15 photos that will make you want to visit Analucia

visit Andalucia

If you travel to Spain, you have to visit Andalucia. It’s a must. When I see people talking about traveling to Spain, they always seem to list Madrid and Barcelona first. I get it. I mean if you only have a limited time in Europe, you just try to hit the largest cities. You think “well I can at least say I’ve been to Spain if I go to Barcelona.” And I’m not knocking either of these cities. I’ve been to both several times and they are quite enjoyable. However if you just stick to those two cities, you miss out on a lot of the charm and character of Spain.

Andalucia is the southern-most region of Spain. It’s also the largest autonomous community in the country. Flamenco dancing was born in Andalucia. Tapas are severed free with beverages in many restaurants. Things are cheaper and the weather is nicer.

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I woke up in a Guadix cave house

Guadix cave house

Did you know that some people in Andalucia, Spain live in caves? No, it’s not like the cave men of thousands of years ago. I mean people actually build their houses into the land like a cave. Several weekends ago, I spent a night in a Guadix cave house.

You can actually find houses like these on AirbnbThis one and this one look pretty cool. They are typically painted white inside. The idea is that they are super cold in the summer and super warm in the winter. My initial idea was to get a group of friends together and rent one of these. However when I was invited by friends who lived there, I thought “even better!” Chaz and Arielle are English teachers like me who got placed in the town of Guadix. They chose a cave house over a flat because why not? They were super gracious to invite us out there several weekends ago.

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La Boutique de Lulú

La Boutique de Lulú

Even though I have been in Granada for a year and a half, I find that I’m always discovering new things. Several weeks ago was the perfect example of that. I had never been to Granada’s Atarfe despite living only a short bus or car ride away. It’s a small town close to I have been working with a new photographer named Miguel and he has a friend who just opened her own boutique called La Boutique de Lulú. He thought connecting the two of us would be a good idea. I always love to support small and local businesses, so I was down.

The looks

These looks were created from La Boutique de Lulú. She has a good selection of clothing and accessories in her shop. I was immediately drawn to the blue dress. I paired it with this vest and added the purse. We grabbed a handful of dresses and accessories, and headed to shoot some photos before the sunset.

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My free Alhambra visit

Alhambra visit

I did it. I finally had my Alhambra visit. I can finally check it off the list.

What’s the Alhambra? Well it’s one of the must-see sites in Granada. Last year I was a failure because I never visited it. Isn’t that how it always works? We often don’t spend enough time being a tourist in our own city. Every weekend last year I meant to go but things came up. A weekend away or a friend’s birthday. I just kept putting it off even though it’s amazing. However when I heard that I could go for free, I was all about it. I had to finally do it.

An Alhambra visit is normally not free. However on Sundays they offer free tickets to Granada residents (if there are tickets available). All you have to do is go to the Alhambra office the week before the Sunday you wish to go. All I needed was to present my NIE that indicates my address in Granada. If any of you live in Granada, you have to take advantage of this! Many Granadinos simply don’t know that they can get free tickets.

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A day at the Real Alcázar Sevilla

Real Alcázar Sevilla

The Real Alcázar Sevilla. This is the place I’ve been wanting to visit for months. I had seen photos on social media from other people in my teaching program and thought “Sevilla has a fortress, castle-thing?” My only experience in Sevilla had been on my first trip to Spain back in June 2015 with CoffeeShop Spanish. We arrived in the afternoon, wandered the city and went to a Flamenco show that evening. It was simply too short of a trip for such a wonderful and historical city.

What is Sevilla?

Sevilla is a city in Spain. One of my biggest pet-peeves with travel blogs is when they don’t tell you what country the city or place is in. I know that that seems laughable, but I cannot tell you how many times I’ve been reading a post thinking “okay I think this is in the Philippines, but they didn’t say” or “I think this is in the UK … but it could be Ireland too. I DON’T KNOW!!” Travel bloggers just a little piece of advice: always put the country with wherever your post is about. While it may seem obvious to you, not all of your readers likely are familiar with the region you’re writing about. But likely we will want to know exactly where it is so we can make a note and future plans to travel there.

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A day trip to Toledo

day trip to Toledo

While I love the excitement of arriving at the airport, going through security (total sarcasm here) and boarding my flight to some exciting destination, I also love the fun of a simple day trip. There are so many places that we can explore within a 1-3 hour drive of us, wherever we are. I love taking day trips and where I live in Spain, there are so many!

Over Semana Santa, I traveled in Ireland and England for a little bit. On my way back home, I found cheaper airfare into Madrid. Since I’ve already been to Madrid several times, I decided to take a day trip to Toledo. Toledo is a perfect day trip from Madrid as it’s a one-hour away. And it’s also a city that you do not want to miss. It’s full of so much history and things to see. And the architecture is very unique.

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A reflection on 5 months and linkup

reflection on 5 months

Hi everyone! Today I’m very excited to be co-hosting the Thursday Fashion Files with Carrie from Curly Crafty Mom and Jill from Doused in Pink. I have been following their blogs for at least a year now and have linked up with them countless times. As I have transitioned from just blogging about to fashion to blogging fashion and travel, the times I can link up are less frequent. But I, of course, am always excited to when I can!

So for this post, I thought I’d do a little reflection on how I’m doing. I thought it would be fun to mix some photos in from the different shoots and outfits I’ve worn over the past five months.

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48 hours in Madrid

48 hours in Madrid

I spent a lovely 48 hours in Madrid with a good friend back in December. Of course Madrid being the capital city of Spain, I knew I would get there at some point this year. On my first trip to Spain (in June 2015. The one where I decided moving here sounded great), I barely spent any time in Madrid because I met my group a few days late. So I simply landed, went to my hostel and took a bus out to meet my friends in La Rioja the next morning. So I was excited to actually explore Madrid. I also read that Madrid had some awesome Christmas markets, so it seemed perfect!

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Exploring old Granada in a dress

exploring old Granada

Last weekend, I spent the day exploring old Granada. For those of you who do not know, I live in Granada, Spain. I’m an American and I moved there to teach English. And I must say, I absolutely love it in Granada. Some days I catch myself taking it for granted. Then I walk to meet a friend for a coffee and am stunned by my surroundings. I live in one of the prettiest cities in all of Spain. It is simply amazing.

Last weekend, I teamed up with a friend of mine in Granada who volunteered to do my hair, makeup and take my photos (thanks Kat!). Friends like that are the best! Kat lives in the historic area of Calle Elvira.

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