As you can see, I’ve had a busy summer. Between trips to Japan and Asturias and then many visits from friends to my home in Madrid, I’d barely had chance to breathe during the main summer months from July to September. October also promised for a busy time, however, as I had another little (see: big) trip planned: I was heading back to the US!
Last year I went on a month-long galavant around North America, the entirety of which I documented here on my blog. This year I was going to be doing the same thing, albeit for just two weeks this time around. I was even starting off the same, with the (relatively) cheap and easy flight from Madrid to Canada…
The trip was a pretty smooth one, with the only inconveniences being a rather long and winding journey to the aeroplane in Madrid and then a very slow disembarkation in Montreal. This was as we’d been transferred off into a “PTV”, a curious thing which looks like a bus but which rises to the aeroplane door, lowers to ground level, and then rises back again upon arriving at the terminal. Through sheer coincidence the other day one of the YouTubers I watch, Tom Scott, did a video on these very contraptions. It’s worth a look!
The flight was still 8 hours, but after the 14 back from Japan, it felt like nothing.
Once I cleared the Canadian border I headed outside and waited for my lift, as Megan and Malory were both coming to pick me up! The three of us had arranged to spend a night in Montreal together, this time in a rather swankier hotel than where Megan and I stayed last year.
Reunited at last, the three of us had a great catch up and some laughs as we sped into Montreal proper and to the hotel. The city was hosting an important ice hockey game that evening, so the hotel’s car park was pretty busy when we arrived. We managed to grab a spot and headed straight for the room as Megan and Malory had checked in when they’d arrived earlier in the day.
With the evening wearing on, there was only one thing we really fancied doing: making the most of our bougie hotel. It was set across the tenth and top floor of an office building, providing great views along with a pool, sauna, and a rather fancy lobby. Changing into our swimming gear and grabbing a glass of wine for Megan, the three of us jumped in the pool and spent a while unwinding. It was a welcome rest after a long journey!
Now tired and hungry, we headed back to the hotel room in our white dressing gowns and then got changed in order to head out for some food. Being in Canada, there was only one dish that fit the bill: poutine! Megan researched a good local spot and the three of us headed a few blocks down the road.
We arrived at the restaurant absolutely ravenous and so naturally ordered way more food than we could handle. With eyes bigger than our bellies, we tucked into three different variants of poutine, with one of them being just the classic combination of chips, gravy, and cheese. To top it all off we grabbed some huge milkshakes for dessert. It was bliss, but we did have to practically roll back to the hotel…
The sun came out for a morning in the hotel.
The next day we didn’t really have much planned, with our only priority being to head back to the lovely bakery that me and Megan had discovered the year before. There we had some croissants and coffee for breakfast, not forgetting (well, almost forgetting) to pick up some divine olive bread to take back with us to Vermont.
Along the way we did run into a nice little surprise in the form of a Parisian metro entrance that had been brought over to Montreal. I remember studying these Art Nouveau icons back in my design classes, so we simply had to grab a pic. Do you catch the other sneaky art reference?
Art Nouveau meets The Creation of Adam.
Now back at the hotel, we packed our bags and loaded them into the car ready for our drive south and across the US-Canadian border. Like last time, Megan took me through a smaller backroad checkpoint, where once again I was asked to step out of the car as Megan and Malory could drive straight through.
This experience was rather pleasant, even if I did have to wait around as some Italians were sent back into Canada and told to return in a few hours when their online application should have been processed and approved. I thankfully suffered no hiccups, with the border control officer allowing me to head in without even paying for the border check as he couldn’t be bothered setting up the card reader. What a legend!
Now across the US border, I will leave the rest of the tale of what I got up to until my next post. It was only two weeks, but we packed plenty in, so prepare for a barrage of other posts outlining everything that we got up to…
Now back in Madrid after a trip to Asturias with my parents, it was time for us to move into our new office at Erretres. This we realised in a hitch, moving all of our stuff over in record time and settling in right away. This was just like the first change in office I ever experienced whilst I was an intern there all those years ago!
