Ever since I took my first summer holiday in over twenty years (when I ended up taking with this little munchkin to Málaga with me) I have spent every summer since then frankly delighted that I am finally able to afford to take some time off and travel a bit. But I remain unused to travel plans that can’t be decided last minute and achieved by a shortish train journey.
For this summer I was suddenly faced with the delightful dilemma of having several fab and affordable opportunities present themselves in Málaga, Santiago de Compostela, San Sebastián and London. So of course I want to do them all! Well, I mean, why not, eh? I have a generous rental offer in Málaga, a free place to stay in London, great off-season airbnb price in Galicia and the offer to stay at my friend’s place in the San Sebastián. So it is ALL do-able. And this is where my panic sets in.
I almost cancelled Málaga this month because I was so busy, there was this and that to take care of, how could I justify taking time off….. until my friends Elena and Thane convinced me that the summer will feel extra long if I don’t take a few days now. So after much dithering… Málaga Getaway is GO. June 20-25th.
Once I got that far I realised I should seriously look into the Galicia Getaway, as my friends Anna & Jorge @thekilomeaters have been urging me to come up there for, well, almost forever. So today was the day! I not only booked my flights for the end of August, but also booked a cute AirBnB place just ten minutes from them. DONE.
Feeling empowered, I thought I should then go ahead and book my London Getaway… and I actually had possible flights based on the availability of my friends flat there (such a generous offer!). And then it hit me… what’s the expiry date on my passport? (turns out it’s Oct 2016) And will that affect me being able to travel to the UK in August 2016? Of course by the time I’d come to this point it was after closing hours of all consulates and embassies everywhere in Spain (ie Friday at 2 pm) so I shall have to wait until Monday morning to see what the deal is. Looks like I will have to renew my passport FAST, but can I still book my London flights? We shall see?
As for San Sebastián… that is something I was hoping to enjoy in July. Depending on the availability of the ONE PERSON in SS @tenedortours (ie, the me of the north 😉 ) who would make the whole experience worthwhile. But I still have time to book that one.
What I found interesting was how much every fibre of my being rebelled against booking flights and accommodation SO FAR IN ADVANCE (2 months?) and it made me realise how I very weirdly don’t like feeling “locked in” when it comes to plans. I’d always rather buy a last minute train ticket than feel like I have to be somewhere at a certain time. Anyhow, I also realise that some things need to be planned in advance, so I am totally thrilled now about Málaga, Santiago and London. And I suspect SS in July will be confirmed too.
What are you guys doing this summer?
In 1990 I moved to an apartment in Bristol, England that had what I called my “Spanish kitchen”. It also had a view of a “Spanish roof” from my bedroom window. It was a Spanish kitchen to me because the tiles were terracotta, and the Spanish roof, that looked like this photo, was on a nearby building (not sure why because this isn’t a typical roof style for Bristol). Both those things kept me dreaming about moving to my new home, and then I got a job at a tapas bar there! I was convinced I was on the right path, so even when I was asked to stay in Bristol and manage the bar… I just had to go. I was reminded of my Bristol “Spanish roof” during my Staycation at the Doña María Hotel. This was one of the views from their rooftop.
When I first heard a few months ago that Turismo España had declared that the third Thursday in June was to become known as World Tapas Day, an international celebration of tapas, I was so excited. I started thinking about activities I could either create or help promote and waited to hear more. And waited. And then waited some more. But it turned out that there was 
Came across this just by chance the other day – Km0, or the very centre of Sevilla. And it’s just around the corner from my house. You might remember how I also found the 
casa azahar 