BUSY BUSY Thursday :)

HOLAAAAAA!!  Ok, so I'm going to start today's blog with a story :) ................ I did the funniest thing ever last night, and not many people will appreciate this- Gemma & Sian mainly lol- but anyway as these 2 girls know, I'm the sort of person to take a short-cut, and I will do anything to get something done quicker- so me being lazy resulted this evening in a 40 minute diversion on what should have been a 5 minute bus journey! I'd just left Rach & Stephanie on the Plaza Mayor and began walking to the bus stop on Gran via to get the bus home as it's a one way system here- but then I saw my bus coming but from the other direction, so I hopped on it to avoid walking the 5mins to the Correct bus stop on Gran Via- at worst I thought it would be a few min journey before it looped around to the Gran Via stop as this particular line is like the circular tube line in Madrid- it just keeps going around in circles! So yeah, I thought it would just add on 5 minutes to my journey- TRY 40 minutes!!!! Haha! I was fine for a bit on the bus, but then the bus crossed the river & the cathedral became a distant sight! (i started to panic) Then it went along some windey roads in the dark, and around 2 roundabouts- each time taking an exit further from Salamanca Center! Then the scariest thing happened when I saw a sign saying SALAMANCA with a cross through it!!!! My heart plummetted as I thought 'oh my god if I'm Not in Salamanca now, then where the hell am I!!' and then just when I thought we were heading back to the Center again, the bus stopped in this random road where all the people got off and the driver announced it was the end of the line! I was sure that he would go back towards the centre though, so I went and explained what had happened & that I was a foreign student & he was so lovely about it & had a quiet chuckle to himself! So then after 10/15 minutes driving along these roads i'd never seen before, finally the bus went towards the Center and I began to recognise where I was again!!! The Moral of the story is don't be lazy like me and take short-cuts, as 9 times out of 10 it really won't be a short-cut and at best you will get a much longer journey time, or at worst- you'll get entirely lost.


Right, now on to today!! it has been a pretty productive day in Sala really! I woke up to a phone call from Kayleigh- one of my new friends around 10.30, and then after we'd finished speaking I suddenly remembered I only had until 11.30am to change the time of my Spanish course lessons here! So I quickly got dressed and luckily the right bus came along a second after I got to the stop outside the flat- so I managed to get into the center by 11ish and then I ran to the Oficina de Cursos Internacionales (International Office) only to find myself in a mile long queue of other Erasmus students who wanted to change their level/time of course! After about half an hour waiting, I finally managed to change my time to a 12-2pm slot! I was on the 4-6pm slot before, but I couldn't continue with that time as I have a clash with my Italian module! Anyway, by the time I'd finished changing my time of the course, and picked up the course book and notepad from another office- it was 11.45 and I had to dash over to the class! The teacher was lovely- just as nice as the lady who was teaching the 4-6pm slot thank god! The lesson was really good though and I found it useful as we were recapping past tenses- got lots of homework for tomorrow though UGHH! I then went and did a big food shop in Carrefour afterwards (I only recently found out that we have a huge Carrefour on my street in the other direction to which I normally walk, when I've been lugging food from the Carrefour in the center for nearly a month!) - silly me! Then the afternoon was really nice! I met up with a new friend Kayleigh for an ice cream, then met Elizabeth and then at 7 we all went to the beginners French class! It was actually on today (If you've read my previous blog from Monday you'll have spotted that I was miffed as it was cancelled)! So yeah, there were around 50 people in the room, and the teacher was a really nice guy who went through the introduction- like what we're going to learn etc and told us about the text book. We were only there an hour though as none of us had the text book- so we're starting properly on Monday. I'm really happy though as the module looks great, and the teacher is really bubbly so I think this is going to be a great module! :) -I'll have to buy the text book tomorrow - I'm exciiiiiiiiiiited to start learning French :) Really happy I have one module that looks great! Hopefully my translation module will be good next week aswell- but it starts at 8am! I mean.... that's not even an hour of the day---- is it? and The Geography one looks good too! haha. Righty- enough of my rambling.... I'm off now for a very spanish dinner at Elizabeth's flat with lots of Erasmus people :D yay! lots of Sala love, xxxxx

First day of classes!

