The end is nigh 🕓

And so it seems that 9 months has suddenly become 1 month, and I have no idea where the time has gone, you know what they say 'time flies when you're having fun' and I completely agree. The weird and wonderful thing about time is that it is completely yours to spend on whatever you want and with whomever you want, but we never reallllyyy spend it wisely until we can see an end. 9 months seemed like such a long time and now a month seems too little and I know it'll zoom by. Anyways, now I've been on a mission to make the most of my time left even more and live each day, hour, minute and second. I always try to wake up and spend each day as if it were my last, especially since as you all know, my dad died. It really was a wake up call as to how quickly time slips by and how we never truly know when will be our last moment of time; and so we should make the most of any bit of time we have, try to be as positive as we can, spread joy to others, surround yourself with those who make you feel truly happy and do the things you've always want to do. I guess this year here has made me realise that time is more valuable than I ever imagined. Well, this panic that time here is flying by might just explain my weekend full to the brim with wonderful activities. 

On Friday i was super excited to go to 'Los patios' in Córdoba, so many people had told me what a feast for the eyes it would be and how it was one thing not to miss. I didn't want to get up my expectations too much, because expectations kill everything, but I was looking forward to going. The truth is I love flowers, they're a truly beautiful thing and brighten up my day with all their tones and shapes and sizes, and well, no 2 flowers are the same. They show that beauty comes in many different forms. 🌼🌸🌺🌻🌷 I met my friend that's working as an auxiliar in Cadiz and she brought one of the American Auxiliar's that she's now friends with. It was nice to meet someone new, as I haven't for a while and I really do like getting to know new people. I have to say, the patios were all that I hoped, and truly gorgeous and spectacular. Those people should be very proud of themselves for creating their masterpieces and I loved that no patio was the same. The patios were 'blooming' brilliant!! Whilst in Córdoba I also acted a tour guide for my 2 different visitors, I really wouldn't recommend myself as a tour guide. I learnt that the key was just to make up dates about buildings 😂 and well, in this life we have to fake it until we make it. I was however better at being tour guide for the shops and restaurants; you can see where my priorities lie. But you really should all be proud of me for suggesting that they try typical Cordoba food aka flamenquin and salmorejo (I definitely did not have any salmorejo) to be honest I was more excited about my smoothie, basically the fruit version of salmorejo. 

After the spring filled day of Friday, Saturday was time for another adventure!! although this one really was an adventure. But before this, I really needed some energy and so went and got a toastada with tomate and jamón. (I'm secretly becoming Spanish at heart) the adventure of Saturday was to climb the sierra de Rute. You may be thinking 'wow, are you crazy?!' But the truth is that I love hiking and being in the great outdoors. It makes me feel at home and as a child I was brought up going for walks in the countryside and being surrounded by nature and incredible views. Obviously with me going on a trip, it didn't start off super smoothly as we got up and walked to the front of the bus too soon for the bus stop, to which the entire bus started looking at us weirdly and laughing... obviously we were the definition of 'guiri' and then when I went to Mercadona to get a pastry, the woman at the till told me I had to weigh them. I MEAN IN WHAT OTHER MERCADONA DO YOU HAVE TO WEIGH YOUR PASTRY AND OF COURSE THEY WERE THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SHOP! But I really did want that pastry, so I complied with her rules and smiled sweetly, whilst she definitely judged me as a silly tourist. 

Don't worry, we eventually started our hike, and all of it was just so much fun and with incredible views. The whole way up we could see the Iznajar reservoir and it was stunning, i really couldn't stop looking at it, so much so that I walked up the hill backwards so I could look at it (and well, the hill didn't seem so big if i couldn't see what i was climbing 😂) the reservoir glowed with the sun and it was definitely more full than when I went in October (obviously the rain was good for something). When we reached the top of the sierra, I couldn't quite believe my eyes, the view was breathtaking and you could see for miles! It was worth the clambering over rocks and basically rock climbing and my foot getting stuck in between 2 rocks 😂😂 at the top we took in the views and of course rewarded ourselves with food and a beverage! 

