Sarah la Viajera
Sarah la Viajera

The Return / la vuelta

March 24, 2013SarahAdd comment
Written by Sarah
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“You have changed my life here in Seville.” 

These words were spoken to me nearly three years ago by a dear blonde-haired, blue-eyed Spanish girl. As far as I can remember, up until that moment, I have not had someone verbalize to me that I have changed their life. What’s more is, I don’t think I have ever profoundly changed or altered the course of anyone’s life by my own words or actions. At least no one has explicitly said that I have. Anyway, when I heard those words I was sitting in the back seat of her parents’ car with two other friends. We had just left a going away party that had been thrown in our honor. When I think back on this moment and the words she spoke to me, I realized what struck me the most was that she said them to me in English, my native language. The fact that she did that (whether on purpose or not) made this moment that much more special. Having someone make the effort to get to know you in your native language is a precious, precious thing. I can’t explain it.

I didn’t know that at that moment in time, a mere week before I was set to leave Spain, that that would be the last time I would see her in person in Spain. Thankfully, though, through our many video chat sessions over the past three years, we would “see” each other again almost weekly. If we (or any of the other friends I made there) had met during any other point in time, the goodbyes we shared in person would truly be the last time we would see each other until our paths physically crossed again. Sure, we could send letters to each other, maybe include photos in those letters but how long would it take for those letters to arrive at their destinations? And what if something new happened right after one of us had sent the other the “latest news”? It’s thoughts like these that make me very grateful for the instant and advanced technologies we are so blessed to have today.

Have you ever wanted something so badly you could almost taste it? I tasted salty tears the morning I departed by bus from the most beautiful city in all of Europe: Sevilla, España When the tears dried after I shed them again on the airplane leaving Madrid, the only thing I wanted to taste again was the hearty Spanish cuisine and fellowship. And maybe some churros con chocolate. It probably sounds like I am over-romanticizing my experience living in Spain. I won’t deny that I had a love-hate relationship with the country in the beginning, (if you can’t believe that check out my study abroad blog) but overall I had a wonderful time there. The desire to return to Spain in the future was something that I was sure of. The problem: How am I going to do it? 


Will I ever have this much time on my hands again? Will I ever be this able bodied to travel? Will I ever be this young and unattached? Will I not have the money to come back? These questions have swirled around in my head for months after my trip. I didn’t know the answer to any of them (especially the last one) and it scared me. Instead of letting worry and fear overtake me, I decided to focus on the goals before me (college, graduation, finding a job and place to live, making loan payments) and maintaining my friendships both nationally and abroad. Everything would work itself out if I just gave it to God and gave it time.

And you know what? It’s finally working out. I am returning to Spain this May for a nice visit with friends. And to see some very important sites that I was not able to see the first time I was there! (El Alhambra y Toledo anyone? haha) What’s more is this: I will be traveling to and from Spain by myself but I won’t be the only Willats going over there. This time, my brother Nathan will be there too! He is doing a two week study abroad program in and around Madrid with his university. But, he will be spending an extra week in Spain to visit me in Sevilla! It’s all that I could ask for in a return trip and more. I imagined going back by myself in the past couple years after graduation but I never thought a family member, a very close one at that, would be able to join me! 🙂 In my mind I am already there seeing the familiar sights and hanging out with wonderful people. Now when we both are in Sevilla, my brother will get to step inside my head and see the city through my eyes. I’ll point out my favorite sights, buildings and statues but I will also get to add some running commentary. We will literally be taking a walk down [my] memory lane and I couldn’t be more thrilled.

I hope you are ready to fill your nostrils with the smell of orange blossoms, your stomach with lots of delicious Mediterranean and Spanish cuisine, your ears with the ultra-smooth sounds of the Spanish guitar and your eyes with some of the most captivating Moorish architecture in Spain, Nathan! And not to mention, you will be privileged enough to daily hear the best language in the world: el castellano! 🙂

Come quickly May!