Yesterday was the first day of classes I went to- and to be honest they were all either non existant or pointless! I woke up really early (7am!!!) to go to an Italian class at 9am.... I spent ages hunting for the room, and then arrived only to find out it was an A1 basic level for people who'd never done Italian before! And apart from that, the teacher spoke so quickly it took all my energy to follow her in Spanish let alone if she'd have done any actual italian teaching where I would have to translate first from Italian to Spanish then back to English! The class lasted 10 minutes as she claimed she couldn't teach us without the book which we'd all have to purchase by friday when the next class is. I don't think Leicester will let me do that course as it's so basic.... so I'm changing to a B1 level which now gives me fridays free aswell! so thats one good thing I suppose! Although I am a bit worried the class will be too hard! A few hours later I wandered over to my Geography module which when we arrived we got told the classes would start next week- great (siarcasm here) My beginners French class was also cancelled this week- great, the spanish definitely don't class week 1 of Uni as important it seems! I did end up going to a ''Teaching Spanish'' module though which was the most boring hour I'd sat through in my life.... and I swear the guy was rambling on about nothing! Luckily no one else seemed to be taking notes so I didn't either..... Let's hope my classes tomorrow and next week go much better as I'm worried about getting all the Uni stuff sorted and actually starting as it's all so complicated over here! Off the Uni topic.... a few of us went for ice creams in Plaza Mayor after the Spanish language exam which went okay! and although we were all nackered in the evening, we decided to go out to the Irish Rover pub where there was a free bar if you paid the 5 entry price! I had countless beers and still didn't really get drunk- but we had a fun night! :) Ok i'm off now to the first Spanish language class.... hopefully it's decent! xxx

AND A FEW MORE PHOTOS :)

Here's just a few more pics I wanted to include from my week 3 in Sala :) 

 These lovely ladies are my 2 flatmates! Lorena (left) is our Spanish chica and Laurie (right) is our Frenchie! ^^

 This one is from a gathering with lots of the French Erasmus students! ^^

 And this one is especially for you Lorena! :)    ;) BESOS!!!!! ^^^



MERCI/GRACIAS/THANK YOUUU LAURIE FOR THE PHOTOS CHICA :)

WEEK 3 !!!

 SALAMANCA PLAZA DE ANAYA AT NIGHT ^^^

22 days is how long I’ve been here... but it feels like a lifetime! I can’t believe that three weeks have gone already.... where has that time gone? It’s been a crazy third week and I’ve barely had any time to blog.... that combined with scarce internet access! But soon we’ll have internet in the flat (this weeeeek!) so it won’t be a problem to blog more regularly, and It’ll be so good to be able to finally have skype dates with people!

Right, here we go, BLOGGGGG time! finally here’s my next update! Well since my last blog our lovely Spanish girlie Lorena has arrived in the flat, and we’re already having some fun times complete with laughing fits over random things! The other night we watched a few Sex and the city episodes in Spanish which I found hilarious as the dubbing is AWFUL... and Carrie is just not the same! And then managed to persuade the girls to watch the first film in English (thankfully there were no Spanish audio settings to choose from!). I’ve been to the cinema two times already since being here aswell.... I’ve seen ‘Derecho a roce’ (Friends with benefits) and ‘Como acabar con tu jefe’ (Horrible bosses) both of which were hilarious, and also the cinema is so cheap here! It’s 5 euro 30 cents for students on weekdays which I think is great! And even better, the cinema is just up the road from our flat... so no excuses not to go lots and see loads of films in Spanish! It isn’t quite the same as going to the cinema in England though as you really have to concentrate at all times to understand the plot as there are no subtitles, and sometimes you just want to go to the cinema to chill out and relax!  I really want to see the new Almodóvar film next- ‘El piel que habito’ (The skin I live in), will have to drag the girls along! 

