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The TravelRight Dispatch

POSTCARD FROM THE GAYRAJ
​Even though summer is a time to enjoy our back yards, I've been tweaking my travel schedule like mad. I'm making plans not only for fall, but also for 2026. You should be, too! It’s never too early to start having something to look forward to, particularly if your next trip is looking complicated, lengthy or expensive—or all three. I’ve almost finished my first travel ebook, How to Plan a Vacation, coming soon to Kindle and Apple Books. I hope you'll join me as I lurch from one anecdote to the next. Such a romp! The blurb writes itself! As a TRDT subscriber, you will be the first to know about it.

EXCERPT​
On a drive through Northern Spain last November, we realized just how much of Spain we didn’t have a clue about. Castilla y León is the largest region in the country, full of ancient settlements and farmland, birthplace of the Spanish language. It’s also a wine region that’s been getting a lot of attention recently on the oenophile-tourism circuit. Today's excerpt is from IN Magazine.

Spain's Hidden Heart​
Though Spain is well-known for its ham, I fall hard for a completely different pork specialty—cochinillo, Castilian suckling pig—and at lunch no less. Clearly, the people of Castilla y León know how to live. We’re tucking into a three-course (at least) feast at fifth-generation, family-run restaurant Méson de Cándido in the small city of Segovia, an hour northwest of Madrid. A hush comes over the lunch crowd as said pig is wheeled out on a platter to the middle of the room. The tradition of carving it with the edge of a plate to demonstrate its tenderness is carried out by Alberto Cándido, whose son Cándido López now oversees this gastronomic landmark. Alberto performs a short recitation and carves the meat before smashing the earthenware plate on the floor to much applause. As the pork melts in my mouth, I wonder how many broken plates have been swept up since the 1930s, when the restaurant opened.

THE SHOP
Galería Canalejas, Madrid
​If you’re in Madrid this summer, check out the 15,000-square-metre luxury shopping mall anchored to the new Four Seasons Madrid. A major development company took a run-down square in central Madrid and gutted seven historic buildings, recreating them from scratch. It now houses more than 30 stores, including Dior, Giorgio Armani, Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Rolex, Saint Laurent, Valentino, Zegna and more. Preserving the history of the buildings was paramount (formerly banks, a newspaper, an insurance company). The façades were all restored, and Art Deco stained-glass windows, trellises, railings, marble, friezes, wrought-iron gates and things like bank vaults were reincorporated into the new design. The developers also redid their section of the street in period style, and even built and paid for a subway stop. Serious cash.

INTEL
In the next episode of The TravelRight.Today Podcast, the opening Top Tips list is all about How to Ride Shotgun on a Road Trip. This will be great info for those of you who love the passenger seat just as much as I do. Here below is an abridged version to tide you over until the podcast is published in a couple of weeks.

1. Understand your role. You are not just spinning through your Instagram or falling asleep or listening quietly to a podcast with your headphones or, you know, drinking a vodka soda out of a tin, you’re the trip captain, the driver’s assistant, the car runner.

2. The dashboard is your domain. Particularly the GPS, air conditioning and music—you are the DJ. It’s much safer to let the driver drive. You also need to be prepared with a pre-planned route, and it’s helpful to load your phone with the right apps – things like Bathroom Scout, Gasbuddy, Yelp, Waze and Google Maps. Roadtrippers.com is also useful.

3. Pack car essentials. Be ready with things like charge cords, toll-road money, water bottles and a mess kit that includes wet wipes, paper towels, plastic bags—and pooh bags, if the dog is also along for the ride.

4. Be the team’s aide de car. Any telephone calls to be made, texts to send or research to conduct must be done through you.

5. You are also head waiter. Dishing out snacks on the fly is a crucial part of the job description—opening chip bags, unwrapping pickles, ketchuping French fries, mopping up crumbs and dispensing devilled eggs.

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