. But no immunization or medication can protected someone from an unrealized expectation. We have found this out the hard way.

Perception is Reality?

We just returned from a two week trip to Asia, visiting both Thailand and Cambodia. I had lived in Taiwan for a couple of years in college, this was Luci’s first visit to the Orient. It was so intriguing to watch her experience a new culture, and dispel and confirm some of her preconceptions. She thought that the food would be spicy, and it was! In other areas she discovered that she was completely off base. Each new place we visit we arrive with the rose colored glasses of glossy guidebooks. (That’s one reason we love the travel blogging community, for its candid un-gussied up descriptions.) As travelers, we tend to be loaded with pre-conceptions. These notions rarely hit the mark.

Pinterest Perfect?

Just like travel, we build in our minds some times unrealistic expectations from our marriages/ relationships. We think things should be a certain way. Simply because…that’s the way things happen in the movies or on TV. Why would we want to model a relationship after a fictional portrayal? #epicfail ! (I just used a hashtag as a complete sentence! Cross that off the bucket list!) Our culture, our environment push us to envision and quite frankly expect the ideal. Look no further than Pinterest to see well-meaning people create a palette of perfection. The never ending quest for the perfect wedding centerpiece. Then there’s the dress! All of this leads us to create in our mind an expectation, typically unrealistic and unattainable.

Is that really healthy?

How to overcome?

Some of the best advice we have ever received was offered by Javier, our young Peruvian guide in the Amazon Jungle. Before embarking on our night safari in the Jungle he counseled us, “don’t set your heart on seeing any one animal or insect..just enjoy what you find in the jungle.” Wise words for sure. We have often reflected on this advice. Enjoy the ride. Don’t say..i want this, that and the other or the experience is an abject failure. Don’t do that to yourself. Enjoy the journey for what it is. Leave your expectations at the lodge of life and open your heart to the experience.

Finding the perfect in the one you love

Come up with your own perfect. One thing that we have discovered in 15 years of marriage and 25 some years of friendship is that neither one of is perfect. We likely know each other’s flaws and quirks better than anyone else in the galaxy. For a relationship to thrive, we can’t expect our lover to be a combo of every perfect character we have read about in Jane Austen novels. Likewise, it is completely unrealistic and a little dangerous to expect our sweetheart to look like a supermodel 24/7. It is up to us to find the best in those we love, especially our significant other.

How do you overcome your preconceptions? What are your secrets to rejecting the pressure for perfection? Let us know in the comments below.

Open Love Letter to Istanbul

By The Fighting Couple on May 22, 2012 in General, Slideshowable

I Love Istanbul. Let me count the ways.

The People

Our love Fighting couple love letter to Istanbul must begin with the people. But before we start our overture, let’s say we accidentally fell in love. It was Luci’s year to pick our location for the annual big trip. We went back and forth on various spots around the world. Luci wanted a place with history, culture and food. I showed her a video of Turkey. In the next 24 hours, we booked a trip to Turkey. It happened so fast, she says I “Jedi-Mind Tricked Her.” She spent the next six months trying to get to Greece! But it turns out our “accident” in selecting Turkey was a dream come true. We fell in love.

Like most Norte Americanos, the first thing that comes to mind when we think of “Turkey” is the poor foul that gets placed in the center of the table in November. But Turkey is one of the most hospitable countries to visit.

We found Turks to be the epitome of kindness and generosity. On several occasions, Turks went the extra mile to show off their country and culture. As an example, once my subway card won’t work, and a man came up and swiped his. Whether we were buying a rug or a kabob, we were greeted with a smile and a “Welcome, my friend.”

The Shopping

Shopping is one of our favorite pastimes. Shopping in Istanbul is a contact sport! If you can buy it, you can find it in Istanbul. Of course, you cannot visit Istanbul without a trip to the famous Grand Bazaar. It literally takes days to explore it from top to bottom. There is so much to take in, so many little dark alleyways leading to hidden treasures.

