Spain

October 07, 2019

Spain

Learning conversational Spanish has been a goal for me for as long as I can remember. I grew up with both my parents being able to speak the language since my mom lived in Spain for six years and Spanish is my dad's first language. Only in the last four months have I really started to take it seriously though.

When I was in traditional high school, I took Spanish one and two. With my personal experience in those two classes, I very quickly realized that taking a Spanish class by people who barely spoke it themselves was not going to get me very far. One of my teachers only worked on teaching us how to write in Spanish... which is great if you just want to send a letter. My second Spanish teacher didn't hardly know any Spanish herself and I couldn't even understand what she was saying in English because she spat all her words out. (Even though English is her first language)

If you've read my Guatemala Spanish immersion post, you know that I was just in Guatemala taking what was supposed to be intensive Spanish classes for four weeks. I went to Guatemala thinking that I was going to learn a lot more then I did... of course I didn't fully understand that I would be surrounded by English speaking teens the whole trip. Luckily, we had homestays where I was able to get a base down for my Spanish.

Learning a language is something you can't really take a break from. Once it's in your head, you just have to listen the best you can and try to speak as much as possible. So, I decided I needed to hop right on it.... or a plane to Spain.

On September 17th my mom and I said goodbye to the two loves of my lives, Lulu and Jelly, and hopped on a 15-hour flight to Malaga, Spain. Malaga is a beautiful city but a few days to explore it was all I needed. It was a little more touristic than I normally like, and a little more costly then I can really afford. If you are traveling on a big budget, try to avoid Malaga.

One place I definitely recommend, if you do ever roll through Malaga, is the Museo de Picasso. The building is beautiful and of course, most of his art is fabulous. I recommend going as soon as they open or an hour or so before they close because it gets very crowded during the day. Once you stroll through the museum, you can sit in the garden and get a cafe and a croissant.

After the Picasso museum, we ran to the station and got on a train to Sevilla. The train ride was stunning... it was all through country hills and grape vineyards. We sat at the back of the train, but if you are able to travel a bit more luxurious, try to get tickets at the front of the train where you have bigger seats for comfort, better views, and snacks I believe.

We stayed in this cute little pension in Sevilla called Petit Palace. A little pricy for you tight budget travelers, but It is located in a great location right in the city center, and in the mornings they have complimentary chocolate croissants. Definitely worth the stay.

Sevilla is full of life and music. You can rent bikes, scooters, or just do what I did and walk around all day. There is an endless amount of good food to try. One thing my mom and I did that we both regret is the Devour Seville food tour. It was way too expensive and all we got were a few snacks. It was supposed to show you all the amazing food in Sevilla, but that did not happen.

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If you know me, you know I travel for food. I honestly just hop from restaurant to restaurant trying the cheapest things on the menu. Spain is perfect for that because they are known for their tapas. What are tapas exactly? Tapas are small dishes commonly eaten in Spanish culture. It is a great excuse to go out with some friends and have a quick bite without worrying about the check. Kind of like happy hour... only better.

Some of my personal favorite tapas bars and restaurants in Sevilla are:

- Filo: Perfect little spot for a great breakfast

- Tata Pila: perfect for a yummy brunch

- El Pinton: by far my favorite meal
I ate: the most delicious egg dish with truffle sauce and mushrooms.

- Ovejas Negras: Small hip tapas squeeze in bar
I ate: Mushroom Risotto... the best I've ever had!

- Castizo: Seafood tapas bar: Super laid back and fun
I ate: lots of little tapas

Some great markets you gotta hit as well:

- Mercado de Triana

- Mercado de Feria- La cantina for fresh fish

- Triana- very authentic and loads of tapas bars

Sevilla is a fabulous place to just go walk around in. You can go to the Alcazar and inter for free. The Guadalquivir river is a beautiful place for evening walks with no shortage of restaurants and bars. Sevilla is also known for its hookah bars, so if that's something you're into...

