5月 – 7月 2024

European Summer

It’s that time again, we are heading off for another adventure! This trip will include many new experiences and countries! Come along with us. もっと詳しく

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European Summer 旅行者
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日49
2024年6月19日水曜日 12:45
⛅ 21 °C
海抜: 26 m
スペイン Gonzalez Byass 36.679038, -6.14432236°40’45” N 6°8’40” W
The Spiritual Home of Sherry
2024年6月19日, スペイン ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
We decided it would be fun and a nice break to get out to the coast for a day/night. There are many coastal options near Seville but Cadiz caught our eye. It is a short train ride away and sounded like it would be a good contrast to Seville. The other bonus is that on the way we could stop in the town of Jerez de la Frontera to learn more about Sherry and do a tasting of the local products.
Sherry is one of the oldest wines in the world. All Sherry is made from green grapes only, its color comes from oxidation. And there are many different types of sherry including Fino de Jerez, Manzanilla, Oloroso and more.
There are many sherry producers in the area as the soil and climate make it ideal for growing the type of grapes used for sherry. We only had time to visit one of the bodegas (aka storehouse for wine) in the area - Tio Pepe.
We took a tour and did a tasting (our favorite type was Oloroso). The tour was a bit commercial but still informative and fun. Sherry has a different reputation in the US - more of a grandma’s drink. But the variety and types produced make it popular for all ages in Spain and we were surprised that they also put it in mixed drinks - we tasted a delicious spritz made with a type of sherry and mint.
It was a fun stop on our way to the coast. Next stop, Cadiz.もっと詳しく
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日49
2024年6月19日水曜日 15:47
⛅ 23 °C
海抜: 57 m
スペイン Jerez de la Frontera Railway Station 36.679878, -6.12661736°40’48” N 6°7’36” W
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A quick trip to Cadiz!
2024年6月19日, スペイン ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
Cádiz is an ancient port city in the Andalucia region of southwestern Spain. The home of the Spanish Navy, the port boomed in the 16th-century as a base for exploration and trade. The US Navy has a base nearby in the town of Roda (we have friends that were based there years ago). This base was established by JFK in a deal with Franco. The city is situated on a spit of land surrounded on three sides by the sea that two of Columbus´ four voyages set out for the New World.
The historic district is charming, full of small winding streets lined with beautiful buildings, many with the gorgeous wrought iron railings and doors. And there are many big and small squares full of cafes that are full of people (including families) throughout the day. While there were tourists and tourist shops, the city felt more full of locals. It was sunny but cooler than Seville. With the location on the coast and the beach vibe it felt a bit like Santa Cruz/Capitola.
We only spent 24 hours but we made good use of our time and enjoyed wandering the streets, checking out the local sites (a famous church was the highlight) and eating delicious seafood.
Now back to Seville for a few more days.もっと詳しく
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旅行者 Fun!
2024/06/22返信する
旅行者 Pretty!
2024/06/22返信する
Caught up on some of your pictures! Beautiful - so fun! [Tricia]
2024/06/22返信する翻訳する
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日51
2024年6月21日金曜日 11:45
☀️ 24 °C
海抜: 524 m
スペイン Zahara de la Sierra 36.837788, -5.39096236°50’16” N 5°23’27” W
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An excursion to the Pueblos Blancos
2024年6月21日, スペイン ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C
We wanted to explore some of the other areas of Andalusia so we signed up for a couple of organized group tours. First up was a day trip to see three of the Pueblos Blancos - Zahara, Grazalema, and Ronda (aka white villages). The White Villages are peppered among the hills of Andalusia, Many began as Moorish strongholds. Perched atop steep hills or mountains, they were established when much of the area was under the control of the Islamic Moors. During the pandemic plague waves 14th century is when whitewashing exterior and interior walls of houses and churches - the latter often visited by disease-affected inhabitants - became predominant. The white wash was made with lime which is what made it effective as a disinfectant.
The first two Pueblos Blancos we visited were small towns, the third is a larger one with a famous bridge and bull ring (Ronda). All three were beautiful with charming squares and narrow lanes lined with buildings with window boxes full of flowers. All buildings have to stay white (now painted vs lime) except for a few that are much older and started a different color.
The area is mainly agriculture based with olive trees, orange trees and a few other crops.
It was a fun outing with good guides, comfy bus and nice cohorts- even though big group bus trips are not always our way of touring.
We liked the area so much we are thinking of planning another trip just to visit and explore all of the Pueblos Blancos (there are 19 in total).もっと詳しく
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Fun. Have you tried Spanish wines yet? Or visited any wineries? [Jim S]
2024/06/24返信する翻訳する
旅行者Yes, we have had a few glasses here and there, and last night we had a nice bottle of Albariño with a paella dinner. But no visits to wineries yet. We will do that for sure when we are in Valencia (and maybe when in San Sebastián).
2024/06/25返信する翻訳する
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日52
2024年6月22日土曜日 12:44
☀️ 32 °C
海抜: 115 m
スペイン La Mezquita 37.879047, -4.77988737°52’45” N 4°46’48” W
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A visit to historic Cordoba
2024年6月22日, スペイン ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C
Our second day tour from Seville was to Cordoba, a city famous for its interesting mix of ancient Roman, Moorish, and Spanish history, architecture and culture. The city was founded by the Romans 169 BC. For many years Cordoba was a place of peaceful coexistence of three different cultures: Jews, Muslims and Christians. In the 10th century, Cordoba was the world’s largest city counting about one million residents.