A friend recently asked if an hour would be sufficient, we laughed. An hour is sufficient to have lunch before even going in. The main attractions at the Bazaar are rugs. Prices range from a few dollars to hundreds of thousands. Part of the game is agreeing on the price. Turkey also sports some beautiful hand painted pottery and delicately designed ceramics.

The Spice Market

The Spirit

Our exposure to Islam has been very limited. In preparation for our visit, we invested some time to learn more about the world’s second largest religion with 1.5 billion followers or over 22% of the earth population. A few of the keys to understand about Islam: Followers of Islam are called Muslims. Muslims and Islam are not different (common misunderstanding).

Muslims take their teachings from the Qur’an. They believe that the religion was revealed universally through prophets including Abraham, Moses, Jesus and the last prophet Muhammad.

With a basic primer in Islam, we took in many of the famous holy places in Istanbul. Many of the historic mosques are now open to the general public to enter and explore. Again, we found the people of Istanbul more than willing to help us interpret what we were seeing. The artwork, carpets, stonework and the parishioners make visiting these places something special. Hearing the call to prayer at diverse times of the day added to the mystic of the city. We found the “quality” of the prayer caller to be dependent on the size of the city. Istanbul hosted the most beautiful prayer callers.

Regardless of your religious bent, take the time to understand what you are seeing, what it means to the people and why. Most of all please be respectful of the buildings. Most mosques require conservative clothing, women’s heads to be covered and shoes removed.

The Water

One of the defining features of Istanbul is the water. It is magical. The city itself is dived in half by the Bosporus River. It is not like the wimpy canals of Venice. The mighty Bosporus is a powerful, choppy and colorful symbol of the city. The bridges that link the city and two continents are works of art in both day and night time. Also, check out the Basilica cistern with discarded columns underground that held the city’s drinking water. It’s another monument’s to the city’s dramatic water.

Istanbul….(or is it Constantinople?), we love you. We love your intense waterscape, spirited markets, your warm people, and your heart. We can’t wait to go back!

If you are looking for help booking your holidays to Turkey, look no further!

How to Beat the Post Trip Blues

By The Fighting Couple on May 20, 2012 in General, Slideshowable

Jet Lag. We all know the feeling: you just got back from a great trip and now it’s back to “real” life.

I love the buildup leading up to our next big trip: learning the language, researching the new food, planning what to see and when. It is such a rush! But once our passport reentry is stamped, and the luggage collected, and laundry started, the blues sets in: the Post Trip Blues.

Symptoms:

Jet lag: Returning from our latest adventure to Cambodia (a 24 hour endeavor). It was Jet Lag 2 vs. Fighting Couple 0. Exhaustion sets in during the day, and we were wide awake at the unseemly morning hours. We felt like we had the flu: stomachs upset from adjusting to our native fare, dizzy, and thinking in a fog. We transformed from the fighting couple to the grumpy couple!

The Learning Let Down: For us, our trips are an academic exercise. Every waking hour is engaged in learning new things, meeting new people, eating new things, adjusting to new challenges. Then, once we get home…not so much.

The Left Overs: Both Luci and I have pretty fast paced and demanding jobs. Upon our return, we face hundreds of emails, fires to put out, and fires to start. Then we have our kids who haven’t seen us in two weeks and we have to “peel” them off of us because they missed us!

At times we even question why we do this to ourselves.

The Secret to beating the Jet Lag!

So what’s our secret to beat the post trip blues? We don’t have one. The fact is-You travel so you can get away from home and coming back home means going back to “normal life.” But we have found a few things that seem to help a little.

Let’s take on the first symptom:

The Nasty jet lag. Step one is rest at the right times. This is hard, especially when your time change is significant. Our Cambodia trip put us 13 hours at odds with our home time. Resist the temptation to get up at 2 a.m. and do work. (Luci woke up and did work.) It’s only going to make it worse. Likewise, you must avoid the 2 p.m. naps. (Luci also took naps) Take it easy on the caffeine. (Luci likes Pepsi.) Drink your water. Our secret, if there is one, is sunlight. Luci take hers via melatonin pills and vitamins, I prefer walks or some tennis. Getting some sun tells the body that it’s day now and get with the program! USA Today recently had an article supporting sunlight therapy.