After we had restored energy it was time to descend this mountain, and this sounds crazy but I actually prefer climbing up the mountain because my clumsiness affects me less 😂😂 also, it's a lot of brain work to climb down rocks on a slope, I found this out when I was being a typical chatterbox and tripped down some rocks, but hey, I have some lovely leg scrapes as a souvenir! And at least I didn't fall completely down the mountain because then you wouldn't be getting anymore amazing blogs 😝😝coming down the view of the reservoir was incredible, the water looked like the bright blue Powerade drink and as the sun began to go down, the whole environment changed. However, once again the ground wasn't my friend, it turns out that gravel is reaaaalllyy hard to walk on when going down hill, so much so that I adopted the slide on your bottom approach 😂😂 But it was worth it because when we made it to the bottom, there were 2 newborn goats still with the umbilical chord, so probably less than an hour old. It was magical and truly felt like spring. They were so cute and adorable, I named them Craig and Cathy (obviously so there was alliteration with Cabra) . Sadly we had to pull ourselves away from the goats to get the bus, but on the way, we bumped into the virgin celebrations in Rute, with lots of people in flamenco dresses and with flowers and music booming down the street. I REALLY DO JUST LOVE SPAIN AND ALL ITS WHAT SEEMS LIKE SPONTANEOUS STREET CELEBRATIONS. Of course the bus was half an hour late though haha

After such an eventful Friday and Saturday, it was time to finish my weekend on a high, and that I really did! 😌 I've been lucky enough to have one of the loveliest people as my bilingual coordinator here in Clara Campoamor, Marta, who some of you know. She was kind enough to invite me to her house in Cabra to spend the day with her family. After making friends with the bus driver on the way, who kindly told me it was no longer the morning, but now the afternoon (I've officially converted to the Spanish timings of the day), i safely arrived in Cabra. Firstly, we went to a garden centre to buy a bunch of flowers, lucky we both have a sense of flower arranging as the man working there had no idea how to coordinate colours of flowers... let's just say his eye for detail wasn't great, but the bunch turned out to be so beautiful. After this we went for a walk around Cabra (it really is a beautiful little town, but I'm not going to compare Lucena and cabra because I don't want to make any enemies by saying which one is the prettiest 😝😝) and I met some of her family. I really love meeting peoples family, and this was no different! They were so friendly and welcoming just like Marta and I enjoyed my time with them. Then it was time for lunch, tapas of course. We sat in a beautiful park by her house and I felt verrrrry Spanish as I ate flamenquin, croquetas, olives (which her daughter realllyyyy loved, so she's definitely being brought up the Spanish way 😂) calamari and some coated fish which tasted like home, because obviously it's fish and chips is the only thing I eat coming from England 😝 it was such a relaxed lunch and I really love being able to talk about everyday things and feel at home. 

Next it was time to have a 'siesta' something that I really really can't manage, so unfortunately for Marta, she was getting no siesta this Sunday, I'm sorry 😌. But it meant that I had time to play with her most adorable and sweet daughter just filled with character, she's already started learning English, well 12345! 👌🏻being able to play with children is definitely an excuse for me to release my inner child, because let's face it, I sometimes love to feel like a kid again. Following the siesta I was lucky enough to be taken to an important religious service, so I could experience something new. It was really interesting and I really enjoyed my time there, and felt privilidged to be apart of something so united. It was truly moving and captured my heart, and the hyms had lovely lyrics, although I couldn't sing too loud otherwise I would deafen everyone 😂😂 I'm really not blessed with a great singing voice. After this touching service, her daughter offered flowers to the virgin, which is also a moment I will cherish forever. It took place in a really beautiful place with lots of flowers and pots, it was really peaceful and the perfect setting. It was truly inspiring and I'm happy I witnessed something so special to many people. 

After this magical service, we went to a park with marta's daughter, and I forgot how much joy parks bring to young children. She truly was loving life and in a moment of pure happiness and she slid down the slide- I think it reminds me to be happy about the simple things. Of course I couldn't resist going down the slide too!! Lastly we went for ice cream... I REALLY REALLY LOVE ICE CREAM!! in case you're curious, I picked mint choc chip flavour, as i love the chocolates after eights and well, that was my dad's favourite flavour, so I suppose I ate it in his honour! it was very yummy and it felt like summer as we all sat chatting in the sunshine with not a care in the world about what was happening around us. Sadly such an amazing day had to come to an end, but the journey home with Marta's husband was a chatty journey and the sun was setting, so the countryside looked like it was glowing. 

Days like these make me feel so lucky to be surrounded by people that fill me with joy and that make me laugh. I think it's important to cherish days like these and remember how fantastic humans can be. Not only does time go fast in life, but people also come in and out of your life too, the important thing is to make the most of time when you are surrounded by great people #deep. 

So I guess what I'm really trying to say is that, this weekend was spent wisely, doing things I love doing, experiencing new things and doing it with people I really enjoy spending time with. I hope you all had a great weekend too and you're  not studying toooooo much and making time to enjoy your weekend by doing things you love and with people that lift you up and make you happy. ☀️⭐️🌸🌺🌷

Well, here's to making the most of things!