It’s been another excellent week, unexpectedly full of parties.

Monday 7/1: Since Reyes Magos fell on a Sunday, Monday was a public holiday — but not for us. We worked.

Tuesday 8/1: Although Lien hadn’t been planning to do anything for her birthday, she gave in to peer pressure and decided to have a party, and we were invited. It was a lovely evening, full of good conversation with new acquaintances and delicious food.

Wednesday 9/1: After a morning of work (and a catch up with Ange via Skype), we headed over to Fede’s mum’s place for lunch, to celebrate her birthday. Fede and Lien were there, as well as five or six of Charo’s girlfriends, and it was hilarious — we all crowded into the kitchen to help with preparations, and everyone got louder and louder as the wine bottles were emptied. Charo made another delicious paella as well as a tasty carrot cake, and she wouldn’t let us leave without a large slice of it wrapped in tinfoil.

Thursday 10/1: I realised that if I want to lose the Christmas kilos I’ve put on, I’d need to do some sort of exercise, and running is the only viable option. So, in the afternoon we walked all the way to the shopping centre on the outskirts of town, and spent far too much time shopping at Decathlon. I found some adequate running shoes, and Craig picked up an entire outfit in preparation for our week of yoga at Azul Fit.

In the evening, I went to the Thursday night intercambio, while Craig stayed at home.

Friday 11/1: Craig spent most of the day trying to work out while the website isn’t playing nicely, and I started to look for work in Berlin. It’s now settled that we’ll be there for all of July, August, and September, so if you know of any English teaching jobs, let me know!

In the evening, I headed across town to meet Monica for a language exchange, and when I got home Craig and I watched 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Saturday 12/1: Our neighbours across the courtyard (Julia and Vicente) invited us over for a glass of Sherry in the evening, but it turned out to be for dinner as well (which was delicious). Julia’s brother Monolo and his wife Pamela were there too, and we spoke a mix of English and Spanish since Pamela’s from the UK and Vincent is from the US — quite an international gathering, really!

Sunday 13/1: Craig had planned to take the day off, but ended up spending most of it trying to fix the problems on the website. I spent the day reading and even spoke to my Colombian friend Julian for a while, which was nice.

Travel diary: parties in Jerez by Linda Martin was originally published on Indie Travel Podcast (find in iTunes). They also have travel books, travel resources and guides to Asia, Europe, Oceania, South America, and more.