The Learning Let Down: This is a tough one. The one thing that we really enjoy is to inflict our friends when we get home with a “trip report party.” We invite a bunch of friends over, and share a few of our pictures, cook up some of the local cuisine (last year we brought back Eurocream from Bosnia and made crepes) and discuss what we saw. Not sure why people keep coming back to these because we can’t think of anything worse than looking at other people’s vacation pictures, but we have some really great friends and they ask about it every year. Plus, it helps us process what we saw and tie it all together. Once we land, we start putting together pictures and share some self-reflection on how what we saw has affected us. We highly recommend a trip report party because you get to share the world with your friends and encourage them to travel!

The Left Overs: It ceases to amaze us, every time we get back; there is two weeks’ worth of work awaiting us. We call it hitting the “post trip wall.” One of our little strategies to deal with the immersion is to hit the office in the afterhours. Email is kind of like the timeline of what you missed, so start with the most recent first. You may find out that half the problems emailed to you in week one of your trip are solved by week two. You also get a synopsis of what happened while you were gone, so when you do face folks in person, you have a reference as to what they are talking about. We have great coworkers, and they all want to know if we actually ate dog or cat on our trips and all the skinny on what happened, so getting a head start lets us be much more personal when we go back. Also, don’t make any major decisions the first few days back to work. You won’t be right in the head, so don’t risk your job.

Then, there are the kids….. 1000fights’ mission is to get couples to leave their children at home and take a trip. You love your children and they love you, but you’ll love them more after the trip. Getting accumulated to the kids, takes time. Expect a few of your children to punish you. When our girls were little, I remember one of our daughters being so mad at us when we returned. At first, she ignored us and then she yelled at us over silly things. This phase will pass. To ease reentry back to the family, do some snooping. The fact is, your kids aren’t going to tell you everything that happened while you were gone. Go through every one of my children’s worksheets from school, call the piano teacher or baseball coach and ask how things went. Also do a thorough debrief with grandma or who watched your kids. You’ll find things were fine while you were gone, but it doesn’t mean your kids didn’t miss you! Most important, share what you learned from your trip. It’s therapy for you and it’s a great social studies less for your kids.

So what is your secret for dealing with the post trip blues? What works for you? Never underestimate the power of a good fight to help as well! Next time your are Glasgow, check out the Windsor Hotel. Glasgow has been called the style capital of Scotland. It plays host to 13 plus free museums! It also sports over 70 parks and gardens, great for walking that jet lag away.

My Day With Gaudi

By The Fighting Couple on April 30, 2012 in General, Slideshowable

Those who look for the laws of Nature as a support for their new works collaborate with the creator. –Antonio Gaudi

There is a long list of things the Catalonian region (Barcelona, Spain) has given to the world: amazing paella, an incredible football team, and one of the greatest modernismo architects: Antonio Gaudi.

We are going to take you on a visual day tour of the greatest Gaudi masterpieces in Barcelona. You are going to see futuristic designs, wild abandoned whimsy and holy edifices that rival the best of Rome!

First off a little primer on Gaudi:

The most famous architect of the 20^th century was born in Rues (or just outside, depending on what account you believe) in the Tarragona providence of Catalonia, 50 miles south of Barcelona. After enduring a childhood troubled by rheumatism, the son of two coppersmiths travelled to the Catalan capital to enroll as a student at the Escola Technica Superrior d’Arguitectura where he duly studied from 1873 to 1877. Even his professors did not quite know what to make of his work, and when he was awarded the title of architect in 1878, Elies Rogent, the director of the school, declared: “Who knows if we have given this diploma to a nut or to a genius? Time will tell.” http://www.barcelona-life.com

Lets start our tour!