In terms of going out........... Last Monday was definitely the best night! It is now known as ''EL LUNES’’ in our flat which translates as ‘'THE MONDAY’’. It’s called this as it was probably one of the best nights out we’ve ever had..... It was also probably the most fatal! Lorena wasn’t here then :( ,  so Laurie and I headed off to meet lots more Erasmus students on the Plaza Mayor before heading to the Welcome party at ‘Medievo club’. (Check out the photo of the poster!) Let’s just say that 2 pints of vodka/orange made me verrrrrrry drunk.... as well as rum and coke for the others, and we had a really really great night dancing away........... until we got too drunk! I don’t really remember much beyond that point, apart from ringing/texting poor Sian down in Seville and then getting a taxi home whilst forgetting that poor Laurie was still in the club and she didn’t have her keys with her! I do however remember crawling into the flat and Laurie’s mum being incredibly shocked at the state of me, and asking me things in French (I don’t speak any French!) Luckily Maryse (one of the French erasmus girls) brought a very drunk Laurie home soon after, and we both finally managed to get to bed! I have to say though, I spent ALL of Tuesday incredibly incredibly incredibly hungover....... but oh it was worth it :) The other night was also really nice as the three of us went to a gathering at the flat of two of our French friends, and we met lots more new people and practiced a lot of Spanish! We wanted to go out last night to a Spanish Erasmus party which was on in Medievo club (yes... we wanted a repeat of ‘’EL LUNES’’ ) haha but unfortunately Laurie had a class at Uni today at 8 this morning, so she had to be up for 6 bless her! And I had to be up early too- at 7 for my first Italian class! Therefore we decided to bail, and stayed in instead chatting in the lounge! Laurie and I made our dinner, I put some washing on (this has been a struggle here... will say about this in a bit haha!) and then we decided to get a mascot for our house! I wanted to get a rabbit, but Laurie doesn’t like domestic animals! Haha so we eventually decided to get a fish.... but not just one, as we don’t want it to get lonely! :) (I still think a flat-rabbit would have been a good idea!!!) But oh we had some funny times laughing I can tell you.... one of those ‘’you had to be there’’ moments.

Yesterday was a pretty good day overall really, I went to our Erasmus meeting at 11am in the Modern Languages faculty and to be honest they didn’t really tell us anything new! They did however give us a load more forms to fill in before we can FINALLY register! It’s ridiculous how long it actually takes to become a student here! It’s like a time-line of different stages- all which have to be accomplished first, with forms being signed here there and everywhere... and not forgetting we have forms to be sent back to England as well! Anyway, classes started yesterday in the University, and as Erasmus students, we can attend as many modules as we want for 2 weeks as kind of a trial period to see if we like them before finally choosing our 30 credits- or 5 modules which will be finalised in 2 weeks. My start of Uni classes didn’t go very well though as I had to miss some due to the obligatory Erasmus meeting, and then I was really excited to go to my first class of ‘Beginners French’ at 7 in the evening! I turned up early and then sat in the classroom to be joined by a few others and then our lecturer walked in and just simply informed us that today the class had been cancelled! I was really disappointed as I had geered myself up to go to it- especially from 7-9pm... and then for it not to be taking place just took the piss. On the plus side I met a lovely Australian girl and chatted for her for a bit before we decided to go for a wander and find the Uni gym which we both want to join soon! I then wandered home and finally managed to finally do my washing!! (I mentioned before it was one hell of a chore!).  I was practically running out of everything it was getting that urgent to sort! The machine is ANCIENT though... no joke, the letters and all the writing on it has been rubbed off it’s that old! I tried the other day to use it, but quite unsuccessfully! But yesterday- thanks to Lorena’s help, I finally managed to do some washing and have it come out actually smelling lovely! Ahhhh accomplishment :) 

I’m currently sat in Cafe y Te again (where I am becoming a regular) and just waiting to go to a Geography module in an hour. I woke up so early this morning at 7 when it was still dark and made it to my Italian Language class for 9! The teacher was 15 minutes late and I was the only Erasmus student in a sea of Spanish people! :( The level was A1 which is really simple Italian and I am a B1 level in England- so I think I’ll have to change the module as there’s no way Leicester will allow me to carry on with it! I need to find the B1-B2 level course- which I’ve asked Javier to help me find! (He’s my personal tutor here!). The teacher was lovely though and she asked how many of us were Erasmus and I was the only one to put up my hand! – so embarrassing! But then she showed us the book we’d be using and told us the class was over (after 30 minutes) and to come back on Friday when we all have the book! All is very very different here in Spain than in England when it comes to Uni! Fingers crossed for my Geography module though...... and also for the Erasmus Spanish course exam later!

I’m pretty excited for a few weeks time though as Kat is coming down to visit from Bordeaux for a long weekend, and I’m getting to travel too as I’m heading over to Lyon in France shortly after to see Sarah, Lizi, and all the other Leicester Erasmus people! I’ve never been to France, so I’m really excited! Next on the agenda to book is a trip to Seville to see Sian and Diane... but that might have to be nearer Christmas- I’m sure Seville is beautiful around that time of year!  Ok, I’d best be off now, this has been one massive post! Will update soon, Lots of love from Salamancaaaaa! PS: Thanks to Laurie Charvet my French flatmate for the photos—she’s one crazy photographer!  (and I'm in love with her Salamancan froggie toy!- check out pic below! haha shes so cute!)      xxxx  

A productive morning in Salaaaa!!

