independent, intentional travel
A couple of weeks ago, I returned back to Madrid after the most ambitious Eurotrip I’d planned in years. I think the only other one that comes close was when I went to Dublin, Stockholm, Copenhagen, and Amsterdam with friends over 10 days while studying abroad. This time, while Matt was visiting for the holidays, we spent nearly two weeks traveling through Germany, Austria, and Italy. [Read more…]
Vieux Lyon and River Saône
Back in December 2019, my friend Hanna and I visited Lyon, France, for its famous Festival of Lights. (I’m excited to say that I’m planning to attend again later this year!)
Besides that, Lyon is a beautiful city with plenty else going on — even if you aren’t there for the festival! So check out the best things you should do during your visit. [Read more…]
Une toute petite histoire de lumière at Place des Terreaux
Each year in December, a special festival takes place in the French city of Lyon – the Fête des Lumières. Or Festival of Lights, if you’re like me and your French isn’t up to speed. (Unfortunately, a week of half-hearted Duolingo wasn’t as helpful as I’d hoped.)
Fortunately, one of the puentes — 4-day weekends — in Spain coincided with the festival during my second year in Madrid, 2019. Which also happened to be the same time that my best friend Hanna was visiting me! And since it’d been 8ish years since my last trip to France, and because the two of us make really good travel companions, we decided to attend the festival. [Read more…]
One of the best views of Madrid.
I’m always looking for scenic views. Not only do they make great pics for Instagram, but there’s just something about seeing a place from a different perspective. Especially in a big city like Madrid, it’s hard to fully appreciate the sheer size of the city when you’re simply walking the streets. So, if you like good views like I do — and assuming you’re not afraid of heights — I’ve put together a list of the 5 best places for scenic views of Madrid. [Read more…]
Plaza de Arzobispo, Valencia
Hi, friends! Do you ever lay in bed, late at night, when you’re supposed to be sleeping… and decide to creep on your own Instagram? Like scroll way back? Well, I was doing that a few days ago — looking through all my posts since I got to Spain. And I came across a post from Valencia! And then it hit me… I never wrote a post about my time in Valencia.
It was in April, on the same trip I went to Palma de Mallorca with my friend Morgan, but it’s not hard to remember! Valencia was a great city, so I thought it would be fun to finally write about it now. Better late than never, right?
So… here are 5 of the best things to do in Valencia. [Read more…]
One of San Sebastián’s islands
When I visited Bilbao for the first time in November 2019, it wasn’t the only place I went. At the suggestion of friends — and the fact that I always want to visit more places in Spain — I decided to spend a day in San Sebastián. Though this city is relatively small, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to visit a coastal city in the north. And it’s only 15 miles from the French border! I was curious if/how that would factor into the city’s culture.
I arrived in San Sebastián in the evening and spent the night so I’d have all of the next day there. But if you have a little less time, I think you could arrive early in the morning and leave late at night and still have a good experience. Anyway, if you want to go from Bilbao to San Sebastián, here’s what you need to know!
After living in Spain for a year and visiting lots of different regions, I finally made it up north for the first time! I had always heard from others that País Vasco — Basque Country — was different from the other parts of Spain that I was used to, so I was really excited to visit. I based my trip in the largest Basque city, Bilbao, with a day trip to San Sebastián.
So after my time in Bilbao, here are 7 things you have to do when you visit! [Read more…]
Iglesia de La Concepción in Santa Cruz de Tenerife
During my second year as an English teacher in Madrid, I visited Santa Cruz de Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands. My bestie Hanna was there for work, and she had a day off at the end of her stay. Since it was her first time traveling to Europe for work, and I’d never been to the Canary Islands, I impulsively booked a flight to Tenerife to see her for a day. I really didn’t know what to expect even though I had been to Mallorca the year before, in Spain’s other group of islands.
It turns out that Tenerife was totally different from Mallorca! So, here’s what it was like to visit Santa Cruz de Tenerife and the Canary Islands.
Okay, so I’ll admit that I had no idea about the Canary Islands until I got here last year. And then when I heard about them, I just assumed they were floating around off the coast somewhere. Well… they are off the coast… of Morocco and Western Sahara, Africa! Seriously, these islands are far away. It took 3 hours by plane to get there.
The first thing I noticed about Tenerife was how warm it was! When I stepped off the plane, I immediately felt overdressed in my sweater and leggings. It had been chilly and rainy in Madrid when I left. The second thing I noticed was the physical landscape. Tenerife is a volcanic island, also featuring the highest mountain in Spain/active volcano Mt. Teide. Hanna told me that the island reminded her a lot of Hawaii — I’ve never been, so I’ll have to take her word for it!
We had only a short time, but we did prioritize hitting one of the beaches. Playa de las Teresitas was one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever been to. Clean, soft sand, warm water, not too many people, and striking views.
First time swimming in the ocean in October!
