Since my last blog post, I’ve been able to visit a few more beautiful places in Spain. The first of which was a small town called Cazorla, which is at the foothills of a nearby national park and mountain range. This was a much-needed weekend, where we could relax and chill out for a bit after all our intense city trips. I went with my friend Mackenzie, and we stayed in an airbnb in the picturesque town. Our hosts were very kind to us, and even offered to drive us to the top of the hill to save our legs, and we got to see the most amazing views. They also had the cutest dog, Dodo, whose favourite pastime seemed to be humping my leg.
Seriously though, we were super cultural that weekend. We saw ruins, went into the cathedral, did guided tours of the underground river and the castle, climbed hills etc. This is the type of stuff I imagined Spain to be like before I came here. Instead we usually go to cities and shop (and visit the occasional cathedral). Because Cazorla is in the mountains, it was really cold, but luckily the sun still shined for us. As per usual, the food and drink was pretty good (lots of tapas, tinto and mojitos). We also got to see a few friends who came for one of the days. Overall, it was a successful weekend.
The following weekend was one I’d been excited for, for a long time. One of my favourite bands, called Billy Talent, was playing in Madrid that weekend. I had been so sad when I found out they were touring the UK in October, which is when I would be in Spain. Then I found out they were coming to Spain too…amazing! I stayed with a family friend who’s studying at the university in Madrid, and we went to the gig together. It’s safe to say I didn’t see much of Madrid since the entire weekend consisted of sleeping, eating and going out. I also probably embarrassed myself loads fan-girling over Billy Talent. But it doesn’t matter; I was just so happy to see my favourite band.
Last week, straight after Madrid, my parents and my grandma came to visit! My parents loved Baeza and Úbeda when they came out with me the first time, and were so excited to visit again, this time with my grandma. In typical Henderson style, they all stayed in my flat with me, relegating me to the sofa. I didn’t mind though, because my housemates and myself were all treated to big breakfasts every morning in our flat.
As expected, it was a busy visit. We went for drinks and tapas with my friends the first night, we visited Cazorla for an afternoon, my parents got to see inside my school (much to my embarrassment in front of all the kids)…and that was all in one day! At the weekend, we went to Seville, the largest city in Andalusia. It’s hard for my family to act ‘Seville’ at times because we’re all so silly and crazy, but we tried our best. We did the typical tourist things, visiting the cathedral, the mushroom and the Plaza de España. On the way back, we stopped in Cordoba for a few hours, where we got to have lunch with my friend Amy – super fun and spontaneous!
There’s only two weekends left before I head back to the UK for Christmas, but I’m already excited for what’s to come in the New Year. More trips, more tapas, more tinto de verano – what more could you want!
Travel with Tali 