Take me away, Spain: Upcoming adventures in April.

“Every journey through Spain is a pilgrimage…Pilgrimage is an expectation of a particular grace to be found in the journey. In Spain it is never looked for and found wanting.”

—Christopher Howse

Like so much else about this year, Spain was so not on the radar.

But then I decided not to renew my UK visa, meaning I’d need to leave London by the end of March. With my sister’s college graduation not until mid-May, that left me with six weeks to play with. Let the travel-planning-fun begin, right?

Slowly, almost as if my plans had taken on a life of their own, one thing began to lead to another, and now I somehow find myself preparing to spend five weeks in Spain. To say I can’t wait is putting it lightly.

Here’s what I’ll be getting up to in España come April—and hopefully it’ll give you a few ideas of your own!

1. All roads lead to Santiago.

Translated as “St. James’ Way,” the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage trail runs 800 kilometers from the French Pyrenees to Santiago de Campostella, on Spain’s Atlantic coast. Although I’d heard of the trail before, it wasn’t until I read a blog post by Sherry Ott saying her own spring travel plans included the Camino that I realized now was the perfect time for me to do it, too.

While I don’t have time to walk all 800 kilometers (it takes 4-6 weeks to complete), I’m planning to spend two weeks walking just under half of it from Sahagun, not far from Leon, Spain. Better yet—I’ll be meeting my blogger friend Erin Ridley, an American expat who lives in Madrid, halfway through to complete the second week together.

2. Meet me in Madrid.

Part of my time in Madrid will be spent at Orient Express’ Hotel Ritz right near the Prado museum and Retiro Park. At the moment, the rest of my itinerary for Spain’s capital city doesn’t extend far beyond tapas, tapas and tapas—but I’m sure plenty of other adventures await me there as well.

3. Chatting it up in La Alberca.

I first heard about the Pueblo Ingles immersion program from my friend Dylan—the idea is to take Spanish professionals who want to practice their English, pair them up with a group of native English speakers, and let them hang out in the western village of La Alberca for a week. Free room and board means it’s not only a great experience, but also the perfect way to save money in Spain.

4. Downtime in Deià, Majorca.

As my time in Spain winds down, I’ve partnered up with Orient Express again and will be popping over to the sunny isle of Majorca for a couple of nights. Their property, La Residencia, is set in the village of Deià, which is apparently quite popular with artists and writers. I can’t wait to see if inspiration strikes for my own writing.

Have any suggestions on what else I should do in Spain? I have a bit of time to spare in April and would love to hear your tips!

Wondering where to go in Spain?

Here are some other great blogs to check out:

• La Tortuga Viajera,  Spanish food and travel blog written by my friend Erin.
• Check out Nomadic Matt’s Spain Travel Tips.
• My Spanish Adventure documents Will Peach’s [often comical] journey to Spanish fluency.

Images are used courtesy of Sarah Elmore, Greenwich Photography, guymoll, and Misty and David.