Estepona :)
The highlight of this past week was most definitely the relaxing trip Sophie and I took to the stunning seaside city of Estepona. We spent a lovely two nights in a conveniently situated apartment and got out fill of sunshine, ocean air, and gelato. Sophie is considering Estepona as a place to renew next year, and I think that this weekend may have convinced her!
Leading up to our departure from Motril on Friday, my week was filled with work, nannying, and trip planning. Us auxes managed to fit in a movie night on Tuesday where Renne selected Rye Lane, a British rom-com, for us to watch. It was a crowd-pleaser, but only after we put subtitles on and could understand what was being said...
On Wednesday, Skye, Renne, and I planned a trip with Clare and Katie (on Facetime) for a long weekend that is coming up at the end of February. We are going to Lisbon and Porto!!! These two cities were on the original Europe bucket list I made back in August, and I cannot wait to explore them. The five of us are going to have five nights in Portugal and I am so grateful that we do not have to rush this trip.
I spent Thursday afternoon getting beat by Bruno in chess...he was very proud of himself despite me explaining multiple times that I had never played before. However, we had a great time during our weekly English hour and I continue to be impressed by his language skills. After I wrapped up with him, I picked Olivia up at tennis and she showed me this artistic wonder that she drew in class. I was convinced they were two little pigs, but I was informed that they are indeed rats.
Renne and I met up for a drink on the esplande Thursday night and ended up being out way later than expected after running into some of her coworkers. We coined a new word: juernes (jueves + viernes) since as language assistants Thursdays are technically our Fridays. Her coworkers were absolutely hilarious and we got by on a weird mix of Spanish, English, French (?), and charades. Our new group has decided to make intercambios a regular occurrence and Renne and I will be going to some Motril F.C. games with them...it sounds more like a party than actually watching the match.
Sophie and I left Motril before noon on Friday meaning we had the entire afternoon to enjoy in Estepona! It was ridiculously warm (even for Southern Spain) and we had a lovely time doing some exploratory walks of the city. On our hunt for sunscreen, we came across a fully Scandinavian grocery store with the most niche, interesting food items I have ever seen. We grabbed some pancake mix for the next morning and went to check into our Airbnb.
We swapped the usual order and enjoyed some gelato before dinner since we wanted to eat it on the beach before the sunset. I got a flavor that was called Marrakesh which was a very strange mix of pistachio, almond, and honey. It did not rank very high for me but Sophie enjoyed her Oreo ice cream a lot!
After an Italian dinner in a complete vacant restaurant, I went for a beach stroll to talk to Ada for our weekly language swap. The almost full moon made my walk very enjoyable and we had a great chat :)
Sophie and I played Bananagrams in English and Spanish before heading to bed early. I was exhausted from not sleeping a ton the night before and I think the extra sun also contributed to my sleepiness.
We began Saturday with some disappointingly flat chocolate chip pancakes and clementine juice left for us by our Airbnb host. Our post-breakfast stop was the Orchidium on the other side of the city. Sophie and I wandered through the windy streets of the old town on our way there and I think this is where we really fell in love with Estepona.
The Orchidium is a beautifully designed greenhouse designated to a collection of 1300 species of orchids. It was truly a therapeutic experience being fully surrounded by orchids and other plants while listening to the indoor waterfall. We both left feeling tranquil and having newfound knowledge on one of my all time favorite flowers.
One of the benefits of visiting a beach town in January is the lack of crowds and we definitely appreciated not feeling overwhelmed or rushed Being able to go at our own pace and take in all the beauty around us made it such a lovely experience.
After discovering more of the old town and popping into a few stores, we decided it was time for lunch. We had to wait a bit for the place we chose to open up, but we got a perfect table with half sun (for me) and half shade (for Sophie). Our meals received mixed reviews from the two of us but it was a nice spot to enjoy the early afternoon regardless.
We continued our lazy Saturday by spending the remaining sunlight hours basking in the sun and trying to not let the wind steal our warmth. Both of us put a toe in the ocean but the air is not quite warm enough to make the cold water worth it. I dozed off after listening to a podcast and the mix of sand and waves made the perfect setting for a short siesta.
Sophie and I decided to have a special dinner at a restaurant directly next to the beach so that we could watch the sunset and properly enjoy our final night in Estepona. We had also walked by this place many times and it always smelled SO good! We got a perfectly situated table next to the floor-to-ceiling windows with views of the water.
In addition to the sunset, we also had the ideal location for people watching while we ate. We saw a lot of typical tourists meandering about but the highlight was a woman with a scarlet macaw on her shoulder. She was so nonchalant about the giant bird perched right next to her head whilst everyone around her was gawking, pointing, and taking photos. Quite a sight!
We rounded out our Saturday night with a stop at a gelato stand, a call to my family to wish Megan well on her trip to Italy, and more Bananagrams. This time when we played in Spanish, we removed "w" and "k" which made it possible for us to complete our puzzles.
Sunday was our travel day back to Motril but before catching our Blablacar, Sophie and I visited a French bakery for breakfast. We both chose a chocolate, almond pastry and I think this may have been the best pastry I have ever eaten. We enjoyed them on the beach while watching in awe as a woman bravely took on the sea.
Our Blablacar driver was super chatty and so friendly that we ended up practicing our Spanish for a majority of the ride home. Francisco is a recently retired English teacher and he was very patient with our broken language skills. He gave us lots of insider knowledge on some of the smaller Andalucían pueblos (towns) and on a National Park outside of Almería. He even went out of his way to make sure we were dropped in a place close enough for us to walk home which we greatly appreciated!
The rest of my Sunday was spent lesson prepping and tidying for the upcoming week. I am sure this one will fly just like the last and it is always nice to get a bit ahead before it begins.
Las orchídeas 😍😍😍