365 Días

Today marks a year of being in the glorious city and calling it home.

I arrived here possibly still slightly jet lagged and most definitely still hungover from New Years four days earlier. So disorientated that a friend’s mum tried talking to me in Spanish but ended turning to her son and questioned “pensé que dijiste que ella puede hablar español” – I thought you said she can speak Spanish. I’ve been trying to make up for that comment ever since, everytime I see her its basically me trying too hard and being like I can speak your language!!

For my 365th night here I celebrated with Tessa, one of my best friends from home, Mic and Gel who have also pretty much been here for a year and a bottle of good Spanish wine – aka it cost more than 3 euros.

I told someone that for this post I could list 365 things I love about this city. They laughed, I laughed, I wasn’t joking. I could do it, but rather than boring you with the details of my unwavering love for Thursday nights at Joy and the busker that sits in front of Corte, I tried* to cut it down to my favourite 10 things.

*this was hard and I feel like I’ve missed so many things out but for now…

Puesta de Sol

You can never truly appreciate a sunset until you are sitting on a 2000 year old Egyptian temple (Templo de Debod) and are drinking warm 1 euro beers. Madrid’s sunset game is strong.

 

Retiro

Retiro is one of the largest parks in Madrid and is such a treat. As much as I am a ‘city girl’ and love the intensity of it all, there is no better feeling than walking through the gates to the park. It’s a little escape. In the summer my friends and I spent hours here. We would bring food and blankets and just lay in the sun listening to people play music alongside the lake (lake as in a tiny man-made one where you can hire little row boats).

Tessa and I walked around it today, and although the trees are totally bare and its freezing, there is still so much to do. There are a lots of cafes, the buskers are still around, and there are a couple of museums and buildings to check out. My personal fave is the Palacio de Cristal.

 

Transportación

Transport here in Madrid is such a breeze. I have a transport card which I only pay 20€ a month (roughly $30) and that allows unlimited use of trains, metros and buses in the center and just out of.

In all honesty if it wasn’t for the fact that I had to travel outside of the city for university and frequent trips to the airport, I wouldn’t have gotten a card. The city itself isn’t huge and almost everything is so easily reach by walking. Pro-tip: always look up when walking through Madrid, so much beauty is hidden on the tops of buildings.

In the same vain, being in the center of Spain has some definite perks travel wise. You can get some pretty great deals on buses or trains to explore other parts of Spain. Toledo and Segovia are two cities just outside of Madrid and are super easy and cheap to get to, while those further away (Barcelona, Valencia, etc.) also have multiple trains and buses leaving from Madrid on the daily. For travel out of the country, RyanAir and EasyJet are godsends! I mean… 9 euro flights to Morocco!

Comida

I could write a whole post on the food here (in fact check back here next week) but for the mean time:

Churros con chocolate
Paella
Jamón
Patas Bravas
Tortilla
Vino (it counts as food)
etc

 

La Noche

You know what, I totally am going to talk about my unwavering love for Thursday nights at Joy. Ernest Hemingway once wrote “nobody goes to bed in Madrid until they have killed the night” and tbh preach it Ernest.

You don’t start getting ready until at least 10pm, pre drinks start anywhere between 10.30-11.30pm and then there is no way you should be in a club until at least 1.30am. Most clubs here have entrance fees which for me, considering Wellington doesn’t have any, is a pain. It can make a cheap night out – I can make sangria for literally .93 cents – into the very opposite, entrance fees range from $15 to over $40… Usually it comes with a free drink or two but still.

Kapital and Joy are the big ones here in Madrid. My Spanish flatmates would rather die than step foot into either of them but they are winners for foreigners. Kapital, with 7 floors and lines that can take over an hour to get in, is the most famous – it also has the biggest price tag, 21€ so free student nights that they put on every now and then are a blessing (soz about all the blurry, long snapchats).

If big nights out aren’t your thing, fear not! Nights in Madrid aren’t just about that! 2am can easily feel like 10pm with hoards of people wandering the streets and plazas looking for a late night/early morning cereveza or chocolate con churros.

 

Malasaña

Looking Instagram worthy cafes, artisanal iceblock stores and the local self-proclaimed hipster area? You have found your barrio! Malasaña is one of the more trendy neighborhoods and has a huge student/yo-pro/’creatives’ population. It didn’t always have this vibe and apparently has gone under a pretty impressive transformation over the last few years but is now the place to go. For food and drink you can’t go wrong here. There is a great mix of older traditional Spanish bars, trendy cafes and pretty amazing restaurants. Think floors covered in sand and transformed into a ‘beach bar’.

As well as a haven for the foodies, there are so many other ways for this neighborhood to claim your time. There are second-hand shops galore, gorgeous little one-off boutiques and las calles are covered in street art to admire!

 

El Rastro

El Rastro is an outdoor market that takes place every Sunday in La Latina, the historic center of Madrid, and a two minute walk from my house. It is one of the largest markets in Europe with a maximum of 3500 every week! It pretty much takes up an entire neighbourhood and makes it almost impossible to walk through while on. Of course with the crowded streets and sheer amount of people makes it prime pickpocketing turf. I haven’t had anything happen to me but one of my friends did catch someone with their hand in her bag…

I read somewhere today that El Rastro “sells the same shit as every other crappy market in Europe” and well. They aren’t wrong. You just have to walk for a couple of meters to spot the Che Guevara shirts and fake Adidas, but keep walking and go down the smaller streets to find the real treasures. Local artists sell their paintings, traditional pottery is on display. The best part of the market though is the second-hand section, there is some pretty amazing stuff there. Lots of Jesus statues actually.

