TRAVELS: MADRID 2019

I've been to Madrid a couple of times and unfortunately, it's always such a fleeting visit. I have blogged about my previous visits here and here. My excuse this time was to meet up with my friend, Sarah Somian from Deliciously Vibrant. Sarah has been inviting me to stay with her for the longest time and I was finally able to take her up on her offer - I’m that type, especially if it’s somewhere abroad ;-) Her place was lovely and #Instagramable but more than anything it was just great having face-to-face conversations. Social media is cool for meeting new people but it’s even better when you take it offline and have real life interactions, like the good old days.

Sarah is a holistic nutritionist and wellness coach who regularly posts useful and inspirational recipe and fitness ideas for vibrant living on Instagram (@deliciouslyvibrant) as well as on her website (deliciouslyvibrant.com). We originally connected through Instagram a few years ago but only met in person when Sarah messaged me to say that she had discovered that we would both be working at the same retreat being held by Spain-based group, Las Morenas De Espana (LMDES). LMDES specialise in encouraging women of colour to live their best lives, particularly when it comes to making moves to live abroad.

My visit was very brief, only a couple of days but in that short time, Sarah still managed to drag me to the gym (I hate the gym), show me how to make "sexy oatmeal" and give me a little tour around an area called, Lavapiés (pronounced.. LAVA-PEE-AIRS not Lava pies like I would have said it.

Lavapiés is full of beautiful street art and has a cool mix of people as a lot of immigrants live here. Some of the street art tells the story of their struggles and covers issues such as women rights and gentrification. Sarah kindly took pictures of me while we looked around.

It was a bit windy haha…

We finished by having late lunch at this amazing little Sengalese place where you can get a good plate of food for 6 euros.

Photography thanks to Sarah.

I love West African food. I also love their drinks. Last year, during my trip to The Gambia, the drink below (baobap juice) was one of my favouite, so when I saw it on the menu, I had to get it.

I had a beef and meat and broken rice dish called mafe and Sarah had the dish below which is with fish, cabbage, carrots and broken rice (thiebou diene).