Buenas Dias!! Today Laurie and I had to wake up so early..... well at 7am (but this is early considering I’ve not been getting up here until around 11am!). The reason for this early get-up was to go to the Oficina de Cursos Internacionales (International courses office) so we could register for the Spanish course for Erasmus students starting next week! It will be for 2 hours a day for a month.... so it’ll be quite intensive I expect, but hopefully it will help me improve my Spanish grammar. The course will also help with understanding the lectures and seminars which we’ll have at Uni in Spanish! So yeah, at half past 8 this morning Laurie and I decided to get the bus into town as we are far too lazy to walk- even though it is only a 20 minute walk! Haha, and then when we got to the office, at 9am the assistants said we had to wait until 10 to register as there was a problem or something with the computers! So Laurie and I went for a wander around the old quarter and found a bookshop, the library and also we found the Oficina de Filologia Inglesa (The department of English Studies) which is where my personal tutor’s office is! I had to go for a meeting with him (Javier Ruano) at 9.30 to discuss my modules and get my Erasmus arrival form signed. He was a really nice guy, and was so helpful when choosing the modules and helped me understand the timetable and locations of rooms etc! He was also helpful asking me about accommodation and whether I had arranged anything yet- but luckily I already have a flat (and two lovely flatmates I might add hahaa!). I’m really glad that all went well, as I now have a timetable starting next week! I’m going to be provisionally studying these following subjects, and if don’t like the subject I have 3 weeks to change, fab!!!  I’ll be studying Beginners German, Spanish Grammar, Spanish Literature and cinema, Italian Language, Introduction to Italian studies *history, language history, culture*, and finally general Geography. These modules total 17 hours of Uni teaching time which is equal to 30credits which is the amount we have to study here per semester. It’s also great as all of my modules take place in the Historic Old Quarter instead of on the main campus which is much handier for me! Included with this blog is a photo of the Filologia (languages) building where I’ll be studying most of the time! I have three 9am starts..... but most days I’m finished by 2, apart from Monday and Thursday when I have a German class from 7-9pm! Yes you read it right! I won’t finish Uni on those days until 9 which is crazy as in England our last classes run from 5-6! But anyway... 3 days a week I’m done at 2 which is really good!..... I can have a long siesta, then do some work and then go out in the evening! = Perfect! However for the first month I’ll have my extra Spanish course from 4-6 every day...... so this first month is going to be really busy with 27 hours of ‘’learning’’ per week! AHHHHHHH! But it will be worth it to improve my Spanish so much! Right, that’s enough blogging for today! I’m going to head back to the flat in a bit and have a longggggg siesta as I got up so early today.... and I need to be awake for tonight as we have the GRAN FIESTA DE BIENVENIDA DE ERASMUS!!!! (HUGE ERASMUS WELCOME PARTY!!!!) Oh yeaaaah :) Hopefully Lorena will have arrived by this evening so she can come too! :) hasta pronto- xxxxx

First Lazy sunday in Salamanca!

Heyyyy! Well today has probably been the laziest day I've ever had in my life...... I swear I've done NOTHING of any use! I woke up at midday (shhhhh I hope the parents don't read this!!!) and then I wandered into town for some wifi hunting...... this is seriosuly starting to get on my wick.... lugging the lappy into town.... then hunting for wifi spots with plugs in the walls as my lappy's battery doesn't last long! :( I really can't wait until we have wifi in the flat then when I skype-call people I can actually hear them!!! Poor Lizi and Sian have experienced our broken skype-calls and its just so irritating! especially as everyones been up to so much and I wanna hear all updates from my closest friends on Erasmus! Anyway, I'm finally robbing wifi from a hostel-bar...... how low can i go! lol but its ok as the waitress is being really nice as she knows i'm erasmus! I really need to sort out my module choices in a moment aswell as I have a meeting with my personal tutor from the Facultad de Filologia tomorrow morning at 9.30am! but first..... blog time :D Last night was amaaaaazing, I met up with all the Erasmus people from the other day and we went to the outdoor party zones- 'Las casetas' they're called in Spanish! but anyway they are loads of little huts selling local beer, sangria and all sorts of tapas! and the music there is great too! - Check out the few photos below with this post :) but more over on facebook! Anyway it was a really good night....... now I can't wait until tomorrow for the real start of Erasmus...... There's a welcome party at a club called Medievo.... so should be good! and a great chance to meet more Erasmus people! Righty, I'm off now! By the next time I blog Lorena will have moved into the flat! YAY :D sending lots of spanish amor xxx <3 

