Buenas dias everyone!

I’m a bit late on this, but I wanted to let you know that we started a round-the-world trip earlier this week and will be sharing some updates along the way.

After spending the weekend with some friends in Austin, we took off for Madrid in business class on an American 787-9 – booked with Citi Thank You Points and upgraded with AA System Wide Upgrades. (Four other friends were on our same flight, but we left them behind in Premium Economy…and then they left us behind at the Madrid airport!)

AA business class on the 787 Dreamliner. Image from aa.com

We immediately hopped on a train to Valencia to visit a friend of my partner’s, crashing at an Airbnb for two nights, and are now on our way to spend two nights at the Holiday Inn Express Barcelona City 22@. Two other members of the group got to Barcelona yesterday, so tomorrow we’re doing the same EatWith cooking class that Whitney wrote about last week. On Friday, we’ll be taking a short flight to Algeria on Air Algerie, then hopping on a Qatar business class mistake fare to Hong Kong via Doha. (Two other friends will be on the ALG-DOH flight, and we’ll meet up with the other four in Doha and fly the rest of the way together).

Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Lounge at Doha International Airport. Photo by One Mile at a Time

In Hong Kong, we’re spending two nights at the Holiday Inn Express Hong Kong Soho, where I stayed on my first visit to Hong Kong in 2014. From there, we have a short flight to Taipei on Cathay Pacific (booked with British Airways Avios) and have booked six nights at an Airbnb in Taipei.

I’ll be flying back to the US on another mistake fare (JAL to Los Angeles via Osaka-Kansai); my partner was originally supposed to take the same flights, but we just found out his university entrance exam is on Sunday, February 19, so he’ll likely be flying back to Mexico City a couple of days early on EVA and United via Los Angeles (booked with United Airlines miles). From Los Angeles, I’m headed to DC for work (nonstop on Alaska Airlines), then flying Delta back to Mexico City with an overnight layover in Detroit to visit a friend at the University of Michigan.

Like our last big trip, I’ll try to take pictures for you and write up trip reports along the way. Are there any specific pieces of the trip you’d like to hear about? Do you have any recommendations of things to do in these cities? Let me know in the comments!