After finishing university in May I decided to do something different and spent a month working abroad. My aunty set me up with a Spanish family in Madrid so I would look after the children, help the family with their English and learn some Spanish and explore the city at the same time.
It all sounded great. My only worry was the children part (I have no experience with kids!) And with three boys aged four, eight and 12 I wondered how on earth I would keep them entertained.
Luckily the nerves all stopped when I arrived. The mother greeted me at the airport with a warm smile and she had bought the two youngest with her who both seemed polite and friendly. They drove me to their apartment, which became my home for the next month. Here is what I got up to:
Week One:
My first day of being nanny Abi was nerve wracking. The mum stayed with me for the morning to make sure I knew where everything was in the house and to tell me the children's routines and anything they were not allowed to do. I helped the eight year old with his homework (which became the daily challenge - he did not want to do his homework, ever!) and made lunch for the boys.
Homework and making the lunch was part of the daily routine and the average day was breakfast, homework, play, lunch, play.
My working day ended when the mum came home at around 5, which meant I was completely free to explore the city and get some sun. On my first day Sol (the mother) gave me a driving tour of Madrid. I got to see a few sights and she drove me on a couple of the bus routes so I knew how to go on when I ventured in to the city on my own. We stopped and had a walk around and a Mahou (Madrid beer). I never thought I liked beer until I tried on of these!
Picture taken on the drive
Street art
On week one I also got introduced to my new best friend - the swimming pool! This is where I spent most of my first weekend, (apart from on Saturday when I went shopping.) I bought a skirt in the Mango sale. I also bought a cool holographic phone case from Tiger. Sol told me to go to Tiger and it was so much fun to look around, it was full of loads of cool household and creative products.
The pool
Tiger phone case
Week 2:
Helping the boys with their homework in week two made me realise how bad I am at maths, I have completely forgotten everything I learnt at school! So helping them with long divisions was interesting to say the least. I also noticed that the boys were naughtier this week as they had got used to me being there and I discovered the beauty of bribery when trying to get them to do their homework.
I gave them their daily speaking, reading and writing English lessons and managed to pick up some Spanish from the four year old (who couldn't speak much English). I learnt words for farmyard animals when I made masks with him and I learnt how to say 'I don't know how to say that in English.' The language barrier was amusing and the 12 year old ended up being a translator for us both.
Making masks
On the Monday evening we went to the Bernabeu football stadium tour. We saw all the trophies the team had one and got to have a peak at where Ronaldo gets changed.
Bernabeu stadium
The cups
The changing room
I spent my other evenings in week two visiting the city centre and looking round the shops. I also discovered that Spanish people are not familiar with my name on my regular trips to Starbucks.
On the Saturday I visited the Royal Palace, which was very picturesque and surrounded by beautiful gardens. Just around the corner is the old part of Madrid with lots of little streets and shops. I was only visiting this part of Madrid for a couple of hours before we went to the family's house in the mountains so I made note to come back another day to explore the shops.
The Royal Palace and gardens
The palace
Palace
Loved wandering around the small streets and looking up at the pretty buildings
After looking around the area of the Royal Palace I went to the family's house in the mountains to a town called Camorritos. You wouldn't think that after just a 50 minute drive you could go from being in an apartment in the centre of Madrid to a big family house in the mountains but that is exactly what we did on weekend number two. The house was beautiful and old fashioned. It was built in the 1940s and had a beautiful swimming pool and a huge garden with trees for the children to play. We spent the first day in the garden chatting with the family over drinks and snacks and the second day I took the children to a nearby farm and sat by the pool. The father also made a huge paella for us all to share - I was in heaven!
On the way to the farm
The farm house
The pool
The hammock in the garden
Week three:
On Monday evening I visited Parque del Retiro, which was beautiful. It was nice to see big open spaces and places to relax after being in the city.
Parque del Retiro
Brocolli trees
On the Tuesday I visited the Museo de Prado. It was a huge museum and was very interesting to see such old paintings. After that I went for a walk. I came across the mercado de San Miguel which was incredible. It was full of stalls selling food and drink and had plenty of tables and stools so you could sit down and eat your purchases. There were ice cream bars, cocktail bars, tapas bars and so much more.
Inside the San Miguel market
I spent my final saturday in Madrid at the pop art exhibition in the Thyssen museum. It was a great exhibition. I love pop art and it was exciting to see the original work of the likes of Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein in the flesh.
The entrance to the exhibition
After the exhibition I learnt how to make my first ever paella and I am pleased to say it was very successful! I love Spanish food, particularly paella and I knew my mum would be delighted that I had learnt how to make a paella.
My first attempt at paella
I spent my last Sunday at a market in the morning and the rest of the day by the pool.
Week 4:
My last week! I looked after the children every day, helping with homework, playing games and playing in the pool (the youngest was learning how to swim so wanted to be in it all the time). On the last night Sol took me to a typical Spanish market and we bought lots of seafood for my last supper.
The last supper
Sea snails
Barnacles (yes, I ate these!)
The food may look weird but it all tasted really nice. The barnacles and sea snails were quite similar to muscles, and being a big fan of seafood, I really enjoyed trying all the different things.
During my stay I tried loads of new food and learnt a lot of new recipes. I ate raw meat for the first time, tried gazpacho (wasn't a fan), and I was introduced to jamon, a special Spanish ham which Sol absolutely loved. I also learnt how to make spanish tortilla and cous cous.
Jamon
I was sad to leave Madrid and wished I could have stayed for longer. I was originally supposed to be there for six weeks but had to leave after four for my graduation. I had a fantastic time in Madrid and would advise anyone who gets the opportunity to be an au pair to go for it.