PHOTOS OF THE FLAT.... WELL MY ROOM hahah!

dia despues de mi primer fiesta ERASMUS!

Well if last night was what Erasmus life is all about, then I'm for sure in the right place! It was so great to finally meet other Erasmus people, and within such a short time everyone was getting to know eachother, drinking sangria and muching on the free tapas! I went with Laurie my French flatmate (HURRY UP LORENA SAURA & GET TO SALAMANCAAAAA!) and we met so many other french people, germans, belgians, austrians and even a few english too! After a few bars we ended up in a club- I actually can't remember the name of it now.... but it was really good... everyone was dancing and having a great time until well into the early hours! Laurie and I finally danced home around 4ish :) had absolutely no hangover today..... I barely drank anything (Spent 5 euros.....).... Its so easy here to have a great time without getting off my face! (unlike in England! haha). Today I swear I've literally done nothing..... I slept in until 12 and then met Rosanna in McDonalds for a bit, then came to this little cafe (i'm now a regular) to sort out bank stuff/modules/emails etc.... (all the boring stuff!) ..... the waiter-guy has given me a free coke and his number..... hmmmmm! LOLL Can't wait until tonight! There's another Erasmus party/get together at the Plaza Mayor at 9 :) excitingggg! I think the plan is to go and visit all of the casetas (small huts selling beers and tapas) in salamanca as its the party-fiesta 2 weeks at the moment and theres such an outdoor street party atmosphere! It's great! Anyway, we have 2 weeks left until we start classes...... so mostwell use the time to get to know other Erasmus people and practice our spanish! bueno, hasta pronto xxxxxx

:)

Holaaaaaaaaa! Haven’t blogged in a few days as I’ve been away from Salamanca with my mum down in Toledo and Madrid, but now I’m back and Erasmus has started properly!! Yesterday was really great, and quite productive! First of all, after many recent attempts at visiting the Erasmus office I finally managed to get my ‘welcome pack’ and also sent an email to my personal tutor to arrange a meeting so I can get modules etc chosen soon! I have the meeting next week- so thats not too bad! Lidia my Spanish friend from Zaragoza and Mario her boyfriend have been around the last few days as well, so it’s been great seeing them, and also they’ve helped me get a bus pass and change my movistar sim card over to vodaphone which is sooooooo much cheaper! Also Laurie Charvet my French flatmate from Lyon arrived last night and she’s so lovely (So pleased I can understand Spanish in a French accent hahaa)! Really looking forward to getting to know her better, and now we’re just awaiting the arrival of Lorena our Spanish chica! Then that’s our flat full and Erasmus year can start properly! Met some other lovely Erasmus people yesterday too- a German girl and another English girl, and hopefully many more to meet this week! :D Finally worked out how to use the flat oven last night with Natasha Madden hahaa, and we had our first meal in Sala! :) Not sure what’s on the agenda for the rest of today, hmmmm i think chilling out and enjoying the sunshine might be a nice idea, and meeting some other Erasmus people later when they arrive! We don’t start classes until 26^th so it’s like being on holiday at the moment really! But it’s nice as we have time to meet new people and get to know the city! Right, that’s enough of stealing this cafe’s wifi for now, I’m off to soak up the sunshine and see Lidia before she heads back to Zaragoza! BESOSSSSSSS XXXXXXXXXXX

getting my bearings! (god i hate that word! hahaa)

