I still get a kick out of sharing my stories, adventures and misadventures with the world on my blog (or maybe just my mum, who knows), but lately for quite awhile now there has been that spark missing. One might call it “lack of inspiration”.
However, after long days and nights pondering as to where exactly the inspiration had gone, I realised what it was. After spending so many years on the road, where life is ever changing, and experiences and adventures (the good, the bad and the down right ugly) are a part of daily life whether you like it or not, it seemed like things just weren’t too interesting sticking around in one place. I wasn’t having experiences in order to be inspired. Or so I thought.
Beautiful views and delicious seafood in Cádiz, just a short distance from Seville, Spain
If I told any of my friends back home that my life, was, well…for lack of better description, a little on the ordinary side, I think they would tell me to jam it. Because the truth is, I am having experiences. What I’m living right now is an experience. LIFE is an experience.
I am lucky enough to have found myself on the other side of the world to where I grew up. I live right in the centre of one of the most beautiful cities in the world. In a city where going out and socialising over a beer or three many evenings is the norm (and we all know how partial I am to a tipple).
Just another pretty hidden square in Seville
I live in a city that you don’t need to enter a museum because this whole damn place is a living museum. Yes, I go to work every day. But I actually like love my job and a girl’s gotta earn her keep somehow, right? So it’s time that I stopped sooking over my first world problems face a little bit of reality.
Just because I may not be in a new city every few nights, jet setting to far flung destinations, and collecting stamps on my passports, doesn’t mean that I am not having experiences. Because travel doesn’t mean life on the road, new adventures, new cultures, new things every day.
Travel is an experience, but experiences can just as easily be had even when you are settled in one place.
1. Get out of your hometown for the day
One thing I have grown to love about Seville is the proximity of the city to, well, not the city. You only have to get in the car for 15 minutes to really be out of the city. This summer saw me drive down the highway to Tarifa, find myself in Cádiz gorging on seafood the entire weekend.
There was that time I went in hunt of what was supposed to be a beautiful outdoor swimming pool in a quaint pueblo blanco, only to find out that it was closed (but at least the owner from the bar across the road felt so sorry for us he threw some free drinks in our direction).
It could’ve been so nice…but check out (what’s left of) the swimming pool in the centre of the village. Green sludge!
Or there is the Lagos de Serrano, a mere half an hour from Seville but a million miles away. A few Sundays back five of us piled into a friend’s car to make the half hour drive out to the lake, and we spent the afternoon swimming, knocking back cerveza and tinto de verano, and devouring arroz de conejo – a hearty rabbit rice, which, little to my knowledge prior to ordering, contained the whole rabbit – heart, skull, the works. Even close to the place I now call home, not only was I in a beautiful location, but I was introduced to a new culinary experience too. (Spoiler: I passed on the skull. And the heart).
The view from Zahara de la Sierra, a beautiful pueblo blanco just over an hours drive from Seville
2. Join a class
Educating ourselves with something new can be as rewarding as a journey overseas. Recently I started doing flamenco classes, and although I’ll admit that I do have a head start to find “something different” to do, because I am already living in a country where I did not grow up, you can still find classes of all kinds in your home town.
Language classes, traditional dance from around the world, acro-yoga, or whatever floats your boat. You name it, I’m sure you can probably find it! There are a host of classes available around the world which can expose you to a part of a different culture, teach you something about the world from a different perspective, or simply allow you to try something different.
Victor from Taller Andaluz de Cocina, a cooking school in Seville where I spent the morning learning how to make specialities from Andalucía, as well as paella
3. Eat at a restaurant
As humans we have one basic need – to eat, and as you are all probably well aware, I stand by the fact that discovering the different foods while exploring the world is the absolute best way to learn about a culture. But in the age of globalisation, you don’t always have to travel so far to try some new, foreign foods!