On a more personal level, I set about some lifestyle changes now that my trips to Japan and Asturias were over. This meant joining the gym, restarting swimming, and doing my best to eat healthier. I’m still doing my best to do these three things as I write this blog post a couple of months later, so let’s see how this goes!
As the title of the blog post indicates, though, I wasn’t ready to sit still in Madrid for too long. For some context, I’ve been in the process of trying to get my British driving license exchanged for a Spanish one, but (and as is often the case with all bureaucracy here) I was struggling to get an appointment.
Looking around, I saw that the DGT (the Spanish equivalent of the DLVA or the DMV) had some appointments going in their Gijón office. With the city being my second home at this point (or is that third?), I grabbed a car share and headed up to visit Cami for a couple of days.
This odd tunnel was to be found at a rest stop along the way.
Once in Gijón, Cami and I spent a couple of very short days having lots of fun. In between the obligatory remote work, we managed to fit in a gym session, a movie night, some shopping, my visit to the DGT, and even a delicious homemade dinner made by Cami. It was a lovely, albeit way too short, trip!
Now back in Madrid, I’d another week at work before I was off on yet another little adventure – but more on that in my next blog post. Before I jetted off elsewhere, I wanted to make the most of the early autumnal weather here in the capital. That meant an afternoon with Sara wandering around Retiro, Madrid’s big central park.
This afternoon stroll in the warm light was followed by a cup of herbal tea sat on a terrace near the park’s lake. It was the perfect way to catch up and say goodbye before I headed off for two weeks of holiday elsewhere.
The next couple of days were then taken up with packing and sweating over the fact that I’d left said packing to the very last minute. I guess some things never change! More on all that very soon, though…
After enjoying many a visit and then spending some time with friends from Madrid, it was time for the arrival of some very special guests: my parents! They landed in from the UK and managed to plonk themselves on the right train at the airport in order to arrive in my neighbourhood. I collected them from there and we headed back to mine for a late and thus relaxing evening. We had big plans for the coming days!
The next day we were up and out of the door by noon as we’d arranged to go and pick up a hire car just up the road. This was because the three of us were going to head up to Asturias together, something I’d been talking to my dad about doing for a good while. In the end, my mum decided to join too, and so off we went!
Asturias, patria querida. Asturias de mis amores.
This northern region of Spain is very special to me: I first visited Kevin there in 2017 and ever since I’ve gone up time and time again to spend time with friends and discover more of the amazing landscapes, people, cider, and food that it has to offer. I was thus very excited to finally show my parents everything it had to offer as we sped up the motorway and closer to the mountain range that marks the Asturian border.
We’d be using Gijón, a city I know very well, as a base. We arrived there, I grabbed the keys to our apartment, and then the chaos began as we tried to navigate the parking that we’d been assigned. It was only after skilfully weaving the hire car down into the underground garage that my dad discovered that the Nissan in question had an absolutely terrible turning circle. A few stressful minutes ensued as we tried to search for a way to get the car out of the labyrinth of concrete pillars, but a bit of direction from my mum and me had us out in a jiffy.
It was time for my parents’ first look at Gijón.
With the car now parked on the street, we unpacked in the apartment and then headed out for my parents’ first taste of Gijón. The sun was already pretty much set by the time we made it into the centre, but we had enough time to snoop around a cute artisan market, wander around the harbour, and eventually find somewhere for something to eat.
We had our evening meal down by the waterfront, where my mum had her first taste of Asturian cider (it was a ‘no’ from her) and I introduced my parents to pastel de cabracho (a delicious fish paste) and cachopo (an Asturian classic of breaded and fried meat stuffed with cured ham and cheese). This all went down very well and had us plenty tired to get us off for the night before our first full day of explorations.