Hiii! Well I've only been here 2 days but it feels like so much longer! I think it's because we've done so much in that short time! I'm back in MaccyD's again hahaha (beginning to feel quite cheap!- and getting to be a regular- i'm sure the check-out girl recognised me!!!) but hey ho- its free wifi! Tried to buy a duvet yesterday but they are over 100 euros in Corte Ingles!!! I swear that's expensive right? for a duvet?????? so anyway I had a genius idea to put a thick blanket in my duvet cover and voila..... a duvet :D hahaha it works!! :D It's the start of the 2 week festival here in Sala and last night mum and I went to see the fireworks down by the river, and they were spectacular! Honestly one of the best displays I've ever seen! The spanish sure know how to throw a display of fireworks!!! Today we've been wandering around the city so far- mum's been clicking her camera non stop! haha! she loves the place and keeps saying how lucky I am to be here for 6 months! :) We tried to go to the International Office earlier so I could register and pick up the ''welcome pack'' but it was closed! I think it is because it is a festival period :S - let's hope it's open next week when I come back! xxxxxx

DAY 1: 7th Sept 2011

Hola!!! Morning!! Woke up in the new flat for the first time a few hours ago, and I’m loving the sunshine already- must be in the 30's atleast! It made such a change to wake up with blue sky outside after a month of dull grey England! The journey here was a NIGHTMARE though- at times it’s a real pain living on the Isle of Wight! To catch my 10am flight from Gatwick, we (that’s mum and I) had to catch a 4am car ferry to Portsmouth, then wait for 2 hours for the first National Express of the morning to take us to the airport! Check in went smoothly... although I have to say my heart rate increased when getting the weight of my four cases checked! 2 of the large ones I made sure I had extra weight allowance on- 20Kg, and then the other 2 were cabin cases allowed up to 10Kg. The larger ones weighed in at 19.98 each approx! EEEK! And the cabin cases at 10.01 approx- so they let those go thank god! Thanks here to Dad’s luggage scales! – or I’d have been paying overweight luggage fees for sure! As we boarded the plane, the weather was so awful I just couldn’t wait to get to Spain! It was tipping it down, grey sky and hurricane-like winds! – Definitely weather I won’t miss! After arriving in España, we went to meet up with Lorena (my Spanish flat-mate) so she could give me the keys to the flat, and then we caught the direct bus to Salamanca by the skin of our teeth! It was so nice to sleep for a few hours with the sun beating through the windows! On arrival in Sala, we just decided to get in a taxi as lugging 5 suitcases along Spanish pavements wouldn’t have been a good idea! And besides, the taxi driver took us straight to my new home! Lorena definitely chose well with this flat as it’s in a mini complex with gardens, a fountain and a swimming pool! And the flat is really great! It’s got 3 bedrooms- Me, Lorena and Laurie who is a French Erasmus girl coming next week! I have the biggest room (Wow- this never happens to me!) and last night after arriving we unpacked everything and then I got to work on making it homely (Awwww)! Anyone who knows me will know I’m obsessed with posters/postcards/dream-catchers and things like pillows and fairy lights! So I managed to bring over quite a lot from England and get my room soooo homely! (see photos soon on facebook!) The only thing about the flat which is annoying is that there is currently no internet, so I’m having to sit in MaccyD’s to feel ‘’connected’’ hahahaha! I think Lorena will sort out the WiFi next week when she properly moves in! (Fingers crossed!). After unpacking etc.... we wandered the 15 minutes into the centre of Sala for a wander around! The city is gearing up for its annual fiestas, so the place was buzzing with people and life!! On the way back we called in at Carrefour and started to stock up! (Thank god mum is with me, or I would have one hell of an aching back and muscles now from carrying bags of shopping!) Good news is I’m now all stocked up with essentials like cereal, pasta, rice, jars and tinned foods, washing tablets etc.... so that’s a big help! I think today we’re going to do some of the touristy stuff and show mum the cathedral, my faculty in the centre, and also call into the Corte Ingles department store to get a duvet, as me being incredibly English NEEDS a duvet to snuggle into..... a sheet will just NOT suffice hahaa! (Especially in the winter months as Sala’s temperature does drop to under 10 degs!). Looking forward to the girls moving in though, and seeing Natasha Madden and Elizabeth Jefferys from Leicester who are also coming here for Erasmus! Aswell as meeting all the other Erasmus people next week! – it seems I’ve come out a week too early!  But then again it is really nice to have everything sorted, and be able to spend the week with mum! (I’ll miss her when she’s gone!!!) We have tomorrow here, then we’re heading south down to the historic city of Toledo for a day or so, then Madrid for a few days before Mum heads back to the UK and I start my Erasmus life properly on Tuesday! (Right now it just seems like I’m on holiday hahaa) Loveeeeeee xxxx