The city's iconic feature that draws visitors from all over the world is the Mezquita-Catedral, an elegant mosque converted into a Renaissance-style church. The Great Mosque was originally constructed in 785 and was expanded over the next 500 years to a point that 40,000 could attend Muslim services inside. The mosque was converted to a cathedral in 1236 and since then only Christian services are held (they kick out any Muslims that attempt to pray inside).

The historic center of Cordoba also has a large Jewish quarter with narrow winding streets. Home owners in that part of the town participate in a garden contest every year, inviting the public in to see their gardens in the courtyards of their homes. The contest officially happens in May but typically 2-3 homes keep their courtyards open to visitors thru the summer (no fees are taken, it’s the home owners pleasure to share the fruits of their labors). We got to visit two of the gardens.

It was a hot day in Cordoba, one of our hottest, but we were able to still enjoy our time there. Now back to Seville for a few more days before we head to San Sebastián in the north of Spain.もっと詳しく
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旅行者 What a beautiful place!
2024/06/26返信する翻訳する
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日54
2024年6月24日月曜日
☀️ 35 °C
海抜: 10 m
スペイン Museo Del Castillo De San Jorge 37.385998, -6.00277837°23’10” N 6°0’10” W
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A few last photos from Seville
2024年6月24日, スペイン ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C
Thought we’d share a few more photos from our time and experiences in Seville. We loved our time in the city and while we covered a lot during our time there we did not see and do everything we wanted to. We hope to go back again.
Now on to Northern Spain - to San Sebastián - for a week to explore new territory, to learn more about Basque culture and to food and to enjoy some cooler temps.もっと詳しく
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旅行者 Beautiful
2024/06/29返信する
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日54
2024年6月24日月曜日
☀️ 35 °C
海抜: 16 m
スペイン Plaza de toros de la Real Maestranza de Caballería de Sevilla 37.386749, -5.99856237°23’12” N 5°59’55” W
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Delicious Food of Seville
2024年6月24日, スペイン ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C
I forgot to post pictures of the dishes and cocktail we tried during our stay in Seville so decided I’d do a post just on the food! We tried so many delicious things, some we found on our own and some we discovered during a food tour. We loved the tapas concept (small plates), which gave us a chance to try many things without getting stuffed. The Spanish tend to eat one or two dishes with a drink or two at one tapas place and then move to another for a different specialty. We only did this with our food tour. But traditionally tapas are not “dinner.”

The Spanish meal schedule is very different than ours at home…they don’t have anything other than coffee for breakfast before they leave home, but mid morning they typically have a toasted baguette type role with sliced ham (more like prosciutto) or something else on it and another coffee. They eat a proper lunch around 1 and then they do a couple ofTapas with drinks around 6 pm, then they have dinner around 9:30/10. We’ve not really adopted their schedule on all meals, but we have adjusted our dinner time to closer to 7/8, but that’s the latest we can go.

Also it’s very common for the Spanish to have a drink (wine, beer, cider) with their late morning breakfast and/or mid-day meal (I’ve seen groups of older women with glasses of wine around 11:30 am).

They love their sweets (ice cream, baked goods, cakes), but their cakes and things are not real sweet.

