I LOVE TRAVEL, GRANTED THERE ARE INCONVENIENCES By Lu Sobredo I love to travel. And I love writing about our travels. The fact that I was able to travel at all in 2016, after the diagnosis in 2013 of a crippling illness called Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), was truly a miracle. However, I am practical. As a responsible travel writer, I like giving a balanced account of my experience when touring abroad. I see so much beauty and tasty treats in the nooks and crannies of Spain, Portugal and other European, and Asian regions of the globe we’ve visited. Spain is at the top of our travel destination by a mile. But I do my best to give a balanced perspective. Travel is as joyful as it is stressful. And anyone setting off to go on an adventure or a relaxing journey outside the comfort zone of home must face the reality that there are inconveniences that come with travel. First, there’s no denying the breathtaking scenery makes me quickly forget the snag we experience just purchasing a ticket for

  SO, YOU WANT TO VISIT BARCELONA? by Lu Sobredo A very pleasant Barcelona experience awaited me in 2021. Sagrada Familia Cathedral 2021 It finally happened! I’m in Barcelona. My 5th time in 11 years. My husband has been coming here with family or by himself for research and to attend conferences many more times, I had lost count. This Fall 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic is still very much around. Many of the borders in various parts of Europe opened to Americans. And I am simply thrilled to be out of my American pandemic cocoon.  I remain practical and obsess over health protocols because of my autoimmune illness. Fortunately, mask-wearing is taken very seriously in Spain or one risks getting arrested and fined or worse. The fines could be quite steep. Taxi- drivers not wearing a mask can be fined €100. Anyone inside a public place not wearing a mask could have the same fate. The Spanish Government has indeed taken a strict stance on mask wearing and other health practices. Vaccination r

  LIFE MUST BE LIVED: TRAVELING WITH RA TO SPAIN AND PORTUGAL Flights From San Francisco to Lisbon and Madrid by Lu Sobredo Picture this! A woman suffering from an autoimmune disease with limited mobility travels across the Atlantic from the west coast of the United States of America in the midst albeit declining cases of COVID-19 pandemic. The picture I wish to show is one of hope! A rheumatologist officially delivered the diagnosis to me: Severe Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) for which there is no cure; the same individual told me that I would be crippled soon, all words uttered without taking a breath eight years ago in the afternoon of August 5, 2013. He offered to begin infusion of expensive drugs that very day, not knowing any more about my disease or stating goals for improving my condition. It felt as though the world was suddenly enshrouded in darkness, my heart sank and the voice inside my head was screaming in sheer helplessness. On the outside, I kept my composure as I listened.

HERON ON THE DOCK OF THE BAY By Lu Sobredo At early morning twilight— that magical time before sunrise,  a white and gray silhouette sweeps gracefully across the waters  of Richardson Bay landing silently  on the dock not too far from me. Over the years, I’ve noticed  the beak at the end of his elongated neck had grown an orange tint. His stance, stately with eyes fixed at something in the water, I’d say, an unsuspecting prey. I’ve been witness to this ritual often for years, almost sixteen but who’s counting.  Perhaps, I count every now and then the number of steps it takes to reach as close to the beauty  not many human eyes have seen. Each time, it has become our game I wonder how close to his space on the dock he would allow my intrusion, and to what end? After more than a decade would I finally gain a feathered friend? Sixteen years is long for playing hard to get between woman and bird. Although, I must say the distance has been reduced, the physical distance between us before fl