Wandering through El Rastro quickly became a favourite Sunday morning activity. Its a great way to soak in a lot of culture and with the literal 1000s of stalls there is always going to be something new to discover.

 

Sol

Sol, or Puerta del Sol (Gate of the Sun) as its officially called, in not only located in the center of Madrid but also the center of the country. A plaque is placed in the supposed exact center, and while their may be skepticism about the legitimacy of this (hola dad and Sam), there is no doubting that it is the centre of Madrid. It is home to some of Madrid’s most iconic features. The Tio Pepe (a Spanish sherry) sign dominates the area and is lit up each and every night, and there are street performers to keep people of all ages entertained. However, the most popular feature is undoubtedly a statue of Madrid’s most famous symbol; a bear eating fruit from a tree. Officially it is called El Oso y El Madroño, and according to legend original name of Madrid was “Ursaria” (“land of bears” in Latin), due to the high number of bears that were found in the adjacent forests. No matter what time of day or night the statue will always be flocked with tourists, trying to get a photo with the bear. I finally gave in and went and took a photo with it the other day!

Sol is one of the best people watching places I have ever experienced in my life. It is constantly bustling with tourists/locals/dancers/singers/Dora the Explorer impersonators. Ask anyone that has ever lived in Madrid and I can guarantee it will be the most common meeting place between friends!

 

El Tiempo

When it comes to the weather Madrid is #blessed. Sunshine is present for all four seasons, and while the temperatures may drop during the winter months there is hardly any rain. Infact, the weather app on my phone tells me that Auckland has had more rain in the last week than Madrid has all winter!!

Due to the incredible weather, people spend so much of their lives on the streets walking, eating at outdoor cafes, going to the park, and enjoying the sunshine. Even in the summer when the temperature can soar right up into the 40s, you are able to sit outside and enjoy a cold sangria because the air is so dry. Humidity is virtually non-existent in Madrid, making the high temperatures so much more bearable. No wonder everyone here is so happy. Good weather = happy people.

That brings me to my last point…

 

La Gente

The people of Madrid, madrileños, are also some of the most friendly and welcoming people you will ever meet. They are always so interested in where you are from and what you are doing here. A guy that worked in a dairy next to my old house would remember me everytime I went in. He would ask how everything was going, how I was finding Madrid, and would tell me about his cousin who lived on the otherside of the world, granted he was talking about Australia and didn’t realize we were different countries but I just rolled with it.

People here are also super proud and super passionate of their city. Want to ask for directions/places to go/help? Be prepared for a on explanation why said thing/the city is the absolute best/where else you should be going.

Like anything in life really the ones that make or break your experience. From the people I have lived with (20 different people in the last 12 months!), the friends I have made through exchange and those that I met at university, I have been pretty damn lucky.

 

Here’s to the next/last 17 days!

x

 

Lets get personal: apologies, rambles & catchups

Hi, hello, hola.

So its been a minute (or four months – I’m sorry Mum, Nan, Mike!!) but I’m back, more in love with Madrid than I have ever been and I only have under three months until I am back to the real world.

Its so cliche but I honest to God have no idea where those last couple of months have gone, let alone the ten months I have called this country my home. My parents and Flynn get here in under two weeks and if I am being true to myself it kind of feels like the end. As excited as I am to have them here, and trust, I am so so excited to be see them, hug them, make them fall in love with Madrid, it sort of marks the end of ‘my world’. They will be in Europe until after Christmas, as will my number one gal Tessa, and before I know it I will be sitting my exams (Instagram is deceiving, I do actually go to uni) and then I will be home – mark your calendars for the 28th of Jan.

Its a bit surreal writing this post and thinking back to when I first arrived back to Madrid after summer. Being real, it wasn’t fun.

• I had to say goodbye to my best friends who went home (lots of crying on my part)
• I had no friends in the city for a few weeks, they had all either gone home or were still traveling
• I had much less money than expected
•  I had no flat for a bit (hostels and crashing at friends’ houses)
• It was so so so hot
• I was homesick and cried in McDonalds while skyping home more than once (I wish I was joking)

Two of the best people I know and bout 12 hours before a weeks worth of crying commenced

Writing this now, it all seems pretty stupid when…

• I still talk to them so much its like they are still here/I’m seeing them literally two days after I get home
•  My other friends came back/I have made really great new ones
• … I still have less money than expected, that stayed the same 😦
•  I found a flat really fast and its cheap, the location is so central and my flatmates are super great
• The heat can actually come back now. I miss you
• I stopped crying in McDonalds. For the best I think.

I really hadn’t been homesick up until that point and it was kind of a shock. I couldn’t shake it off for a while, and there was a point where Mum actually offered to buy me a ticket home. I think she knew I wouldn’t take it, I literally feel sick thinking about how I would feel now if I had accepted, and it really forced me to get myself out of that funk and to start enjoying my ‘home’ again.

Reason #1432 Madrid is the best: Tropical gardens and turtles in train stations

Reason #1433 Madrid is the best: SANGRIA FOUNTAINS

Apparently all it took was a few days playing tourist in Madrid, a visit from my other number one gal Megan before she ventured off to Germany, a beach escape to Malaga and a visit from Kevin. Easy.

