On the lookout

One of the woes of traveling is I'm always faced with is achy feet by the end of the day.

Walking around museums and flocking around cities is no easy thing, and life becomes that much more miserable when your feet hurt mid-day, and all you want to do is sit somewhere and not move for about four hours. Clearly not the ideal situation when traveling on a tight budget and tight time frame.

This becomes a particularly large issue when the city is built on cobblestone streets, so if you choose the wrong type of shoes, you will be feeling rocks underneath your feet every step.

Because of my strict weight limitations when packing to come to Madrid, I did not bring many shoes.  Therefore, the most comfortable walking shoes I have with me (other than my tennis shoes) are my trusty off-white, low-top converse (love them), and my brown tall boots (another must have).  As many people may know, converse are actually not the best walking shoes and neither are boots.  So I've had achy feet.  I think that's added to my knee pains. (I am indeed an old grandma sometimes.)

The situation is worsened as the weather becomes warmer, and the boots need to go and sandals need to come out.  Most all sandals are basically a thin layer of some mysterious material, strapped to my feet by even thinner pieces of this mysterious material.  AKA worst enemy for travelers.

There are solutions to this problem: 1) spend lots of money on nice pair of leather, arch-supported sandals 2) give up on fashion.

For some reason, it always seems like good-for-your-feet sandals are outright ugly.  They belong on mountains and in riverbeds, but definitely not on the streets of Paris, or Barcelona, o lo que sea.

So what is a girl to do? I am on the lookout for both non-sandals and sandals alike that I can wear for hours and hours without feeling like my feet are about to fall off my ankles.  I am very much opened to suggestions.  Throw them at me!

I've been eying these Salt-water sandals, which apparently are very comfortable, durable, and can be worn in salt water.  Problem is they are mainly for children, and it's hard to find them in Spain.

And I know that these aren't sandals, but I was browsing through Madewell's website and came across these flats. So adorable. Wonder if they are comfortable...

Anyways, people, seriously, send me suggestions. As of now, I am not quite ready to consider Rainbow flip flops as an option, just FYI.