The next day I wanted to show my parents a little bit more of Gijón before we’d begin exploring the rest of Asturias. We headed down to the centre for a wander around in the rather overcast weather, stopping off for a rather delicious lunch just as it began to rain. This was a nice stroke of good luck given that the weather in Asturias is notoriously unpredictable.
We then wound up heading up to the cape of Cimadevilla, a great spot for looking out over the ocean and looking back over Gijón’s seafront. The clouds were once again rolling in as we climbed, and sure enough it began to throw it down just as we reached the summit.
This wasn’t about to ruin our afternoon though. We had a giggle with the rest of the people who were taking refuge under a big concrete sculpture and then enjoyed the views of a 180° rainbow that formed over the sea.
Despite the downpour, they weren’t really that grumpy.
To finish the day in Gijón off, we headed back down to the old town in Cimadevilla and plonked ourselves under an awning for a drink before we were set to head back to the apartment. This strategic location worked a treat, as soon enough it was raining again and we just about managed to avoid getting wet.
That night I headed out alone in order to meet up with Cami, Bogar, and Javier, my friends who all live in Gijón and who I hadn’t seen for a while. We headed out for pizza and a few drinks and had an absolute whale of a time as we giggled over stories aplenty. It was great to make a moment to see them whilst I was up there.
Day two saw the three of us having breakfast in what would soon become our go-to bar just below the apartment. From there, we grabbed the car and drove westwards and to the gorgeous coastal town of Cudillero. Kevin had taken me to this place a few years ago and I’d been blown away by how striking it was. I was therefore keen for my parents to experience it too.
Avoiding the parking struggle and long walk that me and Kevin had endured when we went unprepared (as ever), this time I did a little research and we thus headed for the free parking down at the port area. From there we began to wander into the town, upon which it – shocker – started to rain.
The whole morning we spent in Cudillero was a bit like this – on and off rain with some moments of blue sky. The quaint yet striking surroundings made up for the naff weather though, and we were able to saunter around, explore shops, and have a coffee at our own pace.
This guy didn’t seem at all fazed by the unstable weather.
Once we’d had our fill of Cudillero, we hopped back in the car and headed down the coast for a few minutes to another town I wanted to revisit: Luanco. This was yet another coastal spot that Kevin had taken me to and which I had remembered was very pretty. This memory was affirmed as we parked up and admired the views as the sun just about broke through the clouds over the seafront.
We walked along the beach and into the old centre of the town, where we found ourselves back out by the water for some lunch. This time we’d nabbed a table in a bustling little restaurant just by the small port. There we tucked into some seafood and other local dishes whilst enjoying a spell of good weather as the sun heated us up a little.
I love the wonky lines of the rather old local church.
As the afternoon wore on we headed back to the car and to one last quick stop: Candás. As you have probably guessed by now, this was yet another spot I originally visited with Kevin back in 2018, and one I thought that we might as well stop off at seeing as it’s located on the road back to Gijón.
When me and Kevin had visited we had run into a medieval market, but the odd time of year coupled with the dodgy weather meant that Candás was quite quiet as I arrived with my mum and dad. I’d been recommended an ice cream parlour and so we grabbed one each, although my mum wasn’t a fan and so my dad happily pottered off down to the beach with an ice cream in each hand!
On the way back to Gijón, my mum announced that she wanted a burger, and so we wound up stopping in the Burger King just around the corner from our apartment. We had a good laugh about trying the local food, but I’m always down for a greasy burger and so the evening’s arrangements just hit the spot!
The next day I made a last-minute change in our plans and decided that I wanted to take my parents to Oviedo, the city that first introduced me to Asturias and where Kevin was based for many years. We’d had a busy day in smaller towns, so I thought that a day wandering around the pretty, calm, and clean streets of the Asturian capital would make for a welcome break.
We first stopped for lunch at an area called La Ruta de los Vinos, meaning “The Wine Trail”. Rather than indulging in a tipple, we were served huge portions of local dishes including a delicious piece of lamb that I devoured with some chips. It was a proper Asturian lunch, and I think my mum and dad were both rather impressed by how much you can get for your money in this glorious northern region!
