Spending the entire month of August in southern Spain was a CHOICE. As much as we love Sevilla the 112°F (~45°C) days were tough to stomach. Initially, I wanted to take a day trip to Córdoba, but the forecast looked basically the same there, and I knew we wouldn’t be able to enjoy sightseeing in those conditions. So I started to research places within an hour or two from Sevilla that could give us a true respite from the heat, just for a day. And that’s how I found Cádiz.

It seemed like everyone else had the same idea, considering that it was nearly impossible to find a train from Sevilla to Cádiz that still had seats available for any weekend day we were in Sevilla. Eventually, we were able to find a spot on the first train of the day on a Friday morning, but everything coming back later that day was sold out… so we turned to popular European carpooling app, BlaBlaCar, for the trip back home. (More on that later.)

Anyway, if you want to plan your own trip from Sevilla to Cádiz, here’s what you need to know! [Read more…]

To those who are here because they’re coming to our 2024 wedding outside of Barcelona — this is for you! 🤍 And to those who stumbled across it because they also want to know everything they need to know about Barcelona — this is for you, too.

Whatever your reason, I’m glad you’re here. I’m going to try my best to introduce Barcelona and Spain for anyone who’s visiting for the first time. [Read more…]

As we neared the end of our European road trip, the last real stop (aside from spending one afternoon/night in Zaragoza) was the city of Logroño in Spain. When I told Spanish people we were visiting Logroño, they all said, “Why??”

Back when I was preparing to apply for the language auxiliares de conversacion/NALCAP program, I knew I wanted to end up in Madrid. But you have to select a few options. So after selecting Madrid as my first choice, I put Logroño as number two… despite never having visited before. That’s because I had read a blog by a former auxiliar who said she had an amazing time during her year in Logroño. Later, when I lived in Madrid, a friend of mine ended up visiting Logroño for a weekend, and she said it was Spanish wine country. Who wouldn’t love that?

All these years later, my curiosity got the better of me when I saw how close we’d be to Logroño during our road trip. I wondered what my life would have been like if I’d spent my years in Spain there, instead of Madrid. So I knew we had to check it out.

Here’s what it was like to visit. [Read more…]

As we continued our road trip, it was finally time to cross back into Spain after spending a week in Andorra and France. Of course, I loved getting to visit Andorra for the first time, and spend time in France in some places I’d never been before. But I was also somewhat relieved to be heading back to Spain — familiar territory, and most of all, a familiar language.

So after dealing with weather that the GPS in our rental car deemed to be a “hurricane,” we made it to Bilbao, Spain, late one evening. (After stopping at a gas station an hour outside of town for Matt to join a Zoom meeting. Such is the life of digital nomads.)

It was actually my second time visiting Bilbao, but since I was traveling alone the last time, I’m always happy to go back somewhere with a companion in tow, to experience it in a different way. So. Here’s what you need to know about visiting Bilbao, Spain. [Read more…]

During my first year as a language assistant, when I was working in Madrid, my friend Morgan came to visit me during spring break — and we took the opportunity to explore more of Spain! Our first stop was Valencia, and it was my first visit to Spain’s third-largest city. Years later, after moving to Alicante in the Community of Valencia, Matt and I decided to visit Valencia for a long weekend. 

After two visits, I feel like I have a good level of familiarity with the city and all it has to offer! So, here are 7 of the best things to do in Valencia, Spain. [Read more…]