Fish pedis…

Spanish summer essentials

Ohh and best of all my gorgeous Argentinian host sister was travelling through Europe and she made a stop in Madrid. It felt like being home again. My other other home (too many homes, too many feels).

I started back at university at the beginning of September and it was good to get back into things. I am doing a couple of papers in Spanish which has been a challenge but I have noticed that its taking me less time to write the weekly assignments and I am able to participate more confidently in class conversations. Still sick of group assignments, I literally cannot wait to get back to Vic and never do another group assignment again. Why so many group assignments Spain?!

At the end of September my family and I had some sad news of my beautiful Nanny passing away. It wasn’t completely unexpected but really did kick up the homesick feelings again. If anything was going to make me feel far away from home and the people I love it was this. However, as sad and heartbreaking as it was I spent a really lovely week in England with Dad and Sam who flew over for the funeral alongside the rest of my English family.

❤

Freddie ❤ The newest addition to the Llelliott familiy

Sam was never going to be coming over with Mum and Dad – busy working on a farm, we couldn’t be more opposite – so he decided before going home he would come back to Madrid with me for a week. With the week in the UK and the week here to was the most time we have spent together four years! It was so relaxed and we spent most of the time eating churros between going to a Real Madrid game (the real reason he came over I’m convinced) and watching a million and one Rugby World Cup games (sidenote: there was no sweeter feeling than watching that final with Australians, sorry Mic)

Sam’s real reason for visiting. Real Madrid vs Levante

That brings me back to now, after coming home from a cafe doing some uni work with some great classmates and then meeting a friend and crying over glasses of wine at how little time we have left and making lists of places we must go to before its over.

I am going to the UK for Christmas, before leaving Mum, Dad and Flynn to go back to Barcelona with Tessa, and arriving back to Madrid on New Years Eve. I seriously thought about going to another country for New Years but I really want to finish this year in the city I call home, and want to eat 12 grapes after midnight (I don’t know. Its tradition, I’ll let you know after NYE). Tess and I have also booked tickets to go to Marrakesh, Morocco for a couple of nights which I am so excited for. Its been somewhere I have been trying to get to since January and its finally working out – 9 euro tickets to get there don’t hurt either. Love you Ryan Air ❤

My friend Michaela has a YouTube channel and has been vlogging quite a bit if anyone is interested. Lots of beautiful sights of Madrid and what we do daily. This one has footage of us baking brownies/falling in love with the new 5 floor Primark – great stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/user/xoxmiki/videos for the rest of her vids.

Las chicas mas guapas 😉

So I guess this is us all caught up for the time being. I don’t know why I kept putting this blog off, but I promise I’m back and with the stuff I have planned I will be posting more – or at least under four months!

Como siempre, besos y amor a todos // As always kisses and love to everyone xx

Spain forever ❤

Update numéro uno

As a distraction to avoid repacking my bag (and a promise to Mum – hola chica!) I thought I’d give a little update on my life. At the end of last month I left the beautiful city of Madrid for a couple months, leaving with it my amazing flatmates, friends and too hot to handle temperatures. 35 degree days are great, just not whilst being stuck in the middle of the city with no ocean or water to cool off in, so it would only make sense my first stop would be Spain’s summer capital, Barcelona.

Flatemates ❤

Barcelona I took a seven hour bus ride to the coast from Madrid and spent three nights in Barcelona with my friend Clare and her cousin Meg. The weather was stunning, the beach perfect, the architecture gorgeous and the fresh juices were out of this world.

Armed with our ninja turtle backpacks, ready to take on Europe

Our first stop was a visit to the famous Sagrada Família. This insane cathedral was designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí and construction was first started in the 1880s. Today it is still not complete and the estimated year of completion is 2028. It is easy to see why it would take so long. Gaudí was insane. The amount of details that are present are mind blowing, every little part of it is so detailed it would take a million years to just get it all down. It is also a pretty damn expensive project. In 2009 the construction budget was 18 million euros, and there is still a great amount of money that needs to be funded before the estimated date of completion becomes a reality.

Inside

We also visited Gaudí’s Park Güelll which sits above the city. This park was again designed by the Catalan architect and is basically fairyland. The buildings, bridges and just random tiles scattered across the park are so strange and beautiful, and the park gives an amazing view right across the city.

A little Romeo and Juliet moment amongst all the pretty things.

Our last full day was Meg’s birthday so we rented bikes and went to the markets for breakfast – literally the best markets I have ever been to, lay on the beach for the rest of day, and then went out to explore Barcelona’s night life.

The city had such a cool vibe to it, way more modern that Madrid’s, and it was the perfect way to start off summer. Barcelona, I love you!

England From Barcelona I flew to London with no real idea as to how long I was going to stay for. Thank goodness for amazing families who don’t mind indecisive nieces crashing at their homes! My main reason for coming over was for my cousin Alice’s 21st birthday – I’m really taking advantage of this whole actually being able to see my family thing.

The next week I caught a train down to the city of Brighton, which wow! I really wasn’t expecting it to be so beautiful. I had amazing weather for the two days I was there and the hostel was waterfront. From my bed all I could see was the ocean. Coming from NZ where the beaches are almost perfect, its sometimes hard to be impressed when a bunch of Europeans are awwing over some pretty average ones, so the thought of a pebbly beach doesn’t really appeal. Brighton, you proved me wrong – so pretty.

On my last day there I took a bus an hour out of the city and along the coast to a park that let me walk along the white cliffs. These cliffs are made of chalk and are breathtaking. The views from the top were insane.