Luckily we’ve been walking a ton so we’ve walked off some of the calories.もっと詳しく
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And now I’m hungry 😋 [Inge]
2024/07/01返信する翻訳する
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日55
2024年6月25日火曜日 12:20
☀️ 26 °C
海抜: 25 m
スペイン Escultura Puppy 43.267536, -2.93469543°16’3” N 2°56’5” W
Modern Art at the Guggenheim Museum
2024年6月25日, スペイン ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C
The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is a museum of modern and contemporary art in Bilbao (northern Spain). The building was designed by Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry and was opened in 1997. The building itself is a work of art and it alone is worth a visit. The museum has both permanent and temporary modern art exhibits inside and outside the building. While neither of us are knowledgeable about or big modern art fans we felt we could not pass up visiting the iconic museum. We signed up for a guided tour which was a great way to learn about the various exhibits and the artists. There were some exhibits we found to be outlandish and others I really enjoyed (Cal not so much).
Now on to San Sebastián (or in Basque language- Donostia) for the next week.もっと詳しく
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日56
2024年6月26日水曜日 13:31
☀️ 24 °C
海抜: 17 m
スペイン Plaza de la Constitución 43.325844, -1.98384743°19’33” N 1°59’2” W
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A visit to beautiful San Sebastián Spain
2024年6月26日, スペイン ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C
San Sebastián is a resort town on the Bay of Biscay in Spain’s mountainous Basque Country (near the border with France). It’s known for its beautiful beaches framed by a picturesque bayfront promenade, and world-renowned restaurants. It’s also famous for its cobblestoned old town that’s filled with “pintxo” (pronounced pincho, akin to tapas) bars pairing local wines with bite-size regional specialties.
The locals speak Basque, Spanish, and many also speak English and French. The Basque we met are proud of their history and the current state of their province, and they talk about themselves like they are a separate country from Spain. It’s interesting. The city has a French feel to its architecture and that’s because a Spanish queen spent summers in the area and she liked French architecture and style. Also other wealthy European families followed her to the area bringing their architectural styles with them. In fact, the queen is given credit for creating the tourist industry here, although big, tourism is not the top industry - there is a big industrial economy in the area (eg steel fabrication).
We took a food tour to learn about the “pintxos” bar and food scene which was a lot of fun and delicious. The city is well known for its food scene. We also took a bike tour - the city is very bike friendly. It’s also very walkable, we’ve got a rental car but have only used it to explore a few other cities in the area (see other post).
We’ve had sunshine, but also cooler weather and some rain during our visit. Tomorrow we head to Valencia.もっと詳しく
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I bet that was delicious 😋 [Inge]
2024/07/01返信する翻訳する
旅行者 It was. So good!!!
2024/07/02返信する翻訳する
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日57
2024年6月27日木曜日 14:45
☁️ 22 °C
海抜: 9 m
スペイン Urola River 43.301287, -2.25999743°18’5” N 2°15’36” W
Fun day trips to Zumaia & Hondarribia
2024年6月27日, スペイン ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C
There are many interesting cities on the Basque coast, we did not have time to visit all of them so chose two that sounded interesting for different reasons. First up was Zumaia. It has two beaches which are part of a Geopark and are of interest to geologists from around the world because they are situated among the longest set of continuous rock strata in the world. These rock formations are called flysch and they are over 100 million years old. We took a boat ride to see the rock formations from the water and then visited one of the beaches to see them close up. The beach (and others in the area) is also a big surfing beach.

A couple of days later we visited another small town, Hondarribia, a small town very near the border with France. Some say it’s the most beautiful coastal town in the Basque Country. The old town is loaded with beautiful Basque houses, most having wooden balconies that are painted in a myriad of colors (home owners used left over paint from their fishing boats). It has become a big foodie scene with many great restaurants and specialized pintxo bars.

Both outings were fun and nicely complimentary to our time in San Sebastian.もっと詳しく
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日60
2024年6月30日日曜日 13:20
☁️ 19 °C
海抜: 121 m
スペイン Castillo Kalea 43.324913, -1.98884743°19’30” N 1°59’20” W
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A bit more from San Sebastián
2024年6月30日, スペイン ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C
There were a few other photos and descriptions from San Sebastian we wanted to share so I’m adding another post.

