T - 45

Flights are booked. Spanish classes, surf camp, Inca trail trek, French classes, accommodations for 90% of Central/South America, 60% of Europe/Middle East and 100% of Asia are booked. Plans to meet with various people in Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Peru, Spain, Turkey and Shanghai are set. One visa obtained, one to go. Immunizations received. Health insurance coverage while abroad confirmed. Finances planned, with a cushion for emergencies such as last minute travel changes, "foreigner tax" and shopping, natch. 45 days till take-off and I am totally ready, especially mentally.

I can't pick one place I'm most excited about. Each location is a place I picked specifically to: a) learn or experience something from my "bucket list" or b) simply indulge myself in the various aspects the locale has to offer.

Antigua to learn Spanish and experience the most spectacular Santa Semana festivities in Latin America. Roatan to dive one of the world's greatest coral reefs. Costa Rica to learn how to surf. Peru to hike the Inca Trail. The Cote d'Azur to learn French. Greece for history and island-hopping. Turkey for its intersection of European and Middle Eastern cultures. Shanghai to visit friends. Dubai to see what extreme material extravagance looks like and maybe to ski indoors in the middle of the desert. Israel to visit the holy sites, swim in the Dead Sea and check out hot Israelis. Mumbai because I've always wanted to visit India. Eastern Europe because it's the new Western Europe.

Then there are the places I chose mostly....to eat. Namely, Spain and Malaysia. There are other reasons of course - I love the modern architecture and art, totally relaxed Euro attitude, hot Basque men, and siestas in Spain. Malaysia is one of the countries in SE Asia I wasn't able to hit during my post-bar trip and I've always wanted to go because it is a melting pot of Thai, Chinese, Indian and other neighboring cultures. But mostly, I absolutely adore the food. 2007's "Spring Break" trip was to Barcelona - and despite the fact that it rained 90% of the time we were there and it was about 30 degrees too cold to enjoy the beach, I had a fabulous time. Other than Seoul, which I had to add out of respect for my motherland, it's the only city I included in my trip that I have already been to. And the sole reason was that I had the best meal of 2007 there, and I plan to have the exact same meal again in 2008. More than once, if possible. I even booked our hotel in Barcelona based on its proximity to the restaurant. Kind of (I wanted to be in the Gothic quarter in general, since it's my favorite part of Barcelona to walk around, get lost in, or sit and drink cava or sangria for hours, but I was also very aware of how close Cuines Santa Caterina would be). Spain is the one place where I will not put myself on a daily food budget (which is $10 in Latin America, $40 in Western Europe, $20 in Eastern Europe and Asia). It's my mission to drink cava all day long, devour an inordinate amount of pintxos, taste the best Iberian and Serrano ham, have the best bacalao fritters, and basically spend all day every day hopping tapas bars. I might visit a historic building or museum here and there, just to add variety. But mostly to work off my fullness until my next meal. Spain is supposed to be a wonderful diverse country, where each region is very different from the next. For example, Madrid is supposedly quintessential Spain, while Barcelona is more Europe than Spain; Bilbao is the heart and capital of Basque country; Seville is part of Andalusia, heavily influenced by the Moors (Muslims). Each region is supposed to offer very different history, culture, etc. But I mostly care about how different, yet equally amazing, the food will be in each city.