We spent the afternoon perusing the city in the glorious sun, which had finally shown up after a few grey days. Activities included a spot of shopping, a little tourist tour around the main sights, and even a relaxing afternoon drink in the park.
I think my parents really enjoyed Oviedo, but we’d still to go and experience the main reason why I’d brought them here: Tierra Astur. This restaurant is specialised in traditional Asturian cuisine and is a firm favourite with locals and visitors alike. This is a great sign but is also something which makes it a nightmare to get a reservation for. I’d managed to bag one though, and so off we went to try yet more local dishes.
We enjoyed yet another lovely meal inside the cozy atmosphere of Tierra Astur, with the star plate being the pork in a creamy cheese sauce: divine! This combined with the huge lunch had left us rather full and quite sleepy, so afterwards all that was left for us to do was to potter back down to where we’d left the car.
The old church in the moonlight made for a spooky scene.
On the way we ran into an old church which is the oldest building in the entire city – a fact I’d learned from Kevin the first time I went up to visit him there. In the evening light and with the moon obscured by clouds, it made for an interesting scene and a nice little farewell image as we left Oviedo.
The next day was our last day in Asturias and so I’d made sure to save the best until last. Well rested and well fed after a day in Oviedo, it was time to head up into the mountains and to one of the most stunning locations I’ve ever visited: Cangas de Onís.
This sanctuary up in the mountains is of great regional, religious, and even national importance, being the place where Alfonso III began his “reconquista” or “reconquest” of the Iberian Peninsula from the Muslim kingdoms back in the eight century. Once again, Kevin introduced me to this place way back in 2017, and since then I have been looking forward to going back to check out its breathtaking scenery.
To get there, we parked up in a field where a bus would take us up the final leg of the road and to the mountainous town itself. Upon arrival in Cangas de Onís we began wandering around, with my parents as impressed as I was the first time by the awesome views of the cathedral amongst the mountains, the sheer cliffs, and the little church perched high up in a cave over a natural spring water pool.
This church tucked into the rock face is a sight to behold.
Whilst me and my dad headed down to check out the natural spring, my mum said she would head up to the church. Once we were back at the steps up to the cave, we couldn’t find her anywhere. We then discovered that she’d gone and joined the congregation for a sit down in this tiny little church itself!
From the church, we followed the cave tunnel system back out and up to the level of the cathedral, which would be impressive in any location, never mind out here in the middle of a valley between two mountains. We were soon asked to leave that one as a mass was about to begin, and so took that as a cue to head back down to the bus stop and be on our way to the next location.
Spot my mum in between the crosses of this sculpture.
Before we headed back to Gijón for our last evening, I also wanted to show my parents Ribadesella. Who might it have been that showed me this pretty town back in the day? Say it with me now: Kevin!
We parked up under still blue skies and had a good wander along the port area, which is situated along the banks of the river’s estuary just before it meets the sea. I love this place for its combination of sea, beach, mountains, and old town centre, but the first thing we needed to do was to get some more lunch: we’d had a bite to eat up in the mountains of Cangas de Onís, but I was still peckish for some croquetas.
We found a nice restaurant that was kind enough to fry us up some croquetas despite the late hour, and there we sat on their terrace as we watched the clouds roll in and start to look a little menacing.
The grey skies thankfully never turned to rain though, and so we did have chance to watch the boats come to and fro, potter around the old town, and even try a carbayón, a traditional local sweet made of pastry, almonds, and plenty of sugar.
Once tired, we headed back to Gijón to ready ourselves for our last night. We spent this down in the old town of Cimadevilla, where we snagged a table at El Llavaderu, a restaurant famed for its huge cachopo. We had a lovely meal and a great laugh with the waiter, who poured us plenty of ciders and kept us entertained with his tips and stories.
