On The Road- Cádiz y Sevilla

Not long ago, a friend and I decided to tag on a little trip to another part of Andalucía on the end of the Easter week. We booked a BlaBlar Car ( a car sharing website and about half the price of public transport) and set off to destination número uno: Seville. Now, I had actually lived in Seville almost 3 years ago and was thrilled to be back in the city where my love affair with Spain all started. Seville is a typical and absolutely gorgeous Andalucían city with tons to see.
We stayed in the Oasis Backpackers Hostel in the centre of Seville and with only one night booked, immediately headed out to see the sights. My hot list would include hanging out by the river, either on the city side or on the Triana side, the Cathedral although beware of big queues and the gypsies, the bull ring, the old Jewish quarter and my absolute favourite, Plaza de Espana and the adjoining Parque Maria Luisa which is a little slice of paradise in a hot and humid city. It was great to walk around the city and surprise my memory with how well I remembered it all. We tried to eat at the famous Eslava bar but despite being only an hour after opening, it was already packed and with a wait for table so we decided on an old favourite not far from where I used to live. We had plans to head to Alameda de Hercules, a great spot for eating and drinking but unfortunately, after a good meal, the tiredness from walking around in the humid heat all day set in so we spent a while on the hostel roof terrace before going to bed.

I 100% fell in love with Cádiz. It's a small little town that faces out to Atlantic ocean and has a distinct colonial feel to it. We stayed in Casa Caracol Hostel which I would totally recommend- vibrant staff, great location and the price included breakfast. At the end of the road, the beautiful coastline was revealed. Although much of it is walled, you can either head up into the newer part of town or down to the very last tip of Cádiz where there are also more sandy beaches. I definitely enjoyed being sprawled out in the sun all day but didn't quite make it into the water- it is the Atlantic Ocean after all... that's some cold water! I would also say beware the wind- it makes the temperature feel a lot less that it is and within three hours, my friend got pretty darn burnt. We were advised by the staff in the hostel to take a walk down to the beach for sunset and it was so completely worth it. Bundle up warm, the wind had a serious bite to it, and sit on the wall facing into ocean and you will see one of the best sunset, just setting into the sea. It was probably my personal highlight of the whole trip.

I would so recommend a trip to Cádiz to anyone who's travelling around Spain and would go back in a heartbeat. Unfortunately there are only 3 weeks left for me here in Spain, and, provided I get organised and sort out my last minute ERASMUS paperwork, I'm looking to go trotting off into Spain a bit.

 I'm eyeing up the beautiful Cabo de Gata in Almeria. 

I'll keep you posted!

xx

Outfit Of The Day- Floral Trousers

 Necklace- Zara

Vest- H&M

Trousers- Zara

Sandals- Zara

A very Zara heavy post today but when my student loan finally rolled in a while ago, I jumped at the chance to finally go shopping for some more summer clothes. The summer heat has truly rolled in here in Granada with it easily reaching mid 30s in the afternoon. Among all the things I had spotted, these trousers had been on my wishlist for a while. High waisted, perfectly loose and baggy and with this gorgeous summery floral print. The tie belt means you can really cinch in your waist and the print is very flattering when on. My only slight complain is that they are very long. I'm 5'8 and still drag on the floor so I'm hoping I might be able to have the hem taken up when I get back home- hello mother :D The necklace is also a new treasure with heavy silver metal and soft turquoise stones. It's slightly Arabic in design and I've been wearing non stop.

These photos were taken when my boyfriend finally got the chance to visit a few weeks ago. Obviously I had to make the most of the photo opportunity and we spied this little alley on the way back from the beautifl Jardines Carmen de los Martires up by the Alhambra in Granada. I would hugely recommend them as a secluded little area of Granada with great views and its own resident peacock.

I finally handed in my Spanish dissertation and save two exams at the start of June, I'm nearly with my year in Granada. It's absolutely flown by and although I have less than two months left here, I'm hoping to travel round Spain and venture out of Andalucía where I've now been to most of the main cities now. But Spain's a big country and there's a lot more to explore. I've got a hectic summer planned and although I'll be sad to say goodbye to my little slice of Espana, I can't wait to travel more.

I hope you guys are well

xx

Outfit Of The Day- Exploring

Shirt- H&M

Shorts- Vintage

We've recently discovered a new corner of Granada that is a complete hidden gem. Up by the Alhambra, a small but steep walk away, is Carmen de Los Martires, three gardens stacked onto one another and running into the hills above. I hadn't been there until a few days ago and this was my return visit. All the trees and flowers are in bloom and provide all the shade and quietness you need to go relax in the breeze up there or to take in the stunning views of the last snow on the Sierra Nevada.

The weather is hot now, hot and muggy. We seem to have skipped spring and have gone straight into summer again. Not that I'm complaining. I do however have my dissertation due in two week and if anything, its a test of my willpower not to leave it for another day and go out into the sunshine instead. But sure most of you can sympathize with me on that one. When I do hand it in, it'll be fantastic. I think some retail shopping might be in order as a treat, naturally. Some good food and wine as well of course. I'm looking forward to it and I'm excited for the summer and trips to the beach.

Hope all of you are doing well

What are you looking forward to?

xx

From A Forbidden View

I have to admit, I've gotten into a very comfortable yet lazy ERASMUS routine. It involves sleeping and lots of sitting in the sun now that it's beginning to warm up again here in Granada. And that is the best explanation I can offer as to where I've been really. Although, I then considered what better way to show you what I've been up to than with a few picture of a recent walk we all did last weekend.

We went on a walk last sunny Sunday to a spot my friend had discovered. Granada's a great place to take a walk around. If the sun is shining, there's always something go on somewhere, be it bubble blowers or impromptu musicians. As for the walk, it was pretty steep and I was wearing the worst possible shoes (sandals...) but even though I had muddy, slightly sore feet (yes, I did it bare foot eventually, it was a lot less hassle), the view from the top makes it all the worth while. It was great to see Granada from a different angle, just bathing in the sunlight. We had a bottle of red wine and biscuits from a convent we had bought on the way. They were quickly renamed nun cookies. 

It later turned out that we were on private property that we weren't aware of so we quickly relocated back down the hill for the last moments of sunshine before heading home. I washed my feet the moment I got back and made a mental note to always wear trainers in future if my friend says we're going for a 'walk'...

Hope you're all well

xx

Outfit Of The Day- Ripped Jeans

Blazer- Pull & Bear

Top- H&M

Jeans- River Island

Bag- Zara

I'm back baby. I hope you all had a lovely Christmas holiday and got to chill out a bit, I know I definitely vegged out as soon as I got home. The holidays were all too quick though and I'm back in Granada now. It was a bit of a stressful time as we decided to move flat shortly after arriving back but after all the stress, we've ended up in a much better place that couldn't be more perfect in term of location and I have a big, luminous room. Absolutely perfect for blog photos. I thought for ages that I had an issue with my lens/ when I edited my photos as they were coming out really noisy as soon as I loaded them up on here but it turns out there's an issue with Google/Blogger that's an easy fix so hopefully my photos will improve in quality from now onward.

Two of the items here are things I snapped up in the sale- the Zara bag which is absolutely stunning and real suede and the blazer from Pull & Bear. I felt I was getting too comfortable always slipping into my leather jacket, which I will always love and cherish, but it was time to branch out a bit... to a black blazer instead...

Aaanyway, I hope to be blogging a lot more after the semester 1 exams here in Granada- I will have a lot more free time in semester two and the weather will be getting better and brighter so there's plenty to look forward to!

Have a good day guys :)

xx