Selena Templeton

In part 3 of our road trip through Spain and Portugal, we visit Robledillo de Gata, a truly interesting town with an unusual village layout and only 89 inhabitants, the walled in Old Town of Ciudad Rodrigo, and at last Porto, Portugal, plus the last of the season’s snow on Serra da Estrela.

Continuing on our road trip through Spain and Portugal, we bar hop on Calle San Juan in Logroño for wine and pinchos, enjoy wine tastings in both large and small wineries, and are sidetracked by a beautiful hermitage tucked into a rocky cliff on the way to the Frías Castle ruins.

When my boyfriend suggested that we take a road trip through Spain and Portugal, he didn’t have to ask me twice! In part 1, we go hiking in Parque Natural de las Hoces, learn about the history of the book at the Book Museum, and enjoy a spontaneous wine tasting at a little bodega.

After living in Spain for a year and a half, I assumed I would be fluent by now. Not a chance! So why is it so difficult to understand spoken Spanish when I can read and write it fairly well? There’s actually a scientific reason why it’s much harder for learners to grasp spoken Spanish. 

In Spain, Christmas dinner is on the 24th and in N. America Christmas dinner is on the 25th, but since my Spanish boyfriend and I were hosting for family both days, we just made the holiday international!

Mi novio español me llevó a la boca de lobo de la experiencia española: Los Escobazos, un festival anual local en un pequeño pueblo donde la gente te golpea con escobas encendidas, "juguetonamente". ¿En qué coño me estaba metiendo?

My Spanish boyfriend took me into the lion’s den of the Spanish experience: Los Escobazos, a local annual festival in a small town in which people “playfully” swat you with burning brooms. What the hell was I getting myself into?? 

I was invited to Thanksgiving dinner by my dear friends here in Spain. It wasn’t at their home, but rather a pub. An Irish pub. In Madrid. I told them I would definitely be there, because this I had to see.

Back to Jarandilla de la Vera for the weekend! This time we witness Emperor Carlos V parade through the town, explore Granadilla, a preserved medieval “ghost village,” and relax in a mineral pool at Balneario Baños de Montemayor.

Jarandilla de la Vera is a small town in Cáceres province, Extremadura, Spain with a population of 2,845, making it a perfect weekend getaway for two! With hiking, biking and swimming in natural rivers in the day to sipping vermouth at outdoor terraces at night, here’s my story.

From hanging out at the pool to hiking the Serra da Estrela Natural Park, from eating delicious Portuguese cheese to standing on the very tallest point in the country, I traveled from Madrid, Spain to visit Seia, Portugal for a week.

When I lived in the U.S., you couldn’t get me to eat a tuna salad sandwich if it had too much mayonnaise. Ugh! But since living in Spain for the last year, I’ve learned to expand my palate to include these six “weird” Spanish foods.

Now that I’ve lived in Madrid for one year (whaaaat?!?), I thought I’d look back and see how I’ve changed. From bathing suits to a higher voice, from drinking fountains to no dryers, from front page of the Financial Times to being on national TV (!!), here’s what I learned from living in Spain.

Time for another day trip from Madrid! Just 35 km (22 miles) away, Alcalá de Henares is best known as the birthplace of Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quijote—and it even has a street that traces the path of an ancient Roman trade route linking Caesaraugusta to the city of Complutum.

Calle de la Cava Baja is one of Madrid’s most iconic streets, famous for its concentration of traditional and lively tabernas. With 50 bars within 300 meters, this is the place to go on a “tapeo” or tapas crawl (like bar hopping, but there’s always food too). Naturally, I had to try this for myself. 

Itching to explore more of Spain, I took a day trip to Ávila, about 90 minutes outside of Madrid. From yemas de Santa Teresa, to walking the 2.5-km medieval wall, to finding the basement-slash-cave St. Theresa museum, here is my experience.

It seems that whenever I ask a Spaniard “What’s the word for…?” there’s a 50% chance that the answer is llevar. So I started investigating Spanish verb definitions… and disappeared into a rabbit hole of Spanish and English meanings for a single word.

