This was my view often while driving down the street to my home. Sunrise, midday or sunset, the ocean greeted me, the palms waved and I felt at home.

I call this my Spain Haul, a list of my top 10 Spanish experiences over the last 3 years.

10. Carnival

Went to Carnival in 2018. Dressed up as a unicorn. 9 months later, I had a baby unicorn. What happens at Carnival, shows up 9 months later. I’m.Just.Sayin’. Find out more about our Carnival Experience in the Canary Islands here.

9. Road Trip

Nothing says adventure like a road trip. This summer we traveled across Spain, and parts of Portugal, covering numerous sites in 14 days with a baby. I’ll definitely highlight more in a post dedicated to this journey, but this trip put the icing on the cake. We can officially say we’ve been all over Spain including outlying islands.

8. Flamenco Shows

From the caves of Granada, to the taverns of Jerez. From the stages of Sevilla and Malaga, to the streets of Rota. No two shows are alike. Flamenco tells a story. Correction, it tells a lot of stories. It’s like Scheherezade narrating One Thousand and One Nights. You’re intrigued and don’t want it to end. You’re enraptured, eager and excited to find out what happens next in the series of raw, real, sensuous, unadulterated plot twists.

7. Feria de Primavera (and Dancing in a feria number)

I’ll be honest, Feria is, at its core, a big party featuring horses, beautiful dresses, dancing and plenty of dranks! But it’s fun, it’s full of color and if my county fair sprinkled some pizzaz and did it up like this, I wouldn’t think twice about going. It’s also a great way to welcome spring after a sullen and reflective Lenten season. I got into this event because of the beautiful dresses, which I also saw on the runway with a group of friends during the Tio Pepe fashion show! And I loved this little event so much that I got in on a little dance number during this year’s opening event for the Rota Feria (watch ya girl)!

6. Semana Santa

The Spanish take their holidays and festivals serious. I would argue that Holy Week is the most important, followed by Feria de Primavera. This weeklong funeral and repentance festival reminds you that a lot went into the final days of the Life of Christ before He was crucified.

5. Therapy

Every month, Chris and I went to therapy. It was like couples’ therapy in a way. But our therapist, used her hands and listened to our bodies tell her what ailed us as she kneaded and renewed our muscles and brought us back to life. I met Sirley a little over 2 years ago (thank you Carmen), and Chris and I made it a priority to continue visiting her. It was our act of “self care”. She speaks little English, but when she told me about myself that first visit, and In Spanish mind you, I knew she was not playing games. She listens to your body, pays attention and, though she’ll ask you to tell her, “como puedo ayudarte?” she can also sense what’s off with you. I would talk to her about life, ask her for her insights, chit chat about motherhood, etc. And though she’s not a licensed mental health professional, she is a licensed massage therapist who helped me release and relax and stay sane. She, along with my yoga buddy, helped me get through the aches and pains of pregnancy. She also shares a birthday with Lavender so she’s got a special place in our hearts! We love you Sirley!

4. Book clubs

I participated in two book clubs during my time in Spain. I joined one as soon as we arrived and it focused on History and Social Justice. We read and discussed books on migrant worker rights, education, housing injustice, child welfare, immigration, and suicide awareness, among other things. The other, Vitamin B, I co-created within months of getting settled. That one focused on self-love and liberation for women of color in a safe and courageous space. It celebrated the voices of authors of color (African American, Bi-racial, Latino/a, Native, Asian American Pacific Islander, Arab American, etc.) since “mainstream” literary canons don’t always recognize their narratives. I continued with both until they ran their course. They challenged, enriched, emboldened and sustained me during my time here in Spain. They were my core community. I love books, and I love my bookclub experiences. Thank you to all who were members of my little underground book club (just call me Harriet). Thank you forever Leslie for taking a leap of faith with me. Thank you to David from Silla Azul for the delicious food and discussion space and to all of the phenomenal women who hosted a discussion over the years.

3. Spanish language exchange and learning Spanish in Spain

I first met Sarah when Chris and I were looking for a place to live. One of our real estate guides took us to a few homes in Puerto, including this gorgeous home with an olympic size pool and beautiful garden. I saw a woman with dark, brown hair and striking, blue eyes, holding a baby out in the yard. A few days later, I went to the library cafe and saw this same woman behind the counter serving coffee and sandwiches. I talked to her, excited to show her the photo of her house, that my phone spruced up and within a month, we started meeting up for an intercambio, language exchange. She wanted to practice speaking English and I wanted to practice speaking Spanish. We met up every week, often twice a week, to talk about life, ask each other questions about our respective countries, events, plans for the weekend and work goals. This was one of the best experiences I had while living in Spain. Sarah, you know you’re always welcome at our house Amiga! Thank you for everything guapa!

2.Hosting guests

Over the course of 2 years, we’ve hosted roughly 25 guests (parents, siblings, aunts, cousins, sister-frinds friends and “I didn’t know you before coming but now you’re family” friends. It’s not for the faint of heart, but I LOVE event and itinerary planning and I learned that I love hosting. So, it was always a treat, though tricky with our living space, since European homes are smaller and ours was no exception. It was awesome to have so many people make it out and keep Spain fresh for us. I enjoyed showing people around, taking little trips and discovering new things with them. Thank you to everyone who navigated flights, jet lag and language barriers to visit our little corner of Spain. It means more to us than you can imagine!

1. Motherhood

Not too many things can beat this. But, my number one experience in Spain was becoming a mom to my dear Lavender, which I talked about here. By God’s grace, I had a beautiful pregnancy and have had the best daughter a mother can ask for. God is and continues to be faithful and I am and continue to be grateful! We love you beyond the farthest reaches of the universe my baby.

The sun is gently kissing the earth as it sets on our time here in Spain. Pretty soon, we’ll be getting settled on U.S. soil, thinking about what life holds for us in our new home. There will be necks to hug, cold winter weather to fight and a new city to navigate. Such is the adventure we choose. Pero, me encanta España, siempre!

#SunsetSeries - Top 10 experiences while living in España