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When I read my very first blog post about the infamous pintxo de champiñón (champi for short) and gamba, I just knew that one day I had to try it. Fast forward 11 years and I did! And now I’m posting about it 2 months later, oops. 😅 Visiting Logroño, located just underneath País Vasco, back in March was a very pleasant surprise. The walkability, large concentration of bars in the city center and the fact that eating was the main focus of our weekend were wonderful. When I was dreaming about trying these absolutely delicious #pintxos all those years ago, I never imagined I would go to Logroño with the person I absolutely love trying new dishes and cuisines with. I never knew how fun going away to such a gastronomic gem of a region like La Rioja 🍷 would be and how eating my way around the town (plus, a little bit of culture and football ⚽️ for him) would be such an adventure. We didn’t make it everywhere we wanted to go so we’ve got yet another list of pintxos to try the next time we visit. 👫💕 Pintxos featured: 1️⃣ Champiñón 🍄 a la plancha con gamba 🍤 - Bar Soriano 2️⃣ Unas patatas bravas increíbles! 🤩 - Bar Jubera 3️⃣ El cojonudo (huevo de cordoniz con chorizo sobre pan) - Bar El Muro Restaurante 4️⃣ Un excelente pintxo de tortilla 🍳🥔“melosa” -La Concordia (Tortillera) 5️⃣ Croquetas de puerro y gamba (yo) y de cachopo (A) -Divina Croqueta 6️⃣ Otro pintxo de gamba y champi - Bar Ángel (mi favorito 😍) 7️⃣ Bocatita de jamón con queso de tetilla 🧀 (a nod to our beloved Galicia) 🤤 - Pata Negra 8️⃣ Tío Agus (un mini bocadillo de carne de cedro adobado con salsa secreta) - Tío Agus Bar Lorenzo 9️⃣ Tarta de queso vasca 😋 - Café Calenda (Calle Portales) 🔟 Brocheta de langostinos a la plancha con aceite de oliva y pimentón de la Vera - La Casita Mesón Bar Side note: it’s really hard to film one handed and try to eat at the same time (see slide #4). Have you been to Logroño before? What were some of your favorite foods/pintxos? 😋🥘🐷🥖⬇️ #callaurel #callelaurellogroño #logroño #pinchos #tapeando #lariojapetece #foodies #larioja
💻🤓✨ Freelancing might look different to you but this small collage of photos is how I see it. You’re never finished making lists and writing down appointments and deadlines into your planner. Not to mention all the forms, folders, zillions of emails and other who knows how many documents you’ll be gathering and holding onto. You vary your workspaces from time to time but it’s easy to get stuck in rut at times especially during these past couple of years when I’ve almost exclusively been working at the same table inside my apartment with no change. • And don’t forget about the outlets from work that you’re going to need to have or cultivate. I’m talking about coping mechanisms, hobbies and interests. And some of those can look like ice cream, chai lattes, lemonade with a spring of mint in the sun, a tinto de verano or a glass of wine or just a good old fashioned cup of tea. And last but not least, you’re going to need some way to relax at the end of the day when you’re trying to turn your brain off from working but you can’t seem to because in the beginning of it all, you can never fully shut off. • This isn’t the full story but it’s a small glimpse into the world of freelancing in #Spain that I’ve experienced thus far. • I am going to be adding a lot more info and posts on freelancing in Spain since I’ve been doing this for a few years now and while it hasn’t been the best experience of my life, it has certainly taught me lots of lessons. I finally feel a bit more grounded and knowledgeable about what it’s all about and what’s required of us (hint: paying a high tax rate even if we don’t work one month! 😭) and I want to pass all this knowledge onto my readers! • I already have one post live and the idea is to publish new posts biweekly on Fridays. So #freelancefriday has made a comeback in my planner! • I’ll be covering both the good and bad sides to freelancing, sharing what I wish I had known before I started back in 2017, how to understand some forms and processes and so much more! • Is there any specific topic within #freelancing that you’d like me to cover? I’m all ears! 👂👩🏻‍💻📚📝🌃
Two weeks ago today, @andrewrgillan and I woke up around 5:30 am, packed the last couple of things into our small bags and headed to the airport for an early morning flight to a place neither of us had ever been to before: 📍Palma de Mallorca! At about 18€ round trip per person (yes, for flights!), going away to a new comunidad in Spain and to the #IslasBaleares for the first time ever was just a hop, skip and a jump away. The perfect short yet adventurous city break that we needed! In fact, we had had the idea to go to Mallorca for a quick weekend getaway on our list since 2020 and so I was thrilled when we could finally go do it. And what’s more, there’s nothing like receiving the gift of a trip and a memorable experience for Valentine’s Day, is there? ❤️ Though it was a whirlwind of a trip (just under 36 hours), I loved everything we saw and ate. And madre mía, did we eat well there! I’ve thanked you many times since but thank you so much for taking me away from everyday life and giving me the chance to explore somewhere new with you, Andrew, just like we’ve dreamed of doing ever since we got married. 