Okay, so how did I get myself around the island? Well, from the TFN North airport, it’s super easy. There’s a bus, Bus 20, which goes into the city about every 20 minutes for €2.65. It drops you off in about 20 minutes at the main bus terminal. From there, I walked 30 minutes to my Airbnb, which was slightly north of the city center.
I was able to walk almost everywhere in Santa Cruz. When we went to the beach, we took a taxi from Plaza de España, which was really close to the Airbnb and also had a taxi stand. But you can find taxis all around town. The taxi cost about €11 to go to the beach, which wasn’t bad at all. When we left to go back to the city, we didn’t see any taxis so we took the public bus. It took about twice as long as a taxi would have, but it was really cheap! I believe it left from the beach about every 10-15 minutes.
Even though Tenerife and the Canary Islands are geographically part of the African plate, they are culturally European/Spanish. I was a bit surprised by the lack of tourists I found there. If you remember my post about Mallorca, I mentioned that it barely felt like Spain due to the high volume of British and German tourists and the subsequent services and advertising offered in English and German.
Northern Tenerife from the plane
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, by contrast, still felt very much Spanish. I barely heard any English spoken throughout the weekend, and the little bit that I did hear in restaurants was met with confusion by the attending waiters. I was a bit surprised by the lack of tourism — even though I realize it was mid-October and not exactly peak travel season. And I’ve heard that most tourists head to the “south side” of the island, to the resorts rather than the island’s capital of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Many of the Spanish people I know in Madrid have told me they’ve never been to the Islas Canarias. So I did feel that most of the people in Santa Cruz were locals.
I’ve also since learned that the Canary Islands have a lot of indigenous history, as well as significant populations from Venezuela, Cuba, and Colombia. (Did you know that Santa Cruz de Tenerife has the second-largest Carnaval in the world, after the Rio de Janeiro Carnaval in Brazil?
Since Tenerife was very Spanish, in my opinion, there wasn’t a big difference in the food I found there compared to what I’m used to. But there were a few notable exceptions! Hanna and I tried a restaurant with really good reviews called d’Tapas 26. (Even though we didn’t have a reservation, we went early at 7 p.m., right when they opened, and got seated with no problem. Remember, Spaniards eat dinner at 9-10 p.m.) Our waiter recommended a few Canary Island specials.
First was papas arrugadas — wrinkled potatoes. These tiny potatoes were salted with a thin salty crust on the outside. They were served with “mojo,” which is a sauce that usually comes in two varieties — red and green (picón and verde). They were kind of like salsas. We ordered the wrinkled potatoes as tapas to share, and they were really simple, but really tasty.
Papas arrugadas with mojo (on the left)
We also got a bottle of wine, so we opted for a local brand from Tenerife called Viñátigo. I don’t consider myself a wine snob at all (when a typical glass of wine in Spain is €2.50, you don’t discriminate. I will drink anything.) But this glass of Viñátigo red hit different. I also don’t know the right vocabulary to talk about wine, but it had some sort of kick or seemed spicy. I know I’m a basic white girl so take that for what it’s worth.
It was a short trip, but I’d definitely be interested in going back or checking out one of the other Canary Islands!
Best Hotels in Tenerife, Canary Islands: Santa Cruz de Tenerife Hotels
Top Things To Do in Tenerife: Kayak and Snorkel with Turtles, Wetsuits Included // Respectful No-Chase Whale and Dolphin Cruise // Teide National Park Sunset & Stargazing Experience // From South Tenerife: La Gomera Island Day Trip with Lunch
Have you ever visited any islands in Spain, or Tenerife? Leave me a comment below!
-Cathy
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Author’s Note: This unedited article was written live during my commute from Madrid to Boston last week. Please forgive any additional attitude or sarcasm. 🙂
It’s 9:45pm in Madrid and 2:45pm in Kansas City. I’m two hours into my Norwegian Air flight back to the United States. Though I downloaded the entire new season of Stranger Things, I’ve already watched two episodes, and we’ve still got five hours to go until landing, so I’m trying to pace myself.
Also, there’s some sort of altercation taking place about two rows in front of me. I’m happy to have an aisle seat/front-row view to this drama. [Read more…]
Do you recognize this famous icon? 48 hours in Rome was plenty to ensure I saw all the major sights.
I’d never been to Rome before. Despite more than a collective year of living in Europe, despite having visited Italy three times. For some reason, I just hadn’t made it over to “The Eternal City.” Well, from now on I officially blame all of my friends who have been and never told me how amazing it was. I went this past weekend, and it was MAGICAL, even though I was only able to spend 48 hours in Rome.
My parents and sister ventured to Europe for the first time a few weeks ago, stopping in Madrid to see me before heading on to visit our exchange student from last year, Gaia, in Sardinia. Then, they continued to Venice, Florence, and Rome. I met up with them in Rome, where we spent two days all together at the conclusion of their trip. (I’m finishing up Year 1 in Spain and joining them at home in the U.S. later this week, oh em geeeeeee.) [Read more…]