It’s very common for anyone who lives in Madrid and has enough money to have a house up in the hills to the north of Madrid, in the ‘Sierra’. Madrileños will always talk about ‘mi pueblo’, the village they usually retreat to at weekends. In the case of my in-laws, the exodus is more permanent in summer, when they move up there for the 3 hottest months of the year. Sierra temperatures are a few degrees cooler and the air is fresher.
When I first met my wife I found it hard to spend whole days up in the ‘pueblo’ – the constant barrage of high speed Spanish was exhausting, a headache-inducing, non-stop, high-level listening exam. But that was long ago, and long before I accepted the “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” line of thought… So, once again, I’m joining the hoardes that take to the hills every weekend. Hasta luego!
P.S. (a lo mejor grabamos un podcast en español este fin de… )
Notes from Spain by Ben Curtis 