What not to do in Sevilla:
I honestly hate going somewhere and getting caught up in tours. Tours are my least favorite things in the world, but my mom and I really wanted some good food so we decided to do a tapas tour! I've never hated tours more. I paid $100 to get some good food and hopefully not have to eat again for a little while. I want my money back. All we had were a few tiny tapas and I had to pay for my drink. I promise, my meal was not more than $20. Please please please, do more research then I did because I would hate for you to make the same mistake I did. You live you learn, right? La Vida

Sevilla was great, but gotta go! Next stop, Ronda! To improve my Spanish even more, my mom and I stayed with two separate host family's. It turned out really great... I had a really nice house, my host mom was sweet as could be and my host sister and I watched 'Friends' in Spanish for a lonnnng time. They were honestly awesome. We went out to dinner twice and I offered to pay but they knew I was on a budget and were so nice to buy me dinner twice. My host mom is a hairstylist and loved to wash my hair, which I am not normally a fan when it comes to people touching my head but turned out I like getting my hair done when I don't have to pay.

I feel if you are trying to learn a language, homestays are by far the best way to do it and in the future, I hope to stay with a family for six months. Ronda was so much fun. The city was very easy to get around.

My favorite part of Ronda was taking Spanish classes at https://entrelenguas.es/en/. The Spanish classes where the best Spanish classes I've ever taken. I had one on one classes with a teacher and he was amazing. You can also do group sessions where you just have a convo with people for three hours in Spanish. The school is such an awesome place with amazing people and lots of good vibes. There's a coffee house inside the Spanish school for breaks and to wake you up. The teacher understood that I am still a beginner and so he made sure I understood everything. 100% recommend Entrelenguas! Although I do have to warn you, it's quite a walk up a big hill.

We did this fabulous, eco-safe cooking class in Spanish, out in the most beautiful vineyard that overlooked Ronda. The class was through Entrelenguas and I couldn't recommend it more. We cooked some outstanding dishes. We made delicious figs and chocolate, Paella de Mariscos, and pork cheek. Wow was it good!

After I said my goodbyes to Ronda and my host family, we made our way to Granada. Granada was a little funky but worth the see. It had a huge Morrocan influence (seeing how it's close to Morrocco). Every other step was a new pop-up shop full of stuff from Morrocco and people trying to get you to buy everything. It is great to see but honestly, quite overwhelming. We stayed at the best little Hostel hidden on this little cobblestone street, but very close to everything. The hostel has live music in the evenings and is surrounded by great tapa restaurants and bars.

One must-see tourist attraction is the Alhambra. I did not want to go and was very stubborn about not going to see it but eventually, enough people convinced and I couldn't be happier I went. I would like to thank my hostel buddy, Josh for getting me tickets on such short notice seeing how most people have to get them two months in advance. The Alhamra was unlike anything id ever seen. The detail of this magnificent building blew me away. The garden was also spectacular, and once you walk to the end there is the most amazing view of the city. Definitely plan ahead to go see it.

I decided to treat myself again and splurge on a great lunch at the Mirador de Morayma which overlooked the Alhambra. The food was spectacular, and you must go for the chocolate lava cake. It was out of this world. Definitely not if you want to budget though.

Next, I made my way towards La Herradura to go visit an un-schooling school. To be honest it wasn't really my thing but at least it was on the beach so in no way can I complain. We stayed at a cute pension right on the beach. It was amazing because it was the first time in Spain I just got to lay down and relax. I had been studying Spanish and trying to go see and learn everything I could, and I didn't realize how much I needed to get off my feet.

I was only in La Herradura for a few days, so it was a quick trip. One thing my mama and I did was go scuba diving. I saw a little Octopus under a piece of Coral which was pretty cool. I absolutely love to scuba dive. To me, scuba diving is so peaceful and it gives me such a good space to think and clear my mind. Since I have been certified since April, my goal is to go Scuba Diving anywhere possible to learn and connect more with the ocean.

Unfortunately, as expected, most of the coral was dead and every time I go, it just breaks my heart. The way humanity has been treating the earth is so cruel. I'm not here to argue that climate change is real. However, you can not read this and tell me that billions of pieces of plastic being dumped into the oceans and into our water source is in any way good for the world we live in. Not for you or me, not for the animals, not for the water, and not for the rest of the world.

Finally, I end my Spanish trip in my forever favorite spot, Ibiza, Spain. If you are ever in Ibiza, please check out one of my favorite boutiques ever Boutique Azibi Ibiza. I loved modeling for a great friend who runs this store! She has some amazing pieces