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Can't see the pretty pictures?  Click here to view this email in your browser   Also, this message might get clipped short in your email window–please make sure to expand it when you get to the bottom if it gets cut off!
It's the busy holiday season and time is of the essence! I am going to attempt to keep my rambling short and deliver you some fun information in this email! Recipes! Photos! Even a couple quirky gift recommendations for the hard-to-buy-for travelers in your life! A giveaway from Bhutan!! And I also want to remind you about our Volunteer trip with street dogs in Ladakh in May (and why not stay on for our cultural tour, too? If you attend both, you get $600 off the total price!)   Without further ado....
We just finished up our 28-day, 9-country Around the World tour with some AMAZING guests, and words simply can't do this journey justice. If a picture is worth a thousand words, there's a novel over here on our Around the World photo page. On that page you'll find the photos that we posted on our Facebook album along the way (and that photo collage above contains a photo from every country we visited!

Stay tuned for the itinerary of our 2020 World Wonder-themed Around the World trip (details in January!)

As you can tell from our Spain photos in the album, we definite ate and *ahem* drank our way around Madrid. I want to share some recipes and recommendations that our amazing food tour guide Margit shared with us:
  • A classic egg and potato Spanish omelet recipe (if Margit approves, it must be good!)
  • A Spanish Oxtail stew--but wait! When we had it on a food tour as "regalitos" (aka, little "gifts" wrapped in phyllo dough) it was a HUGE hit.  Click here and read about these "regalitos" near the bottom of the page.
  • We all fell in love with Red Spanish vermouth (it was a first for me!)
  • And I was so stoked to see an article in the newspaper (an actual print newspaper, mind you!) on the Basque white wine Txakoli a few days after I got to the U.S.  This wine made a big impression on me when we first visited Madrid years ago, and BJ and I made a point to grab a glass last month!

Treat, Spay, Love: Benefitting street dogs in Ladakh, India

May 24 - June 1, 2019


We're almost at our guest minimum for this FUN and FULFILLING journey—won't you join us and make this trip a "go"? We're thrilled to partner with the Live to Rescue organization to enrich the lives of dogs (and humans) in Ladakh. We're looking for a few good vets to join us (for a subsidized price–see the trip webpage for details), as well as any and all enthusiastic dog lovers. Non-vets don't need any special skills or experience–we'll put your specific passion and skills to good use on this trip, as well as tour you around the beautiful Leh Valley of Ladakh. (Plus, get a $600 discount if you stay on for our Ladakh: Beyond Leh tour!)

If you know any dog lovers that may be interested, please share this with them. And if you belong to any dog rescue groups on Facebook, please share the link with them, too!

Won't you come and meet Geordie in person? He's been helped by Live to Rescue firsthand after an eye injury!
Click here for Treat, Spay, Love journey details
Speaking of our Ladakh: Beyond Leh tour, we'd love to have you join us on this small-group adventure around the BEST parts of Ladakh!  This trip is suitable both for newcomers to Ladakh and also return guests who want to see more of the region. This trip will feature Nubra Valley, Pangong Lake, Uleytokpo/Lamayuru, a night in Leh city, and time at Thiksey Monastery (just in time for their annual sand mandala-making). This is the tour a LOT of you have been waiting for!!
Click here for Ladakh: Beyond Leh details

Bhutanese bag organizer giveaway!


With several pockets & a secure zipper, this 7.5" by 5" yarn clutch is a stylish, fun way to stay sane while searching through your bag. I got one in Paro, Bhutan in October and it seemed like a fun giveaway!  To win this wallet, reply to this email and answer these 2 questions about our Treat, Spay, Love tour (hint: all answers are on the trip webpage!)

1. What year was the Live to Rescue organization established? 
2. Name TWO of Live
to Rescue's objectives. 

Get your answers in before December 14th, and I'll have this handy "Random Picker" pick a name from the list of all correct answer-givers on December 15th (U.S. residents only, sorry guys!)  I'll even brave the post office before Christmas to send it to you!  ;)  

(I had to share this fun photo of all of us on a bridge in Bhutan last month!)

Quick & quirky gift ideas for travelers!

There are a ton of lists on the internet about what to buy for your friends and family who travel frequently, but so many of the suggestions are so personal—I know I wouldn't want anyone else picking out my backpack, shoes, or even headphones. But there ARE some things that the traveler in your life might not even know they need...but they do!  These products could be extremely helpful without being overly personal; click on the photo to see more about them. 
Manta Sleep Mask
No one appreciates a good sleep mask until they try one, and this is BJ's favorite out of dozens he's tried! Great for recovering from jetlag.
Packing Cubes
Think of these like dresser drawers for your suitcase–this is consistently something our guests have thanks us for introducing them to!
Govino Wine Glasses
These flexible, shatterproof wine glasses work for an afternoon picnic at home or a picnic along the Seine in Paris! Sometimes you wanna drink good wine in your hotel room and not use a plastic cup, amirite? ;) 
Stylish Compression Socks
This is something that many of our guests have recommended to us! Flying internationally can result in swollen, achy feet. Wearing these on the plane can let you hit the ground running.

These are a few things that we think the travelers in your life may appreciate but perhaps wouldn't purchase for themselves. For more on what we use in our daily travel lives, you can see our Gear page

More journeys open for Registration...

BALI & LOMBOK
 
EGYPT

LAST CALL for Pilgrimage to Sri Lanka with Tricycle: The Buddhist Review and Andrew Olendski, and Pilgrimage to Angkor with Tricycle: The Buddhist Review and Tricycle founder Helen Tworkov!
RISHIKESH, INDIA
 
LADAKH, INDIA
Thank you for spending a bit of time with us today! Our Galapagos adventure with 13 guests starts on Sunday, and I am flying from Fort Lauderdale to Quito, Ecuador on Saturday to meet up with BJ. Where's BJ, you ask? Why, he's livin' it up in Patagonia (both Chile and Argentina), sending me jealousy-inducing photos like the ones I'll share below. Will Patagonia make the list for future itineraries? Only one way to find out–stay tuned! 


Until next time...
Safe travels & happy trails,

Lauren & BJ


(Thanks to Vesna for taking this photo on our Around the World trip while we were looking the other way!!)
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“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”
~Mark Twain
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