Workaway in Talamanca de Jarama, Spain

Oct 5 - 19

I could not have asked for a more kind and generous family to spend my last two weeks in Spain with. Inma, Raul, Nicolai and Daniela welcomed me into their home and made me feel like a part of the family immediately.

In the tiny town of Talamanca de Jarama, just 40km north of Madrid, I spent my days playing with the kids and attempting to improve my Spanish. It was relaxing and yet never boring.

I did a couple of Spanish lessons and had plenty of time to practice with the family. I gave Inma the occasional English lesson and helped Daniela with English homework when needed.

When the kids were at school I filled my days with exploring. Whether it be the local shopping centre (factory outlets!!) or just roaming around the cute little town. While Talamanca is tiny, it has actually been host to many films. I even saw a movie being filmed there one day! The Cartuja and Roman Bridge are beautiful historical places that make for perfect film sets.

Roman Bridge

Cartuja

Hermitage

Post office

I also took a little bike ride just outside of the town one morning. On a short one hour ride (including many stops for photos!) I was able to see a fair bit of the countryside.

A huge highlight for me was the Pico Peñalara hike. One sunny Saturday afternoon, Raul, Ashley (another workaway girl) and I drove about an hour north-west of Talamanca, where the land gradually changed from dry hills into green mountains. The five hour hike was incredible.

We passed many lakes. Some of them reflected the clear blue sky, making for stunning views. Eventually, as we got closer to the peak, we started scaling the mountain ridge; practically rock climbing to make it to the peak. At times I did genuinely think I might fall and die. I'm fairly certain there was a less dangerous route..but Raul the mountain goat likes to lead a dangerous life it seems! I joke, but I loved it.

There weren't many trees along the path, meaning that it was generally very open - constant views of the surrounding mountains. Amazing hike.

Two shots at the peak, looking in opposite directions

Daniela had her 8th birthday while I was staying with them. Some family came around for a feast before the party! Raul taught me how to make paella - with rabbit, how it is traditionally made. 

And Inma cooked a gluten free cake especially for me. These people are the best ❤️

Daniela and the delicious GF birthday cake!

The party was a few hours of madness, with 20-odd kids running a muck. There were three cakes throughout the day and an endless amount of party food. Needless to say, when the festivities were over, we were all exhausted.

Playing with the 'English Dictoonary' sticker book I gave Daniela for her birthday

I became incredibly attached to this family and I wish I could've stayed longer. But alas, Spain is not far from my new home - London. So I have promised to come visit again soon.

A rainy day in Madrid

Oct 12

The 12th of October is a public holiday in Spain. In fact, it's Spain's 'national day' - but no one seems to do much to celebrate. So what to do with a day off work and school? Initially we made plans to go hiking, but the weather forecast quickly diminished all hope of an outdoor activity. Instead, we opted for museums in Madrid.

The first museum we visited was the Plaza de Toros de las Ventas: Spain's biggest bull fighting ring. I find the idea of bullfighting simply horrible...and so I wanted to learn more about it, see if I could understand why it's so popular in this part of the world.

The museum was full of paintings and sculptures of famous toreros (bull fighters) with the stories of their victories and sometimes failures - often resulting in lifelong injury or death. There were also capes and tools used for fighting. A video loop showed the tactics used to bull fighters to attack the bulls.

However the museum didn't really offer information; just a montage to bull fighters of the past. I came away feeling even more negative about the "sport." It just seems cruel to me.

Given that it was pouring with rain, we had a picnic lunch in the car!

The next museum was much more cheery. Estadio Santiago Bernabeu: Real Madrid's home football stadium! We got various views of the pitch; first from way up on the top floor of the stadium and then up close, in the dugout (the bench!)

We also went into the team dressing rooms and the press room.

The museum itself was fantastic! Modern, interactive and full of interesting football-related artefacts. 

We saw many trophies some for the team and some for individual players. This included the European Cup trophies. Real Madrid is the reigning champion - so we even managed to get a photo with the 2016 cup! 

They also had a 'football over time' style exhibit, where you could learn not only about the history and success of Real Madrid, but also see how the balls, boots and guernseys have changed over time.

Before leaving Madrid we popped into the Atocha train station. We were there to pick up another workaway chica, but I quickly discovered it's a really cool building. There's a huge garden right in the middle! 