My feet were itching to travel again, so this weekend I decided to head out to a little town called Buitrago del Lozoya. The draw? Small town, medieval ruins, surrounded by nature. I was looking forward to a quiet, relaxed weekend getaway…but there were a few obstacles to overcome first.

So far in Spain, I’ve encountered nothing but friendly professionals, whether I was at the doctor’s office, the emergency room, the bank, or even government offices. And then I finally came across…a gilipollas.

In my quest to become a true Spaniard (in heart, if not in government documentation), I have not only been learning the language (grammar, syntax)—I’ve been learning how to speak like a Spaniard. And that means learning Spanish street slang.

From storing eggs to making out, from direct communication to yellow lines on the road, here are some of the differences between Spain and the USA that I’ve been either enjoying or trying to understand.

After living in Spain for five months, I finally started dating — in Spanish. The language I am not fluent in. But who am I in Spanish if I can’t fully communicate and am reduced to simple thoughts and broken sentences?

In the U.S. you usually ask for a glass of wine by the grape, and in Spain you order it by the region. But if you don’t know the regions, how the hell do you order wine in Spain that isn’t just taking a stab in the dark?! Let me take you through my learning process.

I’ve written about all the ways I’m practicing the Spanish language in order to achieve my goal of becoming fluent. But I’m also practicing another language: the social language of Spaniards. So here are a few ways that I’m learning to be Spanish.

I found myself in Urgencias (the “ER”) after moving to Spain. But because of Spain’s universal healthcare, I walked out without paying a dime. This made me think about difference between the Spanish healthcare system and the U.S. healthcare system.

From the small Lope de Vega Casa-Museo tour to the enormous Royal Palace tour, from an artistic flamenco show to a spooky Halloween wine tasting, take a look at how I show my visiting family a good time in my new city Madrid!

They say that the best way to learn something is to teach it. So when I recently had my very first visitors come stay with me in my new country, I got to put my newly acquired knowledge of Madrid to the test!

I don’t expect to become fluent in Spanish just by living in Spain. So from reading familiar books in Spanish to changing my phone’s default language, from taking private Spanish lessons to simply refusing to speak English, here’s how I’m improving my Spanish.

From calamari and the ruins of a 16th century monastery in Xinzo de Limia, to chupitos at a restaurant near Montalegre Castle and the "Fiesta in Honour of Seafood" in O Grove, my first trip to Galicia, Spain is everything I'd hoped it would be.

After writing about trips to historical monasteries, after-hour tours of the Prado, and trying to meet people in a new country, it’s time to write about something really important. Where the hell do I find all my favorite products in Spain?!?!

Still fresh from a recent weekend trip out of town, I eagerly plan my next adventure: I’m taking a day trip (from Madrid) to El Escorial to go on a guided tour of the 16th century Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, commissioned by King Philip II.

I start to notice a lot of statues around Madrid. But not your typical statue of royalty, historical figures and other famous people. From the Curious Neighbor to the Reader to the Street Sweeper, these are tributes to regular, working-class folks. 

The first time I really feel like I live in Spain and not just visiting is when I take a weekend trip out of town. La Adrada is a small pueblo that knows how to celebrate big. With music, dancing, booze and church, this festival is fun for everyone.

From sushi to tapas, from Hemingway's favorite sherry bar to an international blues bar, my new friend helps me celebrate my first birthday in Spain like a madrileña as we make our way through Madrid's historic el centro.

How do I meet new people in Madrid, Spain? I can only frequent bars and cafés so much, so I sign up for a language exchange meetup. Not only do I meet other like-minded people, but I get to practice Spanish – after the two-drink minimum.

Having just moved to Madrid, the only way I’m going to meet new people is by going out. A major task for an introvert. I start by hitting up cafés and tabernas to enjoy a drink and chat up the waitstaff — hoping they'll understand my Spanish!

Having just moved to Madrid, Spain, I eagerly go out to explore my new neighborhood, Palacio.  From La Casa de Campo, former royal hunting grounds, to Parque Madrid Río, a park that parallels the Manzanares River, I am surprised to find so much lush green space in the city!

The Museo del Prado (Prado Museum) is a must-see when in Madrid, but it’s hard to see anything at all in a crowded art gallery. So I took the VIP Alone in the Prado Tour from Devour Tours, and wow. There is nothing like being in an empty, quiet museum while contemplating the artwork.

