Category: spain

Uncover the Best of Bilbao: The Capital of Spain’s Basque Region

On By Laura Ferries WriterIn europe, spain1 Comment

Bilbao, the capital of the Basque region in the very north of Spain.

Admittedly, I knew very little about it and had never visited any of the more northern cities in Spain such as Vigo, Santander and San Sebastián. My sister’s colleague had returned from a trip to Bilbao earlier this year and sang its praises so we, and our cousin, booked on for five days this August to see what it is all about.

The Basque region spans a certain region across some of the north of Spain and some of the south of France, connected by the Bay of Biscay. They share a common language called Euskara, or Basque (easier to say for English speakers!), and there has been a political Basque independence movement for several decades which included the separatist group ETA who sadly utilised violence and terrorism, including bombings at Madrid airport in 2006.

The majority of Basque people, of course, did not and do not advocate for violence and times have moved on into perhaps more unity and acceptance of others.

In fact, today, Bilbao is a very modern, international university city where people from many backgrounds study, work and live together in what feels like the friendliest city we’ve experienced in Spain.

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Exploring Villajoyosa: A Colourful Coastal Town on Spain’s Costa Blanca

On By Laura Ferries WriterIn solo female travel, spain4 Comments

This summer, I was based in Alicante Old Town for three days on my own and knew that I’d want to incorporate visiting one of the seaside towns along the Costa Blanca for the day whilst I was in the area.

I spent several hours reading up on Albir, Altea, Calpe, Dénia, Gandia, Jávea and Villajoyosa, finding it really difficult to make a decision on where to spend one of my three days in Alicante as quibbles on Trip Advisor proved inconclusive about which one was the town most worth visiting.

In the end, I went with visuals and I chose the most colourful town, the most joyful town (literally in the name): Villajoyosa, or, La Vila Joiosa in Valenciano. It is often referred to simply as ‘La Vila’.

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Discovering Alicante Old Town: A Couple of Days as a Single Female Traveller

On By Laura Ferries WriterIn solo female travel, spain3 Comments

I had only ever passed through Alicante once when I landed into the airport then caught a coach to Benidorm back in 2015. I saw nothing of Alicante and despite the fact the Costa Blanca has lovely, soft-sand beaches, I had no inclination to holiday there.

However, earlier this year, my cousin Luke and I were watching food tour videos on YouTube and the end of one rolled into the start of another which happened to be Alicante. Interesting, I thought. I had never heard much heard about Alicante’s food nor any buzz surrounding its culinary scene, despite having lived in Spain (albeit much further south, in Andalusia) for 3.5 years.

We watched as the video host narrated and ate his way through various stalls in the Mercat Central d’Alacant and other quaint wine bars and restaurants in the old town.

On that drizzly spring afternoon in the north of England, my interest was piqued.

I had been loosely planning a summer trip through certain parts of Spain and I knew I wanted to spend a few days alone near the beach with free time to read and write so I looked into Alicante Old Town, preferring a quieter location and not a typical ‘Brit-abroad’ location with full English breakfasts and karaoke bars. A quick Google and I was convinced, it looked surprisingly stunning. Pardon my prior ignorance.

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Sol Spanish: Your Quick Spanish Language Guide for Holidays in Spain

On By Laura Ferries WriterIn spain, spanishLeave a comment

[You can download my simple Spanish guide for going on your holiday to Spain for under £10 directly here]

Many people say that they would love to learn Spanish.

Plenty of things can get in the way of this: time, jobs, family commitments, other hobbies and more. However, I find that one of the key motivators is in having a reason to learn.

I learned Spanish to live in Spain. This meant I had to become fluent so I had the language skills for all situations: at work, socially, going shopping, seeing a doctor, communicating with hairdressers, dentists, landlord and so on.

Córdoba, Spain, where I lived 2015-2018

What if you’re going on holiday to Spain for a week? What if you visit Spain once a year and know that you don’t need fluency but would like to be able to communicate needs and wants and to be able to chat with local people and show appreciation for their language and culture? Nobody wants to feel like the ignorant native-English speaker who rolls up at any destination around the world and just expects everyone to speak their language with zero effort to attempt theirs.

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Discover San Fernando, Cádiz, La Isla Bonita

On By Laura Ferries WriterIn cadiz, holidays in spain, spain2 Comments

Going to Spain on holiday but don’t know the language? Wanting to know just enough Spanish to use on your holiday without having to learn the grammar and tons of pointless vocabulary and phrases? (‘La niña come manzanas‘ on DuoLingo, anyone?)

Download my simple, colourful and helpful guide to holiday Spanish which will give you exactly the word and brief phrases you will need for chatting with the locals in Spain here!

“There was something in the air that night, the stars shone bright, Fernando.”

I can’t help but begin this blog entry on San Fernando, Cádiz, with the tentatively linked Abba lyrics that simply mention ‘Fernando’. Anti-chronologically, I will also make the first photo of this post the last I took in San Fernando which was a beautiful sunset that recalled those lyrics as we watched on, cerveza in hand, bare feet buried in the cool, powdery sand as the tide lapped in peacefully in soft, white frothy waves.

I have long loved the Andalusian province of Cádiz which is located in the southwest of Spain, close to the border of Portugal and views of Morocco from Tarifa. (Also see- El Puerto de Santa María and Algeciras)

My friend Chris and his partner (now pareja de hecho) Pilar and their Pomeranian called Lobo moved to San Fernando a couple of years ago and they invited me to stay at their beautiful house built back in 1874 complete with a well in the hallway, a spiral staircase, stained glass windows and a traditional Andaluz patio complete with patterned tiles (I have a thing for these types of tiles!).

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