Park Guell

One of Gaudi’s wealthy patrons wanted to build a par for the blue bloods of Barcelona. He wanted to build a gates community before the advent of gated communities. He wanted a park setting with fountains, dramatic vistas and swanky amenities. Gaudi was up for the challenge.

Park Guell sits atop a gentle hill with views of the city, the sea and another piece of Gaudi’s handiwork the Sagrada Famila.

Today you can stroll through the park setting and take in some amazing vistas.

Casa Mila-La Pedrera

At the top of the mighty tough fare Las Ramblas is the Modernismo masterpiece, La Pedrera. La Pedrera means The Quarry. It is the precious gem of Barcelona. The apartment complex was commissioned with money made in America by married couple Roser Segimon and Pere Mila.

The address quickly became the pinnacle of success. The façade of the building reflects the rolling waves of the sea.

Perhaps the most photographed part of the structure with its unique statues and fireplace chimneys.

Sagrada Familia

Gaudi has been nicknamed, “God’s Architect”. While this might be a little presumptuous, one cannot argue his dedication to integrate what he say in Creation with a capital C into his creations with a little c.

The construction of the Sagrada Familia predates Gaudi’s involvement. It began its construction in 1882. Shortly there after, Gaudi was brought in and completely transformed the scope and design of the project. Gaudi employ his skills building the cathedral until his untimely death in 1926. At his passing the building was a little over 25% complete. The Sagrada Familia is still a work in progress. Gaudi’s grand vision outstripped his lifetime’s devotion to building.

When objections were raised as to the extended completion date of the Sagrada Famila, Gaudi said:

“Don’t worry, my client isn’t in a hurry.”

Since then the project has been on again off again. It is projected that the completion date will be around 2026 the centennial of Gaudi’s death.

Gaudi’s work is on full display in beautiful Barcelona. Don’t miss it!

Are you looking for Free Coupon Codes or Southwest Airlines Coupon codes? You just found them.

Do Olympic cities really win gold by hosting the “Games”?

By The Fighting Couple on April 20, 2012 in General, Slideshowable

“The Olympics are a wonderful metaphor for world cooperation, the kind of international competition that’s wholesome and healthy, an interplay between countries that represents the best in all of us. “
– John Williams

During our recent trip to Barcelona, Spain I went on a mission to really see what the aftermath of hosting the Olympics really is. The answer I found truly shocked me.

First off, you must know, that both Luci and I are huge fans of the games. I remember fondly of donning my PJs to watch the games on our little black and white tele, watching the games. Names like Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Mary Lou Retton are linked with my view of the games. Victors of the games become national heroes overnight it seems. Needless to say, I am bias when we start to talk about the games. One must not overlook the international unity that the games create.

But what happens after all of the gold is given out, the spend-happy tourists have been lightened of their coin and the lights are dimmed? Then what?

Barcelona an Olympic Story

From the start of the games with its dramatic torch lighting display, there was something magical about the Barcelona games:

The before and after picture of Barcelona is just as dramatic as one of those cheeky weight loss pictures where a huge hulk of man is turned into a bantam weight string bean. The Olympics certainly changed the face, the mind, the strength, but certainly not the heart of Catalonia.

Barcelona 20 years after the Olympics

The Olympics have long been a huge endeavor for the cities that win the bid. The sheer expense of building venues, building infrastructure to get to and from the events not to mention the efforts to attract the patrons that help pay for all of the above.

Here are the quick facts:

Expense:

Installation and prep for facilities ($460 million usd)

Services to Olympic Family ($370 million usd)

Telecommunications and electronics ($240 million usd)

Competitions ($100 million usd)

Commercial Management ($10 million usd)

Ceremonies and cultural acts ($90 million usd)

Image and promotion ($80 million)

Security ($40 million)

Key Revenue:

Sponsors: $580 million

Television Rights: $635 million

Bottom line: It is estimated that the direct investments related to the games of Barcelona from 1986 to 1993 reached over $8 Billion. Staggering.