The next day we were up and packed and ready to go, but not before some breakfast at our favourite local bar. From there, we headed back to the car and made the long journey back down to Madrid, where our only task was to get something to eat before bed.
We thus spent the evening around Lavapiés, enjoying some lovely pizza at NAP before sauntering back down to my neighbourhood for some drinks at two of my local favourite terraces: one just outside the local cinema and one that I’ve been going to for years now. It was a great way to end my parents’ visit.
I had an absolutely lovely time spending a week with my parents, and it was so nice to finally get to take them around a part of Spain that I love so very much. Although we couldn’t squeeze in everything that I wanted to do, we saw a decent amount for the few days that we were actually up in Asturias. I hope that they come back soon to experience a bit more of the north – perhaps even with some better weather, too!
It’s been a good few years since I first visited Madrid and then moved back here permanently at the beginning of 2019, but I’m always still surprised by the amount of stuff going on in the city. I’m always even more shocked by the amount of stuff I haven’t done yet, so this summer I set out to right this wrong and check a few more things off my list.
After a series of visits and parties, I was back to making plans with my friends from here or simply by myself. The city’s series of free summer activities called Veranos de la Villa was in full swing, so I first visited a series of free art exhibitions. These ranged from the work of photographer Marivi Ibarrola, who documented the crazy 80s in Madrid, to an exhibition exploring chicano art, where “chicano” referring to residents of the USA with Mexican ancestry.
Inspired by a visit to the Reina Sofía Museum with Luisa and Sol, I decided to take advantage of the free evening entry to the huge Prado Museum and took myself down for a wander around. After queuing up for a good while in the evening heat, I had just enough time to visit my favourite artworks before heading back outside for an evening stroll around the city.
I also discovered something I should have investigated years ago: the city’s municipal pools. These outdoor spaces are just the ticket for a hot summer afternoon in Madrid, so I spent plenty an evening and weekend filling in my sudoku book in between quick dips in the pool to cool off. Bliss!
With Sara, Julia, and other friends sticking around in the city for the summer (which usually gets pretty empty as everyone flees the heat), I also had the chance to visit some great places with them. These ranged from evening picnics watching the vibrant colours of the sunset to afternoons spent relaxing by the lake (and the nearby pool, of course).
Of course I also spent plenty of time in my pretty little neighbourhood.
One of the highlights of this time period has to have been a huge celebration down by the river in order to welcome back the Spain Women’s National Football Team after their victory over England in the World Cup. I’d watched the match at home with Álvaro and had celebrated my host country’s victory over the motherland, mainly because I knew there’d be a fabulous buzz around the place – and there sure was!
After watching the team arrive back in Madrid from Sydney and parade through the streets on an open-top bus, I cycled down to what I thought would be a small event down by the river. Boy, was I wrong!
As I arrived it looked like half of Spain had shown up, and there was no way I was finding anywhere to return my city rental bike. I soon got caught up in it all, and so left the thing resting against a tree and in doing so incurred a 6€ fine for having it on me for too long. It was all worth it though, with the hype reaching a fever pitch as the bus rolled up and the players took to the stage.
I did eventually have to return the bike, a task which took me all the way back up into the city proper in the difficult search for a station with a free spot to return the thing. My initial idea was to return back to the river and the festivities, but having come so far I decided to grab another bike and head back home. It was a nice trip though, with the streets empty and looking very pretty.
The streets of La Latina are some of the oldest in the city.
The next day I then had even more reason to celebrate, as my new passport finally arrived after the whole fiasco that happened when my previous one broke in Tokyo. This meant that I was all set for another two weeks of travel, but more on that when I get round to it.
For now, I was packing my backpack not to travel abroad, but to travel up to the north – this time with some very special guests joining me. More on that in my next post!
Now back in Madrid after a two-week galavant around Japan, I was suffering pretty badly with jet lag after a 14 hour flight from China to Spain. This had me awake at 6am the day after, so I decided to make the most of my early-morning energy and went to see the sun rise over the river near my flat.