And in the garden...there are TURTLES. My favourite ❤️❤️❤️

First taste of Madrid, Spain

Oct 6

I got my first little preview of Madrid one afternoon shortly after I had arrived in Talamanca (where I am living for two weeks, with a Workaway family. More on that another time.) We went into Madrid, less than an hour's drive away, so that Inma could go to a job interview. While she had her interview I walked around town with Raul and Daniela. We were hopping between book stores on what seemed an impossible mission to find a very specific book. As we walked, we passed many sights.

Later in the afternoon, just as it was getting dark, we went to Retiro Park. I only briefly saw it in the light, but it was lovely. I knew I'd come back soon for a proper wander around. We sat by the lake and drank sangria until it was time to go home and have dinner.

Oct 8 - 9

After this little preview of Madrid, I knew I needed to come back and spend more time in Spain's capital. So I took a 'weekend break' from my workaway family and stayed over night in the city.

I started off (as I do in most cities) with a free walking tour. My guide was fantastic! Very interactive and animated. She told us all about the history, culture, architecture and the food that make Madrid so famous.

I found her story about the history of tapas particularly interesting. Apparently many years ago the poor folk who worked on the fields used to come into the city for lunch. But they only had very little money, so they often chose to spend their money on booze instead. This resulted in a slump in work ethic in the afternoons...because they were all drunk. A law was brought in that drinks must be served with a small portion of food (tapas) to prevent this. Back in the day, the tapas used to be free with any drink. Apparently this is still common in Granada - I know where I'm heading soon, then..!

She also told an interesting story about why ham is so ridiculously popular in Spain. During the Spanish Inquisition they tried to get rid of the Jewish people in Madrid - they told them they could only stay if they converted to Catholicism. Some left, some converted. But they wanted to make sure that the converted Jews had truly converted. One of the ways they checked was by seeing if people were eating pig - a clear sign that one has given up Judaism. So people began buying a LOT of ham, just so they could prove their devotion to the Catholic religion. And now I guess they're just addicted! ...And so am I! My god, this ham is incredible!

As well as these interesting stories, we saw some of the sights! The Cathedral is somewhat unique. The construction began in the 16th century but was only finished in 1993, so it's a real mesh of architectural styles from throughout time.

All around the city, the architecture is varied due to the different people that have reined over Spain - including Romans, Moors and Austrians.

Super cute street signs showing how the street used to look many years ago

After the tour I went with a few people into the Malsaña neighbourhood to have lunch. We sat outside in a big open plaza, enjoying a ridiculously slow lunch. How very Spanish of us!

We roamed around that area, admiring how diverse it was. Gran Via (the big main street) felt a lot like New York, with its busy multi lane roads and theatres all over the place. Then some of the smaller streets with quirky shops reminded me of London's Shoreditch. And then there are the beautiful typically-Spanish colourful little pedestrian streets. So diverse.

Eventually we ended up in Retiro Park, a lovely spot to keep meandering. We found the glass palace (though we couldn't go in, as they're preparing for an exhibition later in the month) as well as various gardens and fountains.

Try to ignore the distorted people...!

Then we had a bit more sangria. Because why not?! This is Spain after all.

Sebastian, a friend I made way back in Argentina last year, offered to let me crash for the night. But not before an epic pub crawl. With a few of my new friends from the walking tour (and many more that I met along the way) we hopped between bars and clubs, dancing pretty much until the sun came up!

This meant that I wasted the next morning catching up on sleep. Sadly, I missed the Sunday market that I so desperately wanted to check out! But alas...there were plenty of other markets to keep me entertained. San Miguel was up first. Sunday afternoon at San Miguel market was ridiculously busy. Crowds had flocked there to sample the many delicious meals and treats on offer. I had empañadas, frozen yoghurt and some chocolate!

I had a quick look inside the cathedral. It's a little different from your standard cathedral...lots of bright colours, pop art style.

The next market I found was Mercado de la Cebada. 

Downstairs was mostly closed, but looked to be the fresh food section. Upstairs was an incredible craft market. I browsed sunglasses and clothes and jewellery for most of the afternoon then continued wandering around the La Latina area, impressed by the quirky shops and the Sunday vibes at the plazas.

I met up with Kevin and Ben, who I'd met the night before, to check out the sunset at Templo de Debod. It was a temple built in Egypt in the second century. However in 1960 the construction of a dam meant that the temple was in danger of being destroyed. UNESCO decided it must be saved and the Egyptians chose to donate it to Spain to show their gratitude for Spain's help in saving some other temple previously. Cool history...but also a STUNNING sunset! Perfect way to end a perfect weekend in Madrid.