Source: http://olympicstudies.uab.es

Infrastructure Legacy

The Olympic Stadium

The entire area of Catalonia is dotted with improvements. The stadiums and venues, primary located in Montjuic, Diagonal, and Vall d’Hebron, are a lasting tribute to the games. A lion share of these venues are still in full use today. Transportation improvements were significant. The improved ring roads of the city, improved mass transit capabilities made the city much more easier to navigate for come lately tourists like myself the and millions that call Barcelona home. There was an increase in new sewage systems of 17%, new green zones and beaches increased a staggering 78%! The results of these key infrastructure investments continue to pay mighty dividends today.

One of the infrastructure highlights is what has been dubbed, “the Most Beautiful Dive Pool in The World”:

Seeing the Olympic side of Barcelona today

Start your visit at the Joan Antoni Samaranch (The father of the 1992 Games) Olympic Museum. Located right next to the amazing Olympic Stadium. Wander around the many venues located on top of Montjuic. Footstep of famous Olympians adorn the sidewalk outside the entertaining Museum.

The Olympic Museum in Barcelona

One of the many interactive exhibits at the museum

Money, Money, Money?

Over a third of the game’s infrastructure improvements came from private hands. This is impressive by any standard. The Spanish state, regional authority and local municipalities footed the remaining 2/3rds of the bill. The build up to the games and influx of investment caused a boon for those involved. The population employed in construction grew 72% from 1985 to 1992. The consumption of cement rose 74%! The trickle down effect of this massive influx of investment spread across the entire region. Average family incomes as well as tax receipts increased dramatically. (http://olympicstudies.uab.es/pdf/od006_eng.pdf)

What might be one of the most telling reflections on the Barcelona Games is the number of cities submitting bids to host their own. The total cities submitting bids went from 6 to 12.

Back to our original question asked at the begging of the post, do the games really help cities? In the case of Barcelona you must say yes.

The Fighting Couple on Pinterest?

By The Fighting Couple on April 14, 2012 in General, Slideshowable

Pinterest!!??? Are you tired of seeing beautiful hair bows and amazing looking tuna casserole on Pinterest? Are you looking for something with a little more KICK? The Fighting Couple are finally on Pinterest!!! Luci and I both post our finds onto our Pinterest site. We are always on the hunt for new topics, pictures, ect, so please share if you find something that we should share. We are relative Pinterest virgins, so give us a follow and we will follow you back! We promise!

1000 Fights Pinterest Boards:

Besides our ever popular “Fighting couple” board, we have a couple more that we want to give you a background on:

Flight Fashion– One of our more popular posts was our review of the flight fashion of some of the leading airlines. Haven’t read it? You have come a long way baby!

Finding Hemingway-This is my favorite board. I am such a Hemingway fan. This is my chance to collect some quotes and unique pics of papa.

Una Historia Sin Palabras (a story without words)-We admire great photogs. Sometime one picture can tell you a novel. This is the case with this board. I stare at these pictures and they summon emotion, wonder and passion. My fave of this board is of course the Tiananmen pic.

Je Ne se Quois– This is Luci’s section. Do you ever stumble across a picture that just takes your breath away? It could the beaty of a fall scene, or a tender moment of a child. Of course George Clooney made this board! Enjoy!

So do you have a favorite board? Can we be Pinterest friends?

The Man’s Guide to Traveling with a Woman

By The Fighting Couple on March 15, 2012 in Best of the Fighting Couple, General, Slideshowable

5 Things Every Man Should Know About Women…While Traveling.

How do you travel with a Woman? Not long ago we did a post relating little know secrets about how to travel with men. We have now turned the tables and offer you hommes a few insights on how to travel with the fairer sex. While every person has their own travel style, and we certainly don’t want to paint every woman into a box, there are a few helpful general tips, that if understood, can help couples find greater harmony on the road. So here we go:

Miramare Castle, Triste, Italy

It’s all about the journey, not the destination.