Last weekend I spent it in London with Dylan who had a free bed for me (ily ❤ ) and it was one of the most fun/crazy/exhausting weekends I have had in a while.

We are both lucky enough to know London pretty well so it was nice to able to spend the days just wanderng around our favourite areas and seeing our favourite things (a lot of shops are included on that list idk). During the weekend we saw Bradley Cooper live in the West End production of The Elephant Man (swoon), saw Years & Years (very cool), saw Leona Lewis sing Bleeding Love live (and other songs but who cares about anything other than Bleeding Love?!) and spent all three nights in the same club (we are def too cool).

Notting Hill – the pink one is my future home

Years & Years

Leona

Favourite people

London is still hands down my favourite city, I honestly probably know it better than Auckland, so to be able to do all of these amazing things with people I love means the world to me.

Next?

After two amazing weeks here I am leaving Watford tonight and am heading off on a 12 hour bus ride (… yep) to the Netherlands. I’m super excited because I’m going to be meeting up with a few friends, from home and people I met in Argentina) and will be in Amsterdam until next Tuesday. I’ve got a flight from there to Rome where I am meeting with Clare again, and from there we are traveling around Italy for a bit. We haven’t got any solid plans as to where we are going but its more fun if you make it up as you go along.

I’ll be without a computer until I go back to Madrid but I will try and update as soon as I can.

Chaaaau x

Madrid, Londres, París

Its currently 10pm and its 27 degrees. I don’t know what Antartic Storm you NZ people are going on about but summer has definitely hit Madrid.

The 25th of April 2015 was the 100th year anniversary of ANZAC Day. Almost every year, and even through university, I have gone to an ANZAC service, so the thought of being away and missing this momentous anniversary made me feel pretty far away from home. I looked online and found that the New Zealand and Australian embassies were holding a service here in Madrid. Services aren’t normally held but seeing as it was the 100 year anniversary they held one. On the 25th a group of around 50 Kiwis and Australians who are living in Madrid – Chris, Kyla and myself included – attended. Although there was a very noticeable absence of Anzac biscuits, to be able to wear a poppy and remember those who fought for us, was pretty special and made me feel so close to home. Its true, you really are never too far away.

London At the beginning of the month I went back to Watford for a couple of days because a) I’m so close, it’s silly not to go and see my family as much as possible, and b) it was beautiful Amelia’s christening.

In December I didn’t have enough time to visit London City so this trip Emma and I spent a day wondering around. I’m lucky enough to have done ‘tourist’ London multiple times so it was nice to just walk around places such as Camden and just take in my favourite city.

During my summer holidays I am going to head back to Watford/London for a couple of weeks. Like I said previously, I may as well take advantage of having family so close. While its not ideal having both halves of my family in two places of the world, it is so lovely to know that I have a ‘home’ here. Watford is always home away from home.

Paris I had never ‘got’ Paris. Again, I’ve been lucky enough to visit two times previously, but both times I have left me wanting so much more from the city. Both times it was rainy, and I did all of the things you do whilst in Paris, and while I have always found it beautiful, it just wasn’t… Paris?

The 2011 example

But you know what they say, third times a charm.

I spent three nights in Paris to see a couple of concerts, and to help my friends Dylan celebrate his birthday by eating cheese and strawberries and drinking in front of the Eiffel Tower (tough life I know).

We had absolutely beautiful weather from the get go, and really spent a lot a time just walking the streets of Paris. I can 100% confirm that the city is so much more enjoyable when you are not waiting in huge lines in the rain. On one of the days though we took a train headed out of the city, and to the Palace of Versailles. Even through the hundreds of people visiting, the palace is probably one of the most grand, beautiful buildings I have ever seen. From the bright gold of the outside, to the hall of mirrors (which literally took my breath away), to the gardens (I say gardens, but forest/maze/lake/farm/wonderland is probably a better description).

Hall of mirrors – not represented well at all due to horrible photography skills

The two concerts that we saw were Marina and the Diamonds, who is so so so damn good, and a guy called Thomston. The Thomston concert was cool for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it was tiny. Literally like 20 people there. Secondly, he’s from Auckland. I’ve been listening to his music for a while and to be able to see him perform his fist solo show in Paris of all places was a pretty cool thing. He is great. Get into him NZ (and others).

 

That day we also visited Stephanie Key’s (PMs daughter, AKA Cherry Lazar) art exhibition. She is also great. Go Kiwis.

 

Basically Paris, I now ‘get’ you and your charming side streets, and flower stalls, and beautiful buildings. Merci beaucoup

 

The one advantage of an early flight. Sight seeing without the hundreds of people.

As I said early, Madrid is getting pretty damn hot. The last couple of weeks have been spent mainly at the park, or sitting outside bars drinking tinto de verano (the ‘non-tourist’ sangria). The most amazing thing about summer here is the not the temperature, although I am not yet to complain, I’ll save that for when it gets to 40 degrees, but the long days. The sun rises just before 7am and doesn’t set until close to 10pm.

As of last week I have officially finished university until September! I did have a couple of weeks before my exams, for you know, study, but those weeks were filled with visiting the Warner Brothers theme park, tanning/rowing/picnicing in Retiro park, visiting rooftop bars/watching sunsets and watching Eurovision live at a musical theatre bar. For those that don’t know what Eurovision is, hello NZ, its basically a song contest between 40+ European countries. Sometimes the songs are good, most of the time they are tacky and over the top (the best ones). This year Australia competed as it was the 60th anniversary and they are big fans of the show. We are missing out New Zealand!

