My mother comes to Vigo

 Hello!

 I had been living in Vigo for a few weeks when my mother announced that she was coming to see me. She had also visited me in Avignon, France the previous semester, and I was looking forward to introducing her to my second, very different, year abroad destination.

 My Mam arrived on a stormy night. I struggled down the slippery woodland steps to the bus stop, where I waited, shivering. The green bus finally crept into view, I met my Mam off it and we hurried back up the hill to the student residence. 

 My mother was amazed at how remote and dramatic the campus was; at her journey up the mountain and the thick pine forest that greeted her. That night in particular, with the rain and darkness, it really did feel like we were in another world. 

 I had arranged for her to stay in the residence. That first evening was spent checking in and getting settled. She brought me a copy of a magazine - Halo - where one of my stories had been published. 

 I was enjoying a lot of success with my poetry and fiction, and I hoped living in Galicia would inspire me to write even more.

 My Mam would only be in Vigo for a few days and I would be at Uni most of the time, so we took every opportunity to spend time together. The weather improved and we explored the mountain campus.

 We would eat our lunch together in University City. One day we had toasties at La Cocina de Maria.

 Another afternoon, we went to Di La Mamma, where we both had pasta carbonara. For my second course I chose pizza while my mother chose chicken lasagna. I tried another of the quirky little desserts from the restaurant's chiller cabinet. It was unusual but very nice.

 It had started raining again, so after lunch we went to Da Vinci - a cosy little café-bar - to sit in the dry until my next class. My Mam had a cup of tea while I enjoyed some delicious Galician hot chocolate.

 I spotted some interesting recipes in the magazines that were sitting around. I'd definitely like to to try making vegetable moussaka and pistachio truffle cake some day.

 That evening we took the bus down into the city. We strolled along by the harbour and spotted a monument to when the Vuelta a España passed through Vigo. My family are big cycling fans, so that was exciting.

 I showed my mother the tentacled Homage to Jules Verne, which got her seal of approval.

 Sadly, the time came for my Mam to leave. Her visit had been a short one but it had allowed her to get a taster of my life here and of the city. She told me she loved Vigo, especially its skies and the unusual architecture of the university.

 We had one last trip into the centre of Vigo, where I showed her Five Monkeys Coffee. She had an ice-cream and I had one of my beloved cookie-flavoured frappés.

 The next morning my mother flew home. She would pay me another visit later on, along with my grandmother. A lot was to happen before then, however - I would have more adventures around Galicia, discovering waterfalls, castles and beaches. I'm looking forward to sharing my journeys on this blog.

 Thanks for reading.

 Liz x