We Ran Away to Spain…

Posted on November 6th, 2012 by Tonia 1 Comment

If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter, you saw that I have been in Spain for the past week with Mike and two friends of ours.

The trip was kind of shotgun {the four of us were out to dinner together, eating pizza and talking about traveling, decided we should all go on a trip together ASAP, planned it in one day and bought our tickets before we could think too hard about it.} It was a thrill to just up-and-go somewhere, even though it was kind of bad timing {work is crazy right now…} and made the whole trip feel romantic and spontaneous.

Of course, the romantic feeling could also have been due to how incredibly romantic Spain is. Have you ever witnessed the blushing, throbbing passion of live Flamenco? We did. And, wow.


We started off in Vejer de la Frontera- a small town in the region of Andelucia, on the Atlantic coast {Morocco’s just a one hour ferry ride away.} We stayed in a little cottage on a farm {found via VRBO.com} owned by a British couple.

It was so quiet and relaxing, and we ate fresh eggs and potatoes for breakfast every day. The days were warm and sunny, but at night the temps dropped so we took advantage of the little woodstove in the cottage and sat around its radiant warmth, sipping wine and reading.


After a few days in Vejer, we jumped a bus to Cadiz, situated right on the Straights of Gibraltar. It’s usually a beach-vacation destination but we were there at the wrong time of year for that. We walked around and enjoyed the ancient architecture {it’s one of the oldest cities in all of Europe} and the GIANT Rubber trees in the park.

I ate churros in Cadiz, and was pretty excited about it. They lived up to all my fried-doughy-goodness expectations.

From Cadiz we continued by train to Seville, where we stayed for three days. The name of the game in Seville is tappas and Flamenco music, and we enjoyed both to the max. I was blown away by the intensity and talent of the flamenco performers- never seen anything quite like it!

Other things I loved about Spain:
The obscene amounts of cafe con leche we consumed. Mannnnn oh man I am going to miss the cafe con leches! / The Thyssen-Bornemisza art museum in Madrid. I got to see works by all of my favorite Impressionist and Fauvist artists- really special! / The hotel we stayed at in Seville, La Casa de Maestro- so much character and so comfy! / The fresh-squeezed “zumo de naranja” {orange juice}. Holy yum. / The hot, sweet roasted chestnuts you can buy on the street and peal and eat while you walk around. So delicious. / The hot Spanish guys. What?

We got back late last night and, as usual, it feels really freakin good to be home. We owe a huge thank you to our neighbors Bob and Sarah who held down the fort for us {they even changed the cat litter-box and watered our house plants! Neighbors of The Year Award.} THANK YOU!!

I have more photos {like, real CAMERA photos} and stories from the trip, but they’ll have to wait. This week is going to be n-u-t-s, catching up on work and household stuff after being gone. I promise, though…hog butchering post/photos coming soon! Thank you all for your comments and interest on the subject. I’m looking forward to sharing the process and discussing the whole idea of raising animals for food with you. Hasta luego!

One Comment

  1. Devin says:

    Wow! How amazing that you just up and went to Spain! Can’t wait to see more pictures!

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