The absolute worst thing about exchange has begun to happen, the goodbyes. A lot of my friends have already started to leave their lives in Madrid and go back to their home countries. After all of the goodbyes and see you soon that I have already had to do in the past, you would think it would start to suck a little bit less each time but it really doesn’t. However, this time around I am actually able to visit them during the summer and next semester, so maybe it isn’t quite so bad after all. Plans for summer are starting to become a bit more of a reality with tickets/hostels being booked everyday and it all starts with Barcelona this weekend…

Besos xx

Marzo/Abril

I don’t even know where to begin this one… So here goes?

¡Hala Madrid!

At the beginning of last month I went and watched – or as friends from home put it, had the honour of watching (ok), Real Madrid play in their home stadium, Santiago Bernabéu. Tickets were relatively cheap and they were playing Levante, a team from Valencia and were at the time 3rd from last on the La Liga table. With this in mind I didn’t expect it to be hugely full. So so wrong! The stadium has a capacity of over 81,000 spectators and I would hand on heart say there was at least 79,000 people there.

I thought the atmosphere was pretty damn amazing, so much passion from both sides. The Brazilians that I went with had other views… not passionate enough, why was everyone sitting, where was the singing/chanting? I dread to think what they would think about any of our sporting matches.

Madrid won 2-0 thanks to Bale, and Ronaldo know how to throw a great tantrum #Messi4Life

The week after we all went to a bar to watch El Clásico (Madrid vs Barcelona) go down. The game was played in Barcelona but almost every single bar here was packed full of people. Lots of shouting, swearing and maybe even a few tears from the hardcore madrileños? (we lost 😦 )

Visitors 

During March I got to catch up with two people! The first was my cousin Emma from the UK. She came over for just under a week and it was so lovely! Even though it was the worst week weather-wise that I have had in Madrid, we got to catch up, visit Valencia, and eat so much good food!!

The second was a friend from university at home. Miranda is studying in the Netherlands for six months and came over to see Madrid (in the rain again) but we (again) got to catch up and eat good food.

(Hint: visitors are always welcome!!)

Las Fallas

As I previously mentioned, during the month I made it to the city of Valencia with Emma and a couple of flatmates. It was just a quick day trip to see the last day of Las Fallas. Las Fallas is a celebration to signify the start of spring. It started in the very early days when the days would be lighter for longer, and lamps were no longer needed. They were ceremoniously burnt on the streets and were decorated in old rags. These days, what they burn are a whole lot more spectacular.

These huge sculptures are scattered throughout the city and are set alight during the last night of the festival. It is pretty crazy to see these amazing sculptures that took months of work basically turn to dust within minutes.

From this…

To this… 

To this.

It was also pretty surreal to see how lax they were with the fires and fireworks. Some of the sculptures were situated in the most tinniest, windiest roads, between houses and under pretty low power lines. There were people everywhere (very close to the sculptures) and lots of wind, scattering bit of burning paper through the air. At one point Emma and I both turned to each other and said how there is no way this would ever be allowed to happen in the UK or NZ. But I guess thats one of the best things about living over here, being able to experience stuff like this.

The Virgin covered in flowers

Absolute fave

Portugal

Aaaages ago Team NZ (Chris, Kyla and I) booked tickets to Portugal for our Easter break. The week away came up super fast and we even found a German (Simone) to add to Team NZ.

Houses along the Porto river

We spent the first three days in Porto, Portugal’s second largest city, and wondered through the windy and very very steep streets – don’t miss you Wellington streets. After our miserable weather in Madrid I think we all had our hearts set on sunshine but alas we were treated with a pretty dreary Porto for the first few days. That didn’t stop the adventures however. We managed a port wine tour, walking tour, pub crawl, bike ride along the coast, as well as just wondering and discovering Porto’s beautiful charm.

Port wine is Portugal’s second largest export. The first… cork.

The sun came out to say hi

I fell in love with all of the tiled buildings. So pretty!!

Portugal suffered big time during the economic crisis and it was pretty obvious to see within the streets of Porto. The houses on the river are shown to be super bright and cute in photos but in reality they are pretty run down. Being in the centre of Madrid has maybe blindsided me a little bit from the struggles that still continue here in Spain and countries such as Portugal, so it was a very good refresher for me to make sure I realise how truly lucky I am (and I do).

Harry Potter 

I haven’t read all of the Harry Potter books, nor have I seen all the movies (a sin yes I know), but it was pretty cool seeing how Portugal, and Porto in particular inspired J. K. Rowling. She was living in Porto whilst writing the first book and utilised her surroundings as inspiration, something Porto is very proud of. The most well known is the Livraria Lello bookstore, which is just stunning – and very easy to see how this influenced the book. Our tour guide was super enthuastic about the similarities which ranged from a park of misshaped trees (whomping willow), the Portuguese university uniforms (black capes), and the names of famous Portuguese people (can’t remember… soz).

Literally the most magic bookstore ever?

Next we took a three hour train to Portugal’s capital city, Lisbon and omg it was hot! We had the most beautiful weather from the day we arrived and it apparently even got up to the 30s – and I have a tan so win win win!

