Why you MUST go to Granada!

I admit it. It was peer pressure pure and simple which initially made me go to Granada.

I have been fortunate enough to visit most of the main cities in Spain and have enjoyed my time in every one of them.

However, Spain was not somewhere  I would normally have considered going to on holiday (as a French speaker, I usually prefer to go where I can put my language skills into practice!).

All this changed when I realised how many of my friends, neighbours and colleagues had visited Granada and how every one of them had been blown away by the stunning beauty of the city!

Read more…

Study Spanish in Santiago de Compostela – a gem of a city!

I’ll be honest, I knew NOTHING about Santiago de Compostela before I arrived. A pretty poor show on my part, I know, but my university suggested the location, the dates, put us in touch with the company who arranged my Spanish course… I just went with the flow, paid my money and turned up at the airport on time!

And I’m so glad they chose Santiago de Compostela – it really is a little gem of a city! It is so unspoilt, small enough that you can walk pretty much everywhere, not to mention the fact that it is downright beautiful. The old town is incredible; I’ve been all over Spain and never seen anything like it. The stone cobbled streets are smooth and shiny like glass, from so many centuries worth of people walking those streets, (but watch out, those smooth cobbles get very slippery when it rains!). The buildings are breathtaking, everything is so well preserved, you really can imagine that this is exactly how the city looked 600 years ago… I felt like I was exploring an amazing movie set! And the great thing about Santiago is that the old town is still a thriving, active part of the city, not just ‘a bunch of historic buildings’, which let’s face it, are great to look at but sometimes a bit soulless.

Read more…

Why my year studying Spanish in Granada was unbeatable!

The first line of the Granada chapter of my Rough Guide to Spain reads, “if there is only one place you visit in Spain, make it Granada”. And my Rough Guide, as usual, was spot on!

I had the time of my life in Granada! There is so much that I loved about the city it is difficult to know where to begin. Everywhere you look there is some amazing sight or another. From the beautiful Alhambra Palace, to the snow-capped mountains, lively fiestas, flamenco dancers and the caves at Sacromonte, Granada has everything you could dream of. And don’t forget, Granada has a fantastic social scene, and the biggest and best tapas in the whole of Spain!

Read more…

My trip to Taormina, a real Sicilian treasure!

When you arrive in Taormina for your Italian course, the first thing to do is take the bus from the railway station up Mount Tauro to the centre. Taking the bus to Taormina is certainly an interesting experience, and for me brought back memories of the Italian Job! The driver was clearly an expert, and negotiated the tight bends at speed.

On arrival in Taormina, I dropped my luggage off at the hotel and headed out to explore the town. The first thing that struck me about Taormina was that it mainly consisted of a single street (the Corso Umberto) which is packed with shops, bars and lots of tourists.

Read more…

“If you spot the frog in Salamanca…”

‘When you get to Salamanca, don’t forget to visit the university and look for the frog’, said my friend. This was how I ended up standing in front of the beautiful university façade for 30 minutes…looking for the Frog! In the end I found it, but it was not easy! I don’t want to give it all away and tell you where is it located – that’s something that you HAVE to do for yourself when you visit this amazing golden city!

I spent a wonderful week in Salamanca  studying Spanish in a fabulous school! I chose Salamanca because a friend of mine had been there for his Erasmus year and he was so incredibly enthusiastic about the city. My first view of Salamanca was from the coach. We drove out of a grey cloud and Salamanca was there, shining gold (resplendendo de oro) and with sun rays falling across the old houses!!!

Read more…

Sorrento – All that Italy has to offer, in a little town!

I admit it! I’m a bit in love with Italy, with the food, the art, the people, the landscape… Italy has everything!

I had already seen the most famous places, like Rome, Florence and Milan, and I wanted to try somewhere different for my next holiday. I wanted to see a bit more of the real Italy! That’s when I came across Sorrento.

I was looking for somewhere by the sea that was not too big, so that I could relax and have more direct contact with the locals. Sorrento seemed to offer all of this, but what I didn’t expect was that it had so much more to offer! It turned out to be an excellent choice for a language course!

I flew to Naples airport and decided to have an airport transfer (organized by the school) to Sorrento. Here the first surprise arrived, a very elegantly dressed person welcomed me and took me to Sorrento in an extremely nice car. Definitely money well invested!

Read more…

Get romantic in Seville!

I believe that the closest to the most “Spanish” experience you can get is to spend a lengthy period of time in Seville, the heart of Andalucía.  I went to this gorgeous city to study a language course, and I ended up staying there for almost a year because I fell in love with the place.

I had the chance to find a place to stay in the historic quarter of Santa Cruz, right next to the famous cathedral La Giralda in the city centre. It certainly gave a special romantic feeling passing by this enormous amazing building while hearing the sound of the cathedral bells and the clippety-clops of the horse hooves on the stone every morning. The calm River Gualadquivir runs slowly through the city, and you usually can find young people sitting in the grass, playing the guitar and looking at the view. On the other side of the river you find the Triana quarter where there are charming narrow streets filled with traditional ceramic factories and typical Andalucian tapas bars.

Read more…

Ten reasons to go to Siena

History
Dripping with history, you could be mistaken for thinking you have taken a trip back in time to a medieval city when visiting Siena! Legend has it that Senius, son of Remus, who was in turn the brother of Romulus, founded Siena. With the first settlements in 900 to 400 BC and the cathedral being built in the 1100s you cannot fail to be impressed by the history of this fascinating city.

Piazza del Campo
Shaped like a medieval Roman amphitheatre, the Piazza del Campo is regarded as one of the most beautiful public spaces in Europe. Unmissable in the centre of the city you have to make your way down one of the many steps and alleyways that lead to it. At night you can buy ice cream at one of the ‘Gelaterias’ before entering the square. Alternatively, for a little more money there are many competing restaurants with front row seats surrounding the square.

Read more…