🤗💕 From the pictures: landing in Palma de Mallorca, exploring near the marina, taking a siesta in our abnormally large “double bed” (aka two twin beds pushed together 😂), La Rambla, eating tumbet con solomillo, wandering the Catalán and Italian style streets and climbing lots of stairs, seeing the picturesque Sèu de Palma and all the yachts parked in the harbor, eating some of the best tortilla out that I’ve had in a very long time, finally having an #ensaimada from Spain and not a Starbucks in Florida 🙈 and lastly, that view of Palma from the window seat in the back of the plane! 😍 We will be back to explore more of the island as soon as we can plan another trip 😅 but for now, I’ll be reminiscing about everything I saw from my photos. Here’s to more adventures in 2022! 😘
A couple of weeks ago, I turned 3️⃣3️⃣ on December 16th. It’s long since been my favorite day but this year I made a couple of big realizations. As much as I’ve tried to have some sort of birthday dinner or a party when I was younger, I realize that since they haven’t usually worked out save for a handful of times (thanks, Christmas parties, trips and dinners 😅), I don’t really even expect to do something big. A nice, relaxed lunch (which is what we did this year) or dinner with @andrewrgillan, some self-care pampering and cake are all I could really ask for. Or a trip to Sevilla like I did a couple of times a few years ago. 😍🍊💗 Lastly, and this the big one, I think the reason why checking off a big item on my to-do list and marking the occasion are so important to me and why this time of year is more intense for me compared to everyone else, is that the year ends twice for me. First, once I add an extra candle to my cake and second, when the clock strikes 12 on December 31st. Much like it will here soon in the UK. 🇬🇧 It’s really crucial that as we get older, we keep learning more about ourselves and this year I dove deep. Parts of 32 sucked to be honest but other times I felt such joy and accomplishment for the things I’ve done and how I made it through this past year. This year, I’m grateful to be alive and 33 years old. Not everyone makes it this far and that’s a sobering thought. And in the same vein, not everyone who was with me when I was 32 can come with me on my glow up into this next year. Also, let’s not forget, this time last year I had no idea that I’d become a published author halfway through 2021. I can only dream up what I’ll do this year... 🤔😅 (Photos include birthday pics and some of my favorite things: cats, cute things and the gorgeous coastal views of Northern Ireland from this year 😍🌊🐈 ) Happy 2022 everyone! 🥳🥂
There isn’t anywhere else on the Internet where you can get a 125 page e-book that explains in easy-to-read detail on how to get around Madrid via public transportation (Metro, EMT Madrid bus, Cercanías, Metro Ligero, BiciMAD 🚲 and more), figure out what neighborhood you should stay or live in, where to eat, what to do, the off-the-beaten places and hidden gems to visit written from the perspective of a 5-year resident of Madrid herself. Hi 👋🏻, I’ve checked and this type of guide just hasn’t been done before. So if you’re looking to move here or are already here and want to get the most out of what Madrid can offer, I’ve got you covered. Take the stress out of buying tickets and passes, making bus and metro connections, reading maps and learn and enjoy the city like I have for 5 years and counting. I show you how to get a special discount on my book for a limited time only to show you how quick and easy it is. Save 25% until December 1st, 2021 at 11:59pm. Share this with anyone you might know who’d love to get their hands on it or gift it to a transportation lover on your list this Christmas! 🎁 Favorite places featured: 1. Parque de Berlín (neighborhood: Hispanoamérica) 🚇: Concha Espina (Line 9) 2. Puerta de Europa - Parque Cuarto Depósito (neighborhood: Nueva España) 🚇 Plaza de Castilla Line 1, 9, 10 (+bus lines) 3. Hotel Riu Plaza España Rooftop 🌇🏨 (neighborhood: Argüelles) 🚇: Plaza de España Line 3, 10 4. Edificio Metrópolis (neighborhood: Sol/Cortes) 🚇: Banco de España Line 2 What’s your preferred mode of transportation in Madrid or another part of the world? Let me know in the comments!
✨ 7 years in Spain as of September 27th, 2021 ✨ I honestly don’t know where the time has gone since I stepped off the plane in Madrid and then much later on, the bus in a brand new place at the time (A Coruña) but enjoy this flashback of photos from last summer when @andrewrgillan and I finally went back to #Galicia together in August 2020. One of my favorite photos from a pretty awful and chaotic year (2020👀) was taken on the beach in Matosinhos, Portugal (still on the Iberian Peninsula 😉) so I’ve thrown it in for good measure. Swipe til the end to go back to 2014. ¡Happy 7th Spainiversary to me y por muchos más! Please let this be a year where I can visit regions I’m familiar with and a couple I still need to see (País Vasco y Asturias or Canarias, I’m looking at you!) 🎉🇪🇸🥳💃🏻🥂🐙☀️🏝