Any city that has skies that become purple are automatic favourites

The first day we took a ferry to the other side of Lisbon and walked up to see the Cristo Rei – Portugal’s answer to the huge monument that is situated in Rio, Brazil. It wasn’t as big as what I imagine the Brazilian is, but it did give us some pretty awesome views. I also love the fact that the Portuguese people saw they one in Rio, decided they wanted one, and got it constructed.

Speaking of Lisbon copying famous structures… Hey! Its the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco! Kyla managed to convince probably too many people from home that she was actually in San Fran.

We explored a bit of a town called Belem and a historic city just outside Lisbon called Sintra. Sintra a UNESCO World Heritage Site and I wish we got to explore the castles and parks more than we did because they really were beautiful… but next time 😉

Belem Tower

Sintra

The last day was literally just spent on the beach and omg that was the best decision ever. Being landlocked in Madrid has made me miss the ocean like crazy so it was so nice to be able to soak up some of that sun and wade through the water – not swim though because the water was far too cold for that!

The language was a strange challenge. Reading Portuguese is simple enough for me, I can understand the majority of it, and I was able to pick up phrases pretty fast but wow. It has such a different sound than what Spanish does. People who say once you know Spanish you know Portuguese are crazy!

Portugal definitely exceeded my expectations of what I thought it would be like. The scenery was beautiful and the people were so incredibly friendly. It was such a perfect getaway and has made me so excited to travel in summer!

Here’s a man playing an accordion on the metro whilst balancing a chihuahua on his shoulders, who is holding a cup for coins in his mouth… because why not.

Madrid

We arrived back in Madrid just in time for Easter, or La Semana Santa, and the Easter celebrations that take place through out the city. Being the Catholic country that it is Easter is much less about the bunnies and chocolates, and focuses more on the religious aspect. I saw one procession and I’m not going to lie it was pretty surreal.

Members of the church were walking from one cathedral to another, dressed in the traditional robe and pointed hood. I know this had been a tradition for hundreds and hundreds of years, and that it is not meant for any harm, but it still is quite a shock to see. The white pointed hood has so many negative connotations that is quite hard to accept it for something else other than that.

The whole thing was quite eerie but again, that is the amazing thing about living some place new, you are forever learning about how other cultures and societies work.

I start back at uni tomorrow but I only have two months to go until I have three whole months off, most of which I intend to spend traveling – any suggestions are welcome!

Besos ❤

Belgium part deux

I love Europe so much. I love how easy and cheap it is to travel from one country to another. I love being able to message my best friend and tell him I’m coming to visit the weekend after the next after seeing 50 euro return tickets on the Ryan Air app that I really need to stop going on…

I arrived in Brussels early Friday morning, and spent pretty much the entire day just wandering around the streets taking in the beautiful buildings, street art (fact: Tintin originated from Belgium, and Brussels has an amazing comic strip art scene. So many cool paintings on the sides of buildings), and staring at the chocolate/waffle/beer shops.

Brussels is also home to the most confusingly popular statue, the Manneken Pis. It is tiny, like really really tiny! If it wasn’t for the always present crowds of visitors, it would be easy to miss him! The Manneken Pis is often dressed in costumes, and the day I was there it was dressed was honouring the Royal Climbia’s Club, a Belgian folklore group.

Saturday was spent catching up with Kevin, and his cat Whisky, who still hisses at me 🙂 #bffls

At home in NZ we have this huge chest that is full of photo albums, and I honestly have no idea how many times I have gone through all of my parents’ travels albums. They have been to some pretty incredible places so when my mum said (and dad agreed) that Bruges was the most beautiful city that she had ever been to, I knew I had to go – and make Kevin come as my tour guide.

We were blessed with great weather (first sighting of blue skies after being Belgium for a total of nine days). Mum was so right. Bruges is absolutely gorgeous. The buildings, canals, everything, I was in complete awe from the moment I got there. With the different language and scenery it truly felt like we were in a different country. Just stunning – no photos will do justice.

Also because the world is weird, we ended up sitting next to a French girl at lunch whose boyfriend is from New Zealand. She picked up on my accent straight away and we chatted about home for a bit (she lived in Napier for a year), and then not even 10 minutes later we found this store. A store in some back street of Bruges called New Zealand Auckland that sold really ugly clothes. Weird.

Two months down already, and the year is going better than I could have (did ever) imagine it would. On the way home I had a bit of a soppy moment. I truly am so lucky to be able to traveling, to have amazing friends who don’t mind me inviting myself to their homes (thank yooooou!) and to be able to call Madrid my home. And my home is pretty beautiful at that. Totally unfiltered/untouched beauty

Carnival Cádiz!

Two weeks ago the Carnival season took place all over the world (Rio de Janeiro, Mardi Gras, etc), and what better place to experience my first Carnival than at supposedly ‘Europe’s most crazy Carnival’ in Cádiz?!

Carnival for those who only know it from the photos of crazy costumes in Brazil, is a celebration that takes place for about two weeks in February, before Lent. Traditionally during Lent, there were to be no parties, nor consumption of rich foods and drinks, so Carnival was created to dispose of these before the Lent period began.

Myself, some friends, and 150 other international students left Madrid on Friday morning and began our 8 hour trip south. This brought back so many memories of the crazy bus trips that happened in Argentina, and like those trips, the long journey gave opportunity to meet new people and make friends.

After travelling through fields and fields of olive groves, and citrus trees – so typically Southern Spain – we arrived to a beautiful resort that was about half an hour out of Cádiz, and a 10 minute walk to a stunning beach. It was also a solid 5 degrees warmer there than Madrid!

