Following a whirlwind 3-day week at school (I’d taken Monday off to fly back from Portugal), I was pleasantly surprised to find myself on my way to Madrid on Thursday afternoon to meet my mum, who was coming to stay for a long weekend. Just in time for her arrival, the grey and miserable weather of the last few days had suddenly taken a turn for the better, and Cuenca was once again doused in gorgeous sunshine.
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| Mum in front of the Puerta de Toledo in Madrid |
Having met her in Atocha, the main train station in Madrid, we caught the metro to a nearby hotel which we’d booked to stay in for one night before returning to Cuenca. Chatting away animatedly and helping Mum with her case, I was almost oblivious to the hustle and bustle of rush hour in Madrid which was going on around me. As a result, I wasn’t as vigilant of my belongings as I usually am, and when we stepped off the train I had a moment of panic when I realised my bag felt lighter than usual. Frantically, I scrabbled around for my purse, only to realise almost immediately that it was gone, along with my sunglasses. An expert pickpocket had clearly relieved me of them, having seen that I wasn’t paying attention to my bag and taken advantage of the situation. Although it was ultimately my own fault, and something that I know happens all too often on metro systems in capital cities, I was still a bit rattled that someone had so quickly and deftly swiped my personal items without me even realising.
Still, I had to see the funny – and heavily ironic – side; just hours earlier, I had had the luck to find €55 lying on the steps outside my school. Although I reported my find to reception in case anybody came forward to claim the money, I was already thinking ahead to how I could spend my loot, and had stowed it away in my purse for later. The subsequent robbery of my purse, along with the €55, can only be seen as karma, I suppose.
Anyway, after swiftly cancelling my cards, I took Mum to a favourite Indian restaurant of mine in Madrid, Tandoori Station. It was a balmy evening so we sat outside and enjoyed one of the most delicious three-course tasting menus I’ve ever eaten. Although I’d had it before, it’s not something I could ever get bored of!
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| Mum watching the sunset over Cuenca |
The next day, we caught the AVE back to Cuenca. It was another beautiful day, so that evening I took Mum up to the top of the old town to watch the sunset from the cliffs overlooking Cuenca. Afterwards, we met up with Jaclyn and Corinna for some traditional Spanish food and drinks (I was keen for Mum to try my favourite tipple, tinto de verano, and the Cuenca speciality morteruelo, which is like a warm game paté). As she enjoyed the tinto de verano – a drink similar to sangria, but better! – so much, we decided to take her to a bar which is famed for making the original and best tinto de veranos. They are lovingly prepared by the owner of the bar, who recognises us every time we come in and is very proud of his drinks, boasting that he’s been making them for 33 years and that they’re the best tinto de veranos you’ll find anywhere.
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| Me and Mum sipping on our giant tinto de veranos |
While we were sipping on them, in marched a group of traditional Spanish musicians, clad in matching velvet breeches, tights, sashes and capes adorned with colourful badges, and brandishing guitars and maracas. Jaclyn, having seen them before, was able to tell us that they were one of Spain’s many university bands, collectively called Las Tunas. Each city has several groups of them; in Cuenca alone, there are 10 groups, and each group can contain around 20 or more people, almost always men. As we were all a bit tipsy, Jaclyn asked them if they would play a song for us. Very obligingly, about 8 of them assembled on the floor of the bar while we all traipsed upstairs to watch them from the balcony above, Romeo and Juliet style.
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| Las Tunas serenading us from below, while we watched from the upstairs balcony! |
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| Mum showing she can party like the rest of 'em! |
They serenaded us with a typical Spanish song, by which we were all delighted and cheered raucously. Seemingly pleased by the reception they were getting from their small audience, they proceeded to play another song, then another, then another... until eventually they all came upstairs to join us. More and more of them kept arriving until in the end the six of us (me, Mum, Jaclyn, Corinna, Natira and Natira’s friend Jen) were all wedged into a corner surrounded by a group of jolly Spanish musicians, playing their songs with infectious enthusiasm and passion – just for us! We had taken up the whole of the upstairs of the bar (luckily the typical Spanish laid-back mentality meant that the bar staff didn’t seem to mind, which we were worried they might when customers couldn’t get to the toilets because our newfound friends were blocking the way!) by this point, and as tinto de verano flowed, the atmosphere only got better and better. What started off as a hopeful request for them to play us one song turned into a full-blown private concert which lasted for over two hours and saw us all merrily laughing, clapping, cheering, singing and even dancing with our new idols.
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| Having a great time with our new friends! |
All in all, it was an unforgettable night, and when we finally stumbled out of the bar at around 2 o’clock in the morning our faces were aching from the big grins which had been plastered to them all night. I was especially impressed by Mum’s willingness to party with the rest of us – I think she enjoyed herself more than anyone!
The next day, with slightly sore heads, Mum and I decided to go for a long walk. Partly intentionally but partly by chance, we found ourselves on the steep upward path leading to the statue of Jesus which straddles a mountaintop and keeps watch over Cuenca. I’d always wanted to walk up there, but had never had the opportunity. Although it was a long, hot and humid trek, it was worth it for the views when we were up there. Who knew that Cuenca could look even more beautiful from a birds-eye perspective?!
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| Mum having a well-deserved rest after our climb up to see Jesus |
The rest of the weekend was equally wonderful, except from the rainy weather on Sunday, which happened to be Mothers’ Day. We ate at several different restaurants, visited several museums, I showed Mum some of my favourite haunts and all in all, I think it’s safe to say that we well and truly ‘did’ Cuenca.
Mum left on Tuesday, the sun still blazing in the sky and the weather generally doing its best impression of summer. Four days on, and it’s been the same every day, if not hotter. Yesterday, I went to Madrid for a day of shopping with Jaclyn, which involved a fair bit of travelling for a just a few hours in Madrid, but was lovely nonetheless.
I know I keep saying it, but time is flying by at an alarming speed. We’re almost halfway through April now and in just five days I’ll be on my way back to England for the first time since Christmas, to see my cousin Daniel and Erin get married. I can’t wait, but as excited as I am about everything that’s still to come, I’m sad in equal measures that I only have just over 7 weeks left until I leave Spain for good. The end really is in sight...
¡Hasta luego!
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