Monthly Archives: February 2018

Journey to Montserrat, a day trip from Barcelona

So what do two grandmothers who don’t speak Spanish do for a day trip in Barcelona, Spain?  We embark on an adventure to live like the locals and take the train to Montserrat, the site of the Benedictine monastery.  It was  established in the 800s and is home of the Virgin Mary of Catalonia statue.  How to get there Most tourists take a guided tour service to Montserrat from Barcelona, but I had already been in Barcelona for an entire two days prior to Marla arriving and felt like we could handle this journey on our own. As we started …

Fairhope, Alabama, my small-town dream

When I was six years old, we were awakened in the wee morning hours one summer night to the sound of car horns blowing and people yelling from their car windows — “jubilee.”  Fairhope was awake and everyone was headed to the bay.  I thought it was a dream. The Fairhope, Alabama  area on the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay is one of two places in the world that experiences a natural phenomenon known as a “jubilee.” Due to unusual atmospheric conditions and a reduction in oxygen levels in the water, bottom-type fish and crustaceans are forced towards the shore into shallow water.  …

Why I Travel

By Melanie Pollard (Strike-through = inner voice) I’ve embarked on this new travel writing endeavor, and I have jumped in with both feet!   Whether or not this idea will fly is yet to be determined, but we are going to have the time of our lives trying.   Will people want to learn from our experiences?  It’s just what I tell my grandchildren, “No one was ever successful at something they didn’t try.” Starting the new blog website, Gransonthego.com, with my friend, Marla Monk, a gifted photographer and part-time writer, has been extremely exciting and completely overwhelming.  Along with learning about travel writing, at the current moment, I’m …