2018, how many have you taught us!
There are not many synonyms for traveling: pilgrimage, running, walking, flying, moving, moving, rolling, exploring, navigating, wandering... And yet, At Traveler.es we have tried to ensure that there is almost one verb per destination, a word of its own for each coordinate and each tablecloth.
An unlikely challenge that, in 2018, has translated into many plans and proposals with which we have ensured that there are at least 365 sunrises in which synonymy does not matter as much as those irrepressible desire to discover that some baptized as spirit Wanderlust. We prefer to call it #YoSoyTraveler .
Because there is a heterodox Toledo that you have not heard of
HERE NEXT
Call it slow tourism, proximity tourism or, basically, return to the town with another look. Because, ultimately, exoticism is not a magnitude to be measured in miles and there are real wonders across the street yet to be discovered.
1.The most smiling city in the world is in Spain, and not only because we have discovered it by walking and exchanging glances, but because the Happiness Research Institute says so. Nothing less.
2.There are destinations as close as ** Toledo ** or the province of Segovia that can be rediscovered by following Some rather curious tracks and routes.
3.Zaragoza is a gastronomic destination to be explored, which is why it is best to start with the Tube , the tapas area to pilgrimage to.
4.In Spain there are still many reasons to travel, and this year we have opted for its stairs, for those **islands still unknown in our geography** where you can spend the summer like Robinson Crusoe and for those scenarios so typical of Roman movies.
5.** Almería ** is one of those provinces that are worth more for what they hide than for what they show. And as an example of this, the definitive story about John Lennon and his stay in this city and the Genoveses, one of those beaches that they have not yet heard spoken in Swedish.
6. Speaking of beaches, some like Portitxol have managed to get fewer legs that look like sausages on Instagram and more white barracks and authenticity.
White and blue: the colors of one of the most trendy beaches of the summer
7. You always have to return to Granada every evening. And to Triana ( Seville ), every noon.
8.The Costa del Sol It is one of those infinite destinations full of stories, plans and luxuries. Your trending topic this year? Casares or that Torremolinos of the crazy 70s.
9.The always dynamic list of towns to escape to to disconnect , this year includes the quiet Piedralaves , the effervescent Patones , the photogenic Consuegra and the creative Atalbeitar as new members.
10. The region of La Vera is the only and genuine natural water park in Spain.
11.Welcome to Couto Mixto, the independent republic of Ourense.
12. "Asturias or do you work?" The best souvenir slogan in history has in Cudillero and in its winter plans two examples that it is not just a correct phrase.
13.In case anyone doubted it, the white towns of Cádiz are much more than a summer postcard. As a sample, the flavors of Vejer de la Frontera and the dizzying beauty of Arcos de la Frontera.
14.The longest volcanic tube in the world is in Lanzarote, a rarity that is also a very movie-loving place.
Berlengas Islands, the paradise of Portugal that you still do not know
15. It is convenient to cross the borders and go to our neighbor Portugal. That because? Well, because on its coast is the great traveling serendipity of 2018, Las Berlengas, as well as the relax-vineyard plan of the season.
16. Traveling is also opening your mind and discovering that things are being done well in France and that nothing would happen if we copied them.
17. Oh! And every time you go to speak ill of Benidorm, remember that there is nothing like data to refute 'cunadismo'.
18.And hey, don't feel guilty if what makes you happy is going back to a place over and over again. You may find that the one who changes is you.
19. We have to do self-criticism: sometimes we seem like a guide to Madrid. But it is logical that we are in love with this city that is always in fashion , that allows you to be a tourist even if you live in it , that venerates its karaoke bars and that claims its classic hotels , its war wounds and its architectural beauty .
oh, paquita
Maybe ensure that Paquita Salas It is a gastronomic reference is too much. But yes it is true that her authenticity values and her lack of complexes is what we need on our tablecloths. And that is why we have vindicated it strongly.
Madrid in its temples of torrezno
20. The award for the dish of the year in Traveler is, without a doubt, the torreznos . That's why we had to go to a small town in Soria to find the best and we got lost in these bars in Madrid where this recipe is simply sublime.
21. The other star dish of these 365 days has been the cheese cake Specifically, the one that they prepare in some Turkish cafes in the style of San Sebastián and that is triumphing on Instagram. A story that we followed in depth until we got your recipe.
