After leaving the world of cruising, I was finding it difficult to settle back at home in the UK. I wanted to go out again somewhere new and different. Somewhere I could work and travel? I’d heard of TEFL before (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) but had never really looked at it in depth before. I sat down one night at my Nan’s house with a sweet and sour chicken and started to read the requirements on how to make a start at it. So as long as you can speak English fluently and hold a degree, you’re on the right track! Well, it took me just 2 weeks to book on the 140 Hour TEFL course, buy an apple mac to study and make the move to a town called Blanes just north of Barcelona!
I took this picture from Castell Sant Joan in Blanes
In the 6 months I was in Spain, I visited Tossa de Mar, Malgrat de Mar, Callela, Castellon, Girona and Barcelona. I’ve made some life-long friends there and can’t wait to go back!
In February 2017, I surprised my little sister, Sian with a trip out to see me for her birthday with my best friend Tish and her little sister Madi. I tagged her in a post on Facebook letting her know she had a flight to catch the next morning and my Mom recorded her reaction… and yes it was worth every penny!
We stayed in a 2 bedroomed apartment called Apartment Clot Sant Martí which is walking distance from the Sagrada Familia and next door to the train station to Barcelona. We enjoyed street entertainment on Las Ramblas, ice cream on the harbor, tapas in back street restaurants, eating sea urchins at the food market, taking selfies at Sagrada Familia, meeting up with friends for food and drinks and brushing up on our Spanish… ‘Tienes Wifi?’
Coincidentally, my Dad was out working in Barcelona at a technology exhibition at the same time we were there, so while Sian was still there we went to meet up with him and his mates. Good food, laughs and ice cream at midnight! After Tish, Sian and Madi left, I stayed with my Dad for a few days. I stayed at the Porta Fira Hotel and after seeing an old school friend check in a hotel about 15 minutes down the road who I hadn’t seen in 10 years, I sent over a message and we met up for the afternoon!
View from the Porta Fira Hotel
My last day of Barcelona was spent in the centre close to Las Ramblas, with an apartment overlooking Barcelona, I spent the night in an Irish bar but was in bed by midnight to be up for my flight home the next morning!
View from the apartment in Barcelona