Carnival takes place all throughout the city of Cádiz, and runs all throughout the two weeks, however the main party happens on the Saturday nights. Cádiz is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Spain, and is situated on a narrow strip of land, and is almost entirely surrounded by sea. The ‘old town’ is made up of large plazas which are connected with long winding alleyways – I would love to come back and explore this typically Andalusian city more, but from what we did manage it to see, it was pretty damn beautiful.

The streets were filled with locals and foreigners dressed in some truly amazing costumes. Those that did not dress up stood out more than any of the elaborate costumes, and omg there were some amazing costumes. So clever! We meet some lovely local people, drank beer from the portable makeshift bars, listened to choir groups in back alleys who sang sarcastically about current events, and wandered around the confetti littered streets until the wee hours of the morning.

Cádiz – you were pretty freaking awesome.

Toledo

The very same weekend that Auckland was celebrating its 175th Anniversary, I was wondering around the stunningly beautiful and historic city of Toledo, which has been populated since the Bronze Age. A city tangled in 2,500 years worth of history. Just an hours drive away from Madrid its pretty difficult to comprehend you are in the same city, or even era.

(Ok, for me at least. Us three Kiwis were going crazy with the photos and the ‘OMG look how beautiful/amazing/pretty/old/cool/etc. everything is’ speech and a couple of people ended up asking how many castles New Zealand had, and were asking why we thought this place was so special. The look on their faces was pretty great when we told them that our oldest building was under 200 years old. Europeans and their castles)

Toledo – from the outskirts

This World Heritage Site is often referred to as ‘la ciudad de las tres culturas’ – the city of the three cultures – due to the historical co-existence of Muslim, Christian and Jewish cultures. Although the city is now dominated by Christian influence, it is very easy to spot monuments and other architectural markings that represent the presence of all three cultures. It is one of the few cities in the world where you can visit centuries old Cathedrals, Mosques and Synagogues.

The city has a population of 85,000 and thousands of tourists make their way to Toledo each year to bask in the historically wonderful city. Although the city has become quite touristy, it still feels 100% genuine and so much of the architecture has been persevered. As it has been made a World Heritage Site by UNESCO no modern exteriors are allowed. The only exceptions is some of the cobblestone streets which, due to the huge amount of foot traffic they endure daily, have been replaced with concrete slabs. The stones have been there for hundreds and hundreds of years though (they were laid before the very first Europeans arrived in New Zealand fyi) so its probably all good if they retire.

Concrete slabs or cobblestones, still stunning

The most impressive building that we visited was the Catedral Primada Santa María de Toledo, a massive Gothic cathedral which was built between the 13th and 15th centuries. The cathedral is built on the site that the Great Mosque of Toledo once sat, which itself replaced a Visigothic church. It is the home to many artworks from the likes of Francisco de Goya, Titian, Diego Velázquez and El Greco.

This day trip was the first of many, and it has made me more excited than ever to start exploring more of Spain and the culture/history that makes this beautiful country what it is.

Everything in this store is on my wishlist

Army training centre

Life update:

– Uni is going really well – only 2 days of class a week, which means 5 day weekends (…I know)

– New flatmates are awesome

– I have learnt that Tinto de Verano is better than Sangria (…again I know), its not that different but at the same time so much better

– I’m going to a city called Cádiz in two weeks time for CARNIVAL

– And then back to Belgium the week after (yay last minute plans/really cheap airlines)

AKA – this is all going too well and I’m scared I’ll be booking my ticket home before I know it.

Besos xx

Madrid – Enero

Most of you know that this year has been a long time coming. In fact I clearly remember discussing the possibility of doing a university exchange to Spain with my parents when they were visiting me in Argentina… who then told me to live in the moment and enjoy what I was doing before rushing to make plans – very good advice!

To say I arrived to this country with a lot of expectations would be an understatement. This is what I had been dreaming of when doing that last minute rush to get assignments in on time, and this was the motivation that got me through all of those 12am New World shifts! So I am very pleased to report that everything is going so well.

Parque Retiro. Winter here is amazing – the days are generally warm and sunny with the nights quite chilly. Its rained about four times since being here, and each time its only lasted for around 20 minutes. So great.

For the first week of my arrival I stayed with my friends Chris and Alvaro, and Alvaro’s family, who live in a town called Pinto – a twenty-five minute train ride away from the city centre. This was such a good decision as it gave me the time to relax, meet lots of Spaniards, eat amazing home cooked meals (ie: paella on arrival!) and not have to stress about finding somewhere to live immediately. I am so grateful for this family hosting me, and giving me all sorts of wonderful advice about the city!

I spent the first couple of days just wandering around the city, getting to grips of where I was – for some reason I forget that this is actually Spain’s capital city, it felt like home, the minute I stepped off the train and into Puerta del Sol.

Puerta del Sol – the very centre of Madrid

One of the first things I was told was to not order food when getting a drink at a bar. The cheapest way to buy lunch is to order a beer, or sangria, because whenever you buy drinks at bars you are most likely to given food, for free!! Usually it’ll be tapas or patatas bravas, chips with sauce on them, or like the photo below just a huge plate full of food! For the food, which tastes way better than what it looks to be honest, and a caña (glass of beer) you pay about $3. So so great.

Fact: It is legitimately cheaper to buy beer than it is to buy water (paying for water when out = urgh) at bars.