It’s been a while since I posted a selfie so here’s one in the morning sun.
The municipal hall looked even prettier than usual in the warm light.
After this little daybreak stroll which took me through my favourite local park, I headed home just to then immediately fall ill. All the adrenaline that had kept me going through the jet lag, heat, and long days in Japan had finally gotten to me, so I spent a few days resting and recovering back at home.
Before I’d fully recovered I’d to get back up and out of bed, however, as I received an unexpected phone call from Abi. She was up in Bilbao as part of a tour around Spain with her friend Niamh and the two of them were suffering the notoriously unpredictable northern weather. Wanting a bit of sun, they asked if they could come down for a couple of days, a proposition I was more than happy to accept.
Their visit coincided with the Fiestas de San Cayetano, a series of street parties which see the narrow streets of Lavapiés and Embajadores fill with bars, food stalls, and music to celebrate the summer here in the capital. I was keen to show Abi and Niamh the best of Madrid, so we headed out and grabbed some drinks to boogie our way through the crowds.
We then spent the weekend checking out the best of Madrid, from the tranquility of Retiro Park to the lively evenings in La Latina. We finished our last night in one of the best possible ways: watching the sun set over the west of the city from the Templo de Debod.
The streets of La Latina were also getting ready for their festivals.
With Abi and Niamh leaving in their car back up to the north of Spain, I then only had one day to rest until my next visit. This time, it was Luisa and Sol who were flying in to Madrid after I’d badgered them to come when I visited them in Norwich to see in the new year. No rest for the wicked!
Luisa’s visit coincided with not just some other street parties – this time those of San Lorenzo – but also her birthday. Before we got to work celebrating any of that, though, I did a whistle-stop tour of the city as best as I could in the relentless summer heat.
When things got too hot we scuttled back home and I finished frying up some croquetas that I’d made for their visit. Another day we headed to the Reina Sofía Museum, a famous art gallery containing most notably Picasso’s Guernica. The place is only 20 minutes walk from my house and yet I’d never paid it a visit. Upon arriving I discovered it was free as I have a young person’s card – even more reason to have visited sooner!
These two were the best artwork.
When we got out on to the streets, the parties had moved from the upper end of Lavapiés down to the lower side, which was great as the metro dropped us right into the epicentre of the celebrations. Not wanting to miss out on the fun, we grabbed a chorizo sandwich and some tinto de verano, Madrid’s signature summer drink.
Luisa representing Leeds with her Fred Aldous bag.
Celebrating Lu’s birthday was a little bit more chaotic, as we’d sourced some funky candles with coloured flames but then completely forgot to buy a cake to put them in. Improvising with a mango we’d bought earlier, we threw a little party in my flat before spending the rest of the day chilling around the city.
To end the day I once again took Luisa and Sol to see the the sunset from the Parque del Oeste. I know I keep coming back to that spot, but it’s one of the most underrated areas of Madrid in my humble opinion. It’s the perfect spot for some reading, a picnic, a romantic evening stroll… it never fails!
The rays of sun emanate from behind the mountains.
With Lu and Sol’s departure my run of visits was over – but the party certainly wasn’t! The conclusion of the Fiestas de San Lorenzo saw the beginning of the Fiestas de la Paloma, street parties which move up from Lavapiés and to the La Latina neighbourhood. For those, I met up with Luis, Carmen, and a bunch of other friends to have a beer and a lot of laughs as we explored the area’s cooky bars and streets.
I had a fabulous time with Abi and Niamh, Luis and Sol, and then Luis and friends. The period between my visit to Japan and my next little summer holiday was – as you can see – a very intense one! Despite being full of a cold during most of it, I had a lot of fun and really came to appreciate the city in which I live.
Keep an eye out on my blog as I’ll be trying to pump out a few more posts over the coming days – I’m very far behind and I’ve got loads to document and many cool photos to share! I’m currently recovering from another bout of jet lag, but more on that when I (eventually) get to it…