From the metric system (for a lapsed Canadian) to the 24-hour clock format — not to mention a dubious translation that turns Grease into a tale of debauchery — these are some of the international differences I have to get used to.

I always feel at home when I go to a movie, so adjusting to my new life in Spain includes seeing a “foreign film” at Cine Doré and a current film at Cine Callao. I also discover that film titles are not always a direct translation.

After the 7-month process of moving to a new country, I finally arrive in Spain. I have to find an apartment, set up utilities, get a local phone number, open a bank account, register with City Hall — and all in Spanish, a language I am not fluent in.

From getting my FBI rap sheet to fitting my life into five suitcases to overcoming the panic attacks of relocating to another continent, here’s how I turned my dream into reality and moved to Spain on a Digital Nomad Visa.

Getting past the Guardia Civil just to buy some stamps, nearly destroying a 200-year-old museum piece, receiving an impromptu invite to a dinner party and meeting my Spanish teacher after two years of online classes — this is week two of my adventure in Spain!

After a 3-year delay, it is finally happening! From being moved to tears at a flamenco show, to realizing I don’t have my wallet at the end of a meal, to not seeing Picasso art at the Picasso Museum, this is my adventure in Spain.

Un extracto de mi post sobre mis viajes por España: Después de la cena, voy a un show flamenco – ¡mi primero! Me sorprende lo mucho que me conmueve el baile y el canto.

From all-day rides through the Gila Forest, to touching 1,000-year-old pictographs on a cave wall, to singing old cowboy songs around the campfire, to self-medicating my sore butt each night with wine, this is my dude ranch vacation at the Geronimo Trail Guest Ranch.

Just because international travel has been restricted doesn’t mean that a person’s burning desire to travel has also been restricted. During this last year, my overseas trip had to be rescheduled postponed canceled. So I went on a road trip up the coast from Los Angeles and found the perfect small town getaway: Pacific Grove, California.

Our adventure in Japan continues. Off we go to Osaka, land of neon billboards and a canal, and Tokyo, in which we enjoy a a mysterious ramen bar experience, a crack - I mean matcha den, a 12-story (twelve!) stationery store, and Book Town, a neighborhood with 140 bookstores. When can I move here??

After a ten-and-a-half-hour flight from LAX, I arrive at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan. Suddenly, I am in a whole new world: From capsule hotels, a traditional tea ceremony and a bamboo forest (with the sign “Closed for repairs from June 2017 to closed”), to a gang of map-eating deer and endless temples in Nara, my adventure has begun.

I took this solo road trip during Christmas week for two reasons. One: I’ve been struggling with depression for the last couple of months and feeling lost and alone, so I thought I might as well head out to the desert in a place where I really was lost and alone. And two: I figured this would be a good time to unplug, decompress and try to recover from burnout. This trip made me see that while you don’t always get what you want, you seem to get what you need.

Earlier this year, a friend of mine told me that I was welcome to stay at his place in Cleveland when he was out of town. My immediate reaction was: "Why on earth would I want to go to Cleveland?" Cut to six months later...I was itching for a change of scenery, so I thought, "Why not go to Cleveland?" As is my nature, the minute I purchased my non-refundable plane ticket, the thought "This is a huge mistake" went racing through my mind like a drunk driver.

At 8:31 a.m., the high-speed train left the station and traveled 285 miles to Paris' Gare du Nord railway station in just over two hours. Despite the group of eight or so English gents in ugly Christmas sweaters indulging in beer before noon surrounding me, the trip was smooth sailing, and before I knew it I had arrived in the City of Lights.

When I stepped out of the train onto the platform, I stood there for a minute while everyone rushed past me and just absorbed the fact that I was actually, finally, incredibly in Paris.

When my dream finally came true and I purchased a plane ticket to Europe, I almost peed myself with excitement.

My trip started with the TSA confiscating my very dangerous weapon—a tube of fennel-flavored toothpaste—which I encouraged the security agent with the faded enamel to use as I flashed her my own pearly whites. I knew right then and there that nothing was going to discourage or prevent me from having a fantastic time.