So here’s the itinerary for the All-New Fiesta launch event, which we’ve been issued ahead of time:

 

Tuesday, 27 June

Depart Stansted, arrive Valladolid

All-new Ford Fiesta driving experience

Pre-dinner drinks, then dinner

Overnight at the frankly stunning-looking Castilla Termal Monasterio de Valbuena Hotel

 

Wednesday, 28 June

After breakfast, a second bite at a All-New Ford Fiesta driving experience

Lunch at Rioluz, Valladolid

Depart