I’ll admit that me querida Sevilla is not the best city in the world for authentic foreign food, but even so, I only have to walk 5 minutes from my house to find a restaurant that serves sushi, ceviche or dishes that are not quintessentially Spanish, and every Tuesday I pop into a local bar for fresh, homemade tacos made by a real Mexican! 😉
Nigiri at Nikkei Bar, a great little place in Seville serving up Japanese/Peruvian fusion
However, one of my favourite “foreign food memories in Spain” was in Barcelona, when a local friend took me to a Chinese restaurant in Barcelona’s China town, a hole in the wall joint with plastic chairs and tables and the menu in Mandarin. I’ve never been to China, so I think that’s the only time I’ve eaten truly authentic Chinese food in my life.
But outside of Spain, you could be lucky like those from Marrackville in Sydney, and have a little slice of Portugal, complete with liquors, strong coffee, an abundance of seafood, and no fried chicken to be seen, hidden behind a tennis club in your neighbourhood, and this is just one example of the many places in the world, most likely even the place where you live, where you can travel the world through your stomach.
Did someone say Laksa?! Amazing laksa, a noodle soup from Malaysia, in a food court in China Town in Adelaide, Australia
4. Appreciate the art of doing nothing
Sometimes, just sometimes, things don’t have to be kept new and exciting. Something doesn’t always have to be happening. You don’t have to be doing something always. The Italians were right about one thing. La dolce far niente. The sweetness of doing nothing.
The water running calmly in the centre of Cordoba, Spain
I know, I know – how “Eat, Pray, Love” of me. But stop and think about it for a minute. We spend our whole lives, working hard. And working hard for what? To enjoy life. I don’t just mean saving cash for years to jet off and go on an epic adventure, or working 70 hours a week to enjoy the retirement that, who knows, you might never live to see. I mean, we should be working hard to enjoy the moment. I work to (among other things) pay my rent, why can’t I spend a few hours of my Sunday relaxing in my room reading a book, or simply pondering the meaning of life.
Otherwise, especially when the weather is nice, go outside with no intent or purpose. Sometimes on a Sunday I hop on my bike and see where I end up. Sometimes during the summer I ended up down by the river. I wasn’t doing anything in particular – just enjoying life for what it was right in that moment.
So while the glossy pages of Conde Nast Traveller, or the ever multiplying amount of travel blogs and websites on line, will lead you to believe that life isn’t experienced if you drop everything to be moving from place to place, that’s actually a little bit of unrealistic.
Life is what you make of it – whether you are collecting stamps on your passport or collecting loyalty card points from your favourite coffee shop.
What great experiences have you had close to home? Do you have any more tips to add to the list? Tell me about it in the comments below!
Polly says
Yes yes yes and yes! I love this – travel is definitely not the be all, end all of life and who says you can’t enjoy a little bit of travel even if you’re not halfway around the world?! Great post!
Cyra says
Thank you so much Polly! I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Susanne Arbuckle says
What a great and inspiring blog! I must admit I am guilty of always looking for my next adventure and these are all great tips that I will have to remember when I have no travel plans on the horizon. I particularly need to get better at embracing La dolce far niente!
Susanne 🙂
Cyra says
Thanks so much Susanne, I’m pleased you enjoyed it. It’s an art I had to learn as well, believe me. Happy travels (or travelling in your hometown 🙂 )
Shobha says
I completely agree! Life is an adventure wherever you are. I love to travel but I also love to nest. No contradiction there as far as I’m concerned!
Cyra says
Thanks Shoba! I totally agree – life IS an adventure, you just have to have a positive attitude and see it that way 🙂
Cathy says
Cyra, I completely agree- so many ways to explore when not traveling! I don’t get to travel as much as I’d like so day trips and local adventures are necessary. I’ve visited places in my home state as if I was a tourist and found some great places. I try to find something new to try at least once a month. I call these adventures microadventures. With an adventurous spirit it works out to be great anywhere!
Cyra says
Thanks for stopping by Cathy! I’m glad you understand what I mean and have had the chance to see “travel” through different eyes too. I like the name you’ve given it – microadventures – I might use that from now on 😉
Aaron says
Great points, seeing how I’m currently taking an indefinite break from traveling, and I am about to settle in one place for a while … thanks!
Cyra says
You will enjoy the benefits (once you adjust!) 🙂
Andrew says
Our own hometowns have so much to offer … as a traveler though, we now know how to look for the hidden gems!