We’ve really enjoyed our time here and appreciate our friends (the Tjernlund’s) recommending we add it to our itinerary.もっと詳しく
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Love this photo of you [Kathryn Holm]
2024/07/01返信する翻訳する
旅行者Thanks Sis!
2024/07/02返信する翻訳する
❤️❤️ [Kathryn Holm]
2024/07/01返信する
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日66
2024年7月6日土曜日 21:42
🌙 25 °C
海抜: 30 m
スペイン Plaza de la Verge 39.476172, -0.3751539°28’34” N 0°22’31” W
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City of 100 Bell Towers - Valencia
2024年7月6日, スペイン ⋅ 🌙 25 °C
We’ve thoroughly enjoyed the last week in Valencia. It is a beautiful, vibrant and interesting city. It doesn’t have the historical depth and amazing monuments of Sevilla but that means it also doesn’t have as many tourist. And it’s located on the coast which keeps the temperature reasonable.

It was founded by the Roman’s and like other Spanish cities it was conquered by the Moors and French at some point in its history and you see and feel those influences around the city -architecture, food, art.

We are staying in an Airbnb in the El Carmen district which is considered one of the most charming neighborhoods and is known for street art and vibrant nightlife. The neighborhood really changes throughout the day, some cafes open earlier in the day and other cafes, restaurants or bars only open after 7:30/8 or even later…and they tumble out into the streets changing the look of a street or plaza.

We’ve taken a few tours, visited the major sites, rented bikes, hung out on the beach for an afternoon and spent evenings just wandering the narrow lanes. And while a big change for us we’ve adjusted to eating dinner at 8 or later.
There are some local foods and drinks here that we’ve enjoyed, I’ll do a separate post on those.もっと詳しく
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旅行者 So 🥰
2024/07/11返信する
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日69
2024年7月9日火曜日 21:17
☀️ 26 °C
海抜: 7 m
スペイン L'Umbracle 39.458157, -0.3540539°27’29” N 0°21’15” W
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Valencia’s City of Arts & Sciences
2024年7月9日, スペイン ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C
The Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias (City of Arts) in Valencia is a spectacular architectural complex. There are several buildings that house a science museum, an opera/performing arts venue, a garden and an aquarium. It is said to be the most important modern tourist destination in the city of Valencia and one of the 12 Treasures of Spain. It was designed by Valencia born architect Santiago Calatrava, who also designed a beautiful building at the World Trade Center, the Transportation Hub.

The complex was opened in 1998 and is located in part of an old river bed that the city turned into a park after diverting the river after a major flood in 1957. Most of the park is green space with bike paths (which we used), soccer fields, dog parks, children’s parks and more).

We visited the City of Arts on three separate occasions and noticed new and interesting things about it each time. We even went to a performance at the opera house so we could see the inside of the building. It was the musical Chicago, performed in Spanish. We only stayed through part of it, the music and choreography were great but we did not understand the words.

We hope to get to the aquarium before we leave.もっと詳しく
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Isn't the complex amazing. I wish I'd had more time in Valencia. I loved the mix of old and new. [Lee]
2024/07/10返信する翻訳する
Love it [Kathryn Holm]
2024/07/11返信する
旅行者 Architectural wonder
2024/07/11返信する翻訳する
旅行者 Good angle - amazing building
2024/07/11返信する翻訳する
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日71
2024年7月11日木曜日
☀️ 30 °C
海抜: 161 m
スペイン la Vall d'Uixó 39.825875, -0.25089239°49’33” N 0°15’3” W
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Excursions from Valencia
2024年7月11日, スペイン ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
We took two excursions from Valencia. First up was to a subterranean river in the Grottoes of San Jose. The river is visited on a boat, accompanied by a Guide-Barquero, that takes you through part of the underground river (about 800 meters), and there is a short walk around the low part of the caves. In parts of the cave the water is a beautiful blue because of the minerals in the water and the depth. The origin of the river and the end of the cave is still unknown. It was very interesting to see.