Men, for whatever reason have a “let’s get there attitude” when traveling and doing other things. As women, we tend to focus a little more on the path. Men: build in a little extra time into your schedules. Be flexible. Here’s an example from our recent trip to Venice which turned into another 1000 fights. We were driving from Triste, Italy to Venice. We were looking through tourist books and spotted an amazing castle cradling the bay outside of Triste. It wasn’t in our plan. Mike had an Excel spreadsheet that kept a strict schedule with everything we were to see that day and the castle wasn’t on the list. He didn’t even know about the castle. Of course Mike was like, “Gotta get on the road, got to see Venice, got to obey the spreadsheet.” After a fight that resulted in zero pictures of Mike and I together at the castle (in fact, Mike wouldn’t even take pictures of me-our friends were the photographers), we went to the castle. We ended up seeing one of the most incredible sites of our entire trip. Mike admitted he was wrong three weeks after the trip, and I have a few pictures of a fairy tale castle in Italy. Guys take the hint. Be flexible. Slow down a little and enjoy the ride!

Cleanliness is next to Godess-ness

I don’t know how many times I have said…for men…the world is your urinal. Traveling, as we have in third world countries, the facilities are not always ideal. No problem. But there is a clear and bright line between rustic and disgusting. Third world or first world, some truck stops are dens of disgusting. Men take this little hint, when the facilities are sub par, DON’T ARGUE. Try saying things like…”Let’s find another place” or “There is a hotel just down the road, lets go over there.” My hero! One option we highly recommend is skipping the hotel and renting a vacation apartment instead.”

Pictures are the best souvenir

Its all about the social media and the Christmas card. Deep down, women are vain. We really are. Men could care less how their outfit looks or if their makeup is smudged. OK maybe most men don’t care about their make up. For us frau-lines, we truly want our vacation pics to look really good. Why do we take vacation pics? To show them off to all our friends on Facebook! Our photo shoots might take a little long. Guys, take it from me, you want us to look hot for these pics, it will make all of your old girl friends # jealous!

The whole flowers thing

This is likely the hardest concept for men to understand. Women like cute things. Cute things can come in the shape of purring cats, daffodils, teacups and cutie-bug kids. We are going to take pictures of them, we are going to cuddle them, we may put an entire tour on hold to take pictures of a bunny. I can’t tell you how many pictures we have of the dafodills in front of Jane Austen’s house! They were incredible! Guys, this is really going to test your patience. Take a deep breath. Count to 10. Trust me, if you make a big deal about this, you will be removed from our “cute” list. This will not bode well for you later. Girls can I have an “amen?!”

A little more talk and a little less action

Women need to talk. We need to communicate. We need to discuss. Guys: a couple of different options for you. Some of you are talkers as well, so no problem. Some of you are good listeners, no problem. If you are neither or your name is Mike, a few ideas for you. Let your spouse known that you need some time to talk. You finally have some time together, and for women it’s all about communication. If you don’t know what to talk about, we suggest “The Book of If: Questions for the Games of Life and Love” by Evelyn McFarlane and James Saywell. On a four hour drive through Croatia, we found out a lot about each other. Like, “If you could fire someone from work, who would it be,” or “If you could relive one romantic date from high school just as it was, which would it be.” Some answers we had to plead the “fifth.” But overall, it’s a great way to get a conversation going.

If communicating together isn’t your thing, join friends you meet on the tourist trail for drinks before/after/during dinner. Meeting fellow travelers is one of the most dynamic experiences that can create lifelong friendships and maybe a few Facebook friend requests!

Gentlemen, these are a few little hints for keeping us gals happy whilst on the road. Every women is different, but take these ideas into consideration and know your travel partner.

Gals, did we miss anything? If you could tell you guy just one thing that would make life a little easier out there, what would you tell him?

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