Ham is such a thing here in Spain. Literally so much ham, and bread. Down almost every street you’ll find a store that specialises in ham. Our personal fave is this one, Museo del Jamon – Ham Museum.

I found a flat relatively fast, and moved in within a week of my arrival. The location is absolutely perfect, 3 minutes walking from Puerta del Sol (so is located in the Sol neighbourhood) and is a 2-5 minute walk within most of the major plazas and streets of Madrid. Living is so much cheaper here than it is a home. My rent, power/internet and weekly food is completely covered by the the studylink weekly living costs which, considering I am living in the literal centre of Madrid is pretty damn awesome.

The flat has seven rooms, and at the time of moving in there were six other girls living here. One from the UK, Lithuania, Chile, Brazil, Portugal and Italy. I was with them all for about 2 weeks but five have them have now moved out and gone home. So at the moment it is just me, Demini (she’s from the UK and is here until June) and a new girl from Italy. The four new flatmates all arrive tomorrow which is exciting!

Flatmates and friends – I also forgot what its like to not go out until 2am and not be home until 6am – it’s taking a bit!

Language wise everything has been going ok. The first few days were a bit bumpy getting used to it but I feel super confident again. The best thing about my flat is that we all try and make an effort to speak spanish, which for exchange students is unfortunately pretty uncommon.

Uni started last week and the week before that us exchange students had our orientation week. Wow. ESN (the group who organise events for exchangers) put on the most amazing week. I’m sorry Vic, but the glow in the dark toga party really won’t cut it anymore. The events included three parties, dinners, a flamenco show, city tours and even a trip – I’ll write about that soon! This was such a great way to start settling in, and gave an opportunity to meet other people from around the world.

Universidad de Carlos III de Madrid is located in a city called Getafe, a 20 minute train ride south of Madrid centre. This semester I am talking four journalism courses and have again encountered the most amazing luck as I have Mondays and Fridays off! Four day weekend holla!! I am taking a mix of English and Spanish courses.

Today is the first of February which is insane. Already a month down and I feel like I have done so much and am a part of this city, which just makes me even more excited for the next 11 months. I have tickets booked to fly to Porto, Portugal at the end of March with Chris and Kyla (also Kiwis studying at UC3M, my uni) and have so many other exciting plans for the future. But as for today I am off to Ikea – I’ve never been and am actually low key excited, with my flatmates and am getting an assignment for uni done, so pretty quiet for once!

Nos vemos pronto!

Madrid sunsets are intense – Instagram heaven

Palacio Real – Visiting the Royal Palace of Madrid

Excuse the poor photo but me and a couple others went to a salsa class!

Plaza Mayor

Farewells, Family and Friends

Farewells

As far as farewells go, this one went pretty smoothly! I mean yes, there was the tri-annual event of me breaking something two minutes before getting into the car, which led to the hysterical crying and questioning of what the hell I was about to do. But other than that… great! Flynn gave me a solid pep talk and told me that “everything is going to be ok, and you can come home whenever you want. Right Dad?” – 10 year olds know it all!

I think I may have used all of my travel luck for the rest of my life as on the second leg of the journey (Hong Kong – London 13.5 hours!) I managed to score myself three seats. Three seats! All to myself!!

Family

I spent my first few days in Europe with family in Watford, UK. My amazing aunty Sue was there to pick me up at the airport at 5am and in freezing cold temperatures! I always love being back here, no matter how many years have passed between visits, it always feels like a second home. And I still know the walk from the house to the mall like the back of my hand so theres that.

Lots of cups of teas, lots of catching up (which included meeting a new gorgeous family member!) and lots of playing with Max and Polo… I’ll be back real soon Watford!

Cousins x

It looks like snow but its not. Just really cold, slippery frost.

Friends

This snapchat says it all I guess:

Kevin is from Belgium and we met in Cordoba, meaning the last time we saw each other was on what was probably the most traumatic day of my life, leaving Argentina. So two years later, I finally arrived in Belgium to see one of my best friends – just in time for New Years too!

I travelled from London to Brussels on the Eurostar, which in case you were wondering is cheaper than one ticket from Auckland to Dunedin (!!) and spent six amazing days there, oh and a sneaky trip to the Netherlands.

I stayed with Kevin and his family, who were literally some of the nicest people I have ever met and made me feel so welcome! They live about 30 minutes out of Brussels, so I only really saw the city when I first arrived, but from what I did see, it was absolutely beautiful! And not that I really need one, its another excuse to go back. Really really soon.

Brussels

Attempting and failing to eat Belgian waffles

New Years was amazing! We spent it in the Netherlands with Kevin’s boyfriend and friends. It took three trains, a couple of hours and we were in Maastricht – a city just on the boarder of Belgium and the Netherlands. To be honest the only way I actually knew I was even in a different country to begin with was my ‘Welcome to the Netherlands’ text from Vodafone and the bikes. Lots and lots of bikes.

Fun fact: Each New Years the Dutch spend about 65 million euros on fireworks – they go hard! We arrived in the bright daylight and it sounded like bombs were going off. So so pretty at midnight though!

This would 100% be one of the best New Years I have had. It was a blur of meeting new friends, being with an old one, hugs, champagne and fireworks – it doesn’t get too much better than that!

xx

We spent two nights here before heading back to Belgium, and then spent another two days there before finally making my way to Spain! However, not before the snow, which if I’m honest was the only reason I was semi-ok to be leaving our beautiful NZ summer.

Snow Selfie