Our second excursion was for Calvin’s birthday, a private wine tastings tour and tapas lunch in a wine region about an hour from Valencia (Uriel-Requena). It’s one of the areas that produces Cava and they have a Spanish red varietal called Bobal that was really nice. We had a lovely guide (French woman married to a Spaniard) who educated us on the wines of the region. We tasted wines at two places, which were a nice contrast. The first was a larger winery that had a tasting room in the small town of Requena. Under the town are a series of caves that historically were used as storage for the homes/businesses above them, during the Moorish period they were used for grains and after that they were used to age and store wine. Many are interconnected and a good amount expand under the current plaza (which used to be covered in houses). The second stop was a small family winery where we were able to taste their wines and have a tasty tapas lunch on their terrace overlooking the vines. It was a relaxing and informative day and a great way to spend Cal’s birthday.もっと詳しく
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Oh my goodness! It all looks so delicious 😋 I would need some bread though. [Inge Simeral]
2024/07/12返信する翻訳する
Beautiful and interesting pictures ❤️ [Inge Simeral]
2024/07/12返信する翻訳する
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日74
2024年7月14日日曜日 9:30
☀️ 25 °C
海抜: 23 m
スペイン Plaza de la Verge 39.478161, -0.38054639°28’41” N 0°22’50” W
Delicious food & drink in Valencia
2024年7月14日, スペイン ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
We’ve had fun trying the local food and drinks . Luckily on one of our first days we found a traditional tapas bar near our place that was open throughout the afternoon/evening (so no waiting until 8 pm if we were hungry earlier) and we had delicious traditional tapas there a few times. During our food tour we learned about the best place to have an Aqua de la Valencia, the locals cocktail (see photo caption first recipe). It was not far from our apartment so we popped in often during our stay in the city. Another local drink is Vermouth. Many places have a house vermouth just like some places have a house wine. We also enjoyed a horchata or two at a historical cafe. Every time you order horchata in Valencia you will be served a pastry called a farton (something like deep fried donuts).

With Valencia being located on the Mediterranean Sea it’s no surprise that we ate a lot of delicious seafood. I’ve tried to describe our favorite dishes in the captions. One place we went to was Hemingway’s favorite paella place (Pepica) . He spent time in Valencia, enjoyed the bull fights and being part of the political talk about what happens with Spain. He also wrote The Sun Also Rises while staying in the city in the 20’s.

Being here for two weeks has allowed us to try many bars, cafes and restaurants in the city, and no where have we had a bad meal. The food is very reasonably priced as are the cocktails and wine. We tend to have a lite breakfast at our apartment, then one main meal at either lunch or dinner time depending on what else we are up to that day. Luckily we’ve continued to walk a lot and that helps burn the extra calories we are taking in. As someone who likes to cook I’m leaving the city with lots of inspiration for things to make at home.もっと詳しく
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日74
2024年7月14日日曜日
☀️ 29 °C
海抜: 10 m
スペイン Las Arenas beach 39.465637, -0.3227339°27’56” N 0°19’22” W
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A bit more from Valencia
2024年7月14日, スペイン ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C
We have enjoyed our time here in Valencia. The city is a fun place to explore, beautiful architecture, great food and interesting history. It’s been warm but manageable with highs in the mid 80’s (luckily we are leaving just before a heat wave is forecasted). The city is very bike friendly, with bike lanes in many areas and bike rental shops everywhere.
The last few days we’ve visited the aquarium, tried to explore parts of the city we’ve not been to, and purchased a few items to take home. The aquarium is the largest in Europe. It was fun to visit as they had many types of birds and fish we don’t have in our area or at our local aquarium (eg beluga whales, sawtooth sharks).
Monday we fly out at the crack of dawn. Next stop home, Sunset Beach.もっと詳しく
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旅行者 Fascinating
2024/07/15返信する翻訳する
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日75
2024年7月15日月曜日 18:55
☀️ 15 °C
海抜: 42 m
アメリカ Sunset Beach 36.893108, -121.83539636°53’35” N 121°50’7” W
Next and last stop - Home!
2024年7月15日, アメリカ ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C
We are back home at Sunset Beach a bit earlier than we had planned. A few things came up that prompted us to change our plans. Our exploration of Scotland will have to wait for another day.

After a long day of traveling, we were lucky to arrive home on a gorgeous afternoon and we ended the day with a beautiful sunset.

I’ll be adding more photos for the places we visited, those that we liked but did not make the initial cut when updating our journal while traveling.

We hope you enjoyed traveling along with us.もっと詳しく
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旅行者Looking forward to seeing the pictures!
2024/07/16返信する翻訳する
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旅行の終了
2024年7月15日