22. When it comes to guilty pleasures, the coolest of all is the chocolate palm tree from La Duquesita.
23.The sandwich of the year? Probably the bravo squid from the bar in Zaragoza with the same name. Or what is the same, more than 50 years of flavor and authenticity.
24. Of course, there will never be **a more mythical bar in the world than El Palentino **, a Madrid classic that this year we mourn for its closure while elevating it to legend thanks to the shirt inspired by its letter that hits it on the streets of New York.
25. Tears were not lacking to mourn the closure of another historic one: Jo's Bar, in Los Escullos, Almeria.
26.The honorable funeral of these bars is not the result of a mannered 'hipsterism'. we will really miss them because, really, all new restaurants are the same and we don't like this globalization.
Siete quesazos (from seven Spanish artisan cheese factories) that you cannot miss
27.Madrid continues to expand its cosmopolitanism and its gastronomic strength. The best restaurants? The ones on this definitive list.
28. The genuine is not just a matter of taverns, manners and customs. Also of products such as spider crab, a seafood that inspired us a whole trip through Galicia or the cheese, which was the backbone of a tour of the best cheese factories in Spain.
29. The success of a restaurant It not only depends on the mastery of its chef, but also on other professionals such as the chefs, which is why we paid a particular tribute to the best in Spain.
30. Drinking is no longer a snobbish verb. And much less when wine is better known thanks to this basic dictionary and when drinks are stripped of their paraphernalia and return to the purest, truest distillate: whiskey.
31. And the wine getaway of the year? To Montilla (Cordoba).
RUMBLES AND SILENCES
Without ceasing to love the close, the destinations that require, at least, a plane, are inclined to be discovered with two purposes: seek peace and quiet or surrender to its creative effervescence.
32.Without a doubt, 2018 has been the year of returning to the forest, of practicing 'forestry' baths. Or as the Japanese would say: _ shinrin-yoku _. A practice that, by the way, can also be done in Spain.
What is a forest bath?
33.Discovering other places is the best antidote against any radical nationalist idea. And it is also a way of discover those projects that, outside of ordinary Western life, make people happy . Many of them far from the cities.
34.“Yes, all this is very good, but where to start?”, you will tell us. Well, for these countries.
35. Brexit, despite the lightning bolts it has caused in the different parliaments, has not affected our way of seeing the United Kingdom and its charms. That's why, we have not resisted cities like ** Bristol ** and Glasgow , nor to see its legendary castles in a very different way .
36.The Nordic continues to be a gold mine, both for its culture and for its way of interacting with nature. That's why this year we haven't stopped discovering cities like Tampere (in Finland), Norwegian landscapes behind the train windows, fjords that are pure exuberance in Iceland, and Swedish regions like Värmland, where the summers are very green.
37.Oceania has gone from being a purely natural destination to decorating its landscapes with the hand of man, as has happened in Byron Bay (Australia) and Oamaru (New Zealand), where the penguins also do a lot of their part.
38.On the map of discoveries by world region, **in North America we have stopped eagerly at Bryce Canyon** (Utah), in the Hudson Valley and in Mexico City, which quickly recovered from its earthquake.
Bryce Canyon is the closest you'll get to living on Mars
39.In Asia, trend radar spotted coordinates as exciting as Oman , Hong Kong 's Kowloon neighborhood and the Komodo dragon beaches .
40.Special mention deserves Japan, a country that continues to surprise thanks to its amazing islands full of art and its futuristic ideas, like this artificial meteor shower.
41. Following the atlas of findings, Africa has surprised us with this sculpture park in Zimbabwe.
42.In South and Central America , the fetish destinations have been Ecuador and Costa Rica , where we found this beautiful shelter for abandoned dogs .
43.And in Europe , streets like Zollergasse ( Vienna ), countries like Luxembourg , regions like Transylvania and landscapes like the great Hungarian plain show us that the Old Continent still has very young territories.
TRAVEL, ESPECIALLY IN FEMALE
Without a doubt, 2018 has been the year of women, the cathartic moment in which their fight for equality has been highlighted and their claims have begun to be heard. A fight that we have joined in Traveler in different ways.
