August 2024
I had a proper European summer in Spain. I spent my whole August in a city called Albacete. It’s less than an hour from Alicante. I stayed with my boyfriend, went from long distance to no distance for a while. Here is how it went.
Before coming to my boyfriend I had many doubts and I was nervous. This was the first time I was supposed to stay with him for such a long time. We had a proper conversation about the whole situation before I came. There’s always that excitement and a bit of a worry when you go to meet your long distance partner. About staying in Spain, I didn’t have any hard feelings, who doesn’t like Spain.
Relationship
Because I keep my relationship private I’m not gonna go into details. While being with my boyfriend for the whole month we got to know each other more, we had to face problems, differences and get used to each other. At the beginning I had many doubts, I was thinking a lot and I was trying to figure out my feelings. I go for meaningful relationships and that’s why it was in my mind a lot.
To cut it short, it’s normal to have doubts in a relationship. Many times these doubts come from past traumas and bad experiences. Important is to listen to your heart, don’t let your mind or overthinking get in the way. Don’t give up and communicate with your partner, if there is understanding in the relationship, there’s nothing that can’t be solved.
What did we do?
Albacete is a beautiful city with many activities. There are many parks with SO many fountains. Beautiful architecture, amazing people, many restaurants, cafes and clubs, shops and so on.
We enjoyed a walk every day through the city or to different parks. We visited the botanical garden that is completely free. Evening walks were especially enjoyable. Spain is very lively in the evening and night.
We did some shopping. There are arcade halls with bowling and billiards.
We had a date in a ramen restaurant called Himawari. It’s a place I definitely recommend. The decorations were top and the food was delicious.
In order to get our work done and not get distracted we went to the library or to the park.
We went to the beach. Alicante is less than an hour by train. We had a walk in Alicante. It is a very nice city with interesting sights. There are beaches near the city center but we decided to take a bus and go further from the city center. There is an amazing and huge beach called St. Juan. Obviously in the summer the beach is full of people but it wasn’t so bad. There were sunbeds and a lot of free space. We spend most of the day on the beach. The sea had a very lovely temperature. We went for a swim, had a picnic, took so many pictures, tried to play badminton and had a lot of fun.
Life in Spain
It’s safe to say that I fell in love with Spain and their way of living. Life is slow and full of enjoyment. Spanish people are not rushed at all, they appreciate their siesta. Trust me, when siesta comes they have no regrets. We were kicked out of the shop without emotion. Even the fountains turned off at 2pm.
People are so friendly to each other, they are loud and expressive and can spend hours just talking on the street. They really love their time on terraces. At any hour of the day, but especially in the evening and nights, the terraces are full. People love dogs and spend a lot of time outside. I loved how happily people said ‘Hola’ to others.
We watched Bolivian celebrations for La Virgen de Urkupiña, they were beautiful. We also watched people dancing in the park for hours. It was beautiful to see people celebrating and enjoying their lives.
Several times we got kicked out of the park because supposedly the storm was coming. Safe to say there was no storm the whole summer. The weather was very hot tho and most people don’t have air conditioning so being in a shopping mall or a cafe is more enjoyable.
In siesta times, between 2pm to 6pm, only bigger supermarkets and maybe some shopping malls were opened. Experiencing the hot weather, I understood why they have this system.
Commuting between cities I used the trains. The trains are very reliable and comfortable. The prices differ according to the time and day, so it’s good to buy in advance. Public transport in the cities is also very good. Buses are air conditioned and new.
Going home
After the whole month in Spain it was incredibly difficult to say goodbye and leave. We went to Alicante and spent a night at the airport because the flight was early in the morning. We spent our last hours enjoying the city, playing cards, talking, watching series and crying. Going back to long distance was heartbreaking and the next few days I spent feeling like a big part of my life just went missing. I also miss Spain and I can’t wait to go back.
This experience came into my life by surprise. At first it scared me but in the end I didn’t want to let go. I can’t wait for the next one.