Happy second anniversary, @andrewrgillan 🥳 I have to be honest these past two years have felt like double the amount of time has passed. Not that it’s difficult to be married to you, just that time has been thrown so out of wack. It speeds by in the blink of an eye and yet it still somehow manages to take its sweet time as the calendar pages painstakingly flip by. There aren’t enough words in the world to describe how I feel about you. 💕 But the second photo in this mini montage is the one I think describes where we’re at at this stage, two years in. We’re setting down roots. Not in a physical sense but where we are in terms of our love for one another. It runs deeper each day and not only have we hit our stride with sharing the same living space together, we complement each other better. I love waking up next to you each morning and laughing with you almost every night just before bed. You are the embodiment of what home feels like in a person. And I’m so glad that I got to experience more of what your home country feels like for you. 💝 From a chance meeting on a rainy night in Northern Spain to reconnecting through an awful situation five years ago next month to falling in love and building a relationship full of mutual trust and love together, day by day, I’m excited to see what this year will hold. #loveyouthemost #medianaranja 🍊 #internationallove
This time last week we were in Northern Ireland on our Gibraltar anniversary and traveling just a wee ways over to the location where we had had our wedding reception. While it was a special and fun day and our marriage legally began on Sept. 2nd, personally we had a few more weeks to go before our official married life. One of the most frustrating things of these last 19 months or so was having to stay put and when it was safe enough only travel locally (as in not leaving the Iberian Peninsula). I often thought of how couples who got married a few years ago or more have been able to go back to the places where they got married and have taken many more anniversary trips. And to think for us, simply having the ceremony and reception and bringing our two worlds together were miracles in and of themselves. It’s easy to fall into those ways of thinking and it is only human to do so. That nagging question of “well, when can we return to one of *our* special spots?” was answered last week when we were able to visit the lovely location where we had our wedding reception on 9/21/2019. The drive out to the forest, the gorgeous fields of dark purple heather (not to mention the sheep that held us up along the way 🐑🚗) and the forest itself were sights to behold. 😍 Stepping inside it and reveling in the greenery felt like I was taking a breath of the cleanest air I’ve breathed in in a very long time. 😌🍃 And don’t let my dress fool you, it was cold inside there too! As if someone had splashed a bucket of cold water on me. 🥶💦 It was a beautiful gift to both reflect on the memories of the past and make new ones at the same place, a couple years later. Swipe through for a few newer pictures from that day in Gibraltar. One of my favorites is the fourth photo because even then we were talking about the books I would write and smiling brightly thinking about the future. How wonderful to have gotten it forever frozen in time. ❤️ I could never have imagined what exactly we were embarking on back in September 2019 but there’s no doubt that I wouldn’t have wanted anyone else other than you, @andrewrgillan, by my side.💗 Happy belated “paperwork” day, mi amor. 💋👫💙💜
I am officially a published author! 🎉📖🥳 On the night of June 1st, I clicked publish on my first ever e-book, a massive 30,00 word, 121 page digital book that I have spent the last 7 months working hard to bring to completion. And it’s finally here! If you can believe it, I had to consolidate all the information I found but still came up with over 100 pages chock full of useful information, historical fun facts, descriptions, tips and links to all of the the transportation websites, articles, maps and much more. Not to mention pro-tips and recommendations you only learn from commuting around the city after almost 5 full years. There is something for everyone: first timers in Madrid, current residents, visitors and tourists, commuters, study abroad students, interns, languages assistants and travelers both young and young at heart. ❤️ But mostly it’s for the people who are or would be completely lost without a guide like this. To me personally, this book is for 21 year old study abroad Sarah who single handedly planned the longest metro trip from the Barajas Airport to the Atocha train station one wintry day in a suburb of Dayton, Ohio while reading her guide book. An actual paperback book with a map of the major metros of #Madrid and Barcelona. My goodness, how far she has come since January 2010. 😅 Madrid is a fantastic city with excellent modes of transportation, a city bike share system and buses that run on both electricity and zero emissions. There are still improvements to be made but I truly do love this city and how I wonderful and freeing it is knowing I don’t need a car to see it. Have you been to #Madrid before? What mode of transportation do you prefer? 🚇🚌🚊🚲 #madridmemata #ilovespain #newbook