44. First things first: It's time to applaud those pioneering women like Nellie Bly, Leonora Carrington or Bessie Stringfield who dared to pack their bags without permits, consorts or fear more than a century ago. Many of them had the Hints to Lady Travelers manual in their suitcase.
45.And, furthermore, applaud those who today do it without fear or hesitation, as is the case of Jessica Nabongo and all those black women who face racism, passport in hand.
46.One of the facts that, today, show that progress has been made is the existence of women-only retreats and that there are countries where traveling alone is not a problem.
47.The connection between women and travel is not limited only to those who are frequent passengers. Also those that make everything possible, whether on the other side of the reception, behind the stove or controlling barrels.
MORE MAPS AND LESS GPS
Or what is the same, a (renewed) song to the maps that make us see the world in another way.
48.Like, for example, this one in Europe that smells of (good) cheese or this one in the world that is very 'wow wow'.
This is how the Perseids look like you've never seen them (and like you'll never see them... unless you're an astronaut)
49. Or is it traced by the mythical locations of the most outstanding books or by the films preferred by the spectators of each country.
50. Do you want to know which country means 'the island of copper'? Look on this map.
51.Breakfast is one of the most local acts that exists in this globalized era. And in this infographic we were able to taste the best… with the view.
52. Increasingly, toponymy is concerned with space, that is why there is nothing like see the meteor shower from a spaceship thanks to this interactive map.
GEARSHIFT
Or what is the same, why the road is not the way, it is the destination.
53.Switzerland is a country that keeps a paradise in every curve.
54.The islands of Europe They are a perfect mix between curves, monuments and landscapes. What about Sicily, Elba or Crete?
55.Speaking of Classical Culture, mainland Greece is also land of legends and discoveries that are only discovered on the road.
56.Yes, the combination of saltpeter and asphalt It is very stimulating, something that in Garraf and on the Amalfi Coast can be enjoyed like few other places.
Few things you will see as beautiful as the Fiordo di Furore
57.However, The United States remains a paradise for motor travelers , for those looking to make their own road movie on roads that are pure folk. beyond the Route 66 , this year we have preferred to skirt the border between Mexico and California and cross it to get to Baja California .
**FROM THE OBJECT TO THE MONUMENT (AND VICE VERSA) **
Why do we travel? What other reasons prompt us to get a boarding pass? Can it be a souvenir or a memory of art? Some reflections that have taken us to unique places, moments and easels.
58. Sometimes you don't need much more than a hotel room to create a movie complete and complex. And these are the most iconic of the seventh art (with plans included).
59. There are moments and places that changed everything, that were a party and that are remembered today with great nostalgia. In short, who would not like to cross their gaze with that Girl with a Pearl Earring? Who wouldn't want to experience an Ingrid Bergman epiphany in Stromboli? Who wouldn't want to fall off their horse like Caravaggio's Saint Paul?
60. Museums and art have found another dimension that, instead of showing authenticity, seduce with fireworks and technology. Is good or bad? Who knows, what is clear is that you will no longer look at Van Gogh as you used to.
61.In defense of the usual museums, this year **we have vindicated the foodie commitment of Thyssen de Madrid** and the Hipster badass at the Vienna Art History Museum .
62.And as for unique spaces, Jason DeCaires and his underwater galleries, bad art and disgusting food have received our particular recognition… or not.
63.Sometimes the journey is the other way around, turning the volcanic landscape, the literature or the idiosyncrasy born of miscegenation and immigration into authentic essential souvenirs.
64.And, of course, the series continue to redraw cities like New York and swimming pools take us to places where before there was only smoke.
65.The journey in search of your ancestors is and will be the best way to break down mental boundaries
THE FUTURE WILL BE SUSTAINABLE OR IT WILL NOT BE
66. ecotourism is here and it is not a fad or a serial resource at FITUR. It is real. And it is a trend that we already see in initiatives to save the oceans, in the laws and customs of countries like Costa Rica and in many of the best airlines in the world.
67. Yes, the future is a journey in itself. So you already know! Don't stop discovering places because not doing so is bad for your health and because these 21 cities are waiting for you next year.
See you on platforms, airports and thresholds!
*This article was published on December 27, 2018 and updated on January 3, 2019.
Your ancestors could be anywhere