I’m on my way back to Madrid today - and have to say I’m looking forward to September, Autumn, that unique ‘back to school’ feeling - and new projects. Summer is great and I’m definitely a beach/pool/ sun kind of girl but (though we still have a good few weeks of sun and heat in Madrid) but I’m ready to get back to what I enjoy doing best. Until then here are some photos of the architecture and gardens from my summer. #inspo
One of the great things about living in Spain is that we can drive to many of our holiday destinations. Unless we are off on a long haul trip somewhere like Australia which we did last November (with 4 under 11s!) or for a short break - say for a weekend in the Balearics which involves a quick flight from Madrid, then we drive. With a family of 4 avoiding airports especially in the summer is a bonus!
This summer (the summer holidays here are 10 weeks for kids) we started off in the natural park of Cabo de Gata in Almería (Andalucía). We AirBnbed a fabulous cortijo in Agua Amarga, a fishing village with 200 inhabitants off-season. (And quite a few more in the summer).
From there via a quick couple of days in Madrid, we drove north to one of my favourite places, the SW of France and the Pays Basque. Days spent in the garden, swimming and shopping in St Jean De Luz, market day in St Jean Pied de Port, and rock pooling and surfing in Biarritz ......places we go to year after year and which never get old. Today we are on our way back from the last trip back north west to Galicia. Based in Santiago we spent the days exploring the local beaches and villages. The beaches here rival the Caribbean- but the water can be somewhat refreshing, to put it mildly. A relief to be in the north after a week or so in Madrid although the temperatures reached 30 during the day nights were cool and sleep was deep. Now back to the grindstone in Madrid as we start preparing for September, school, autumn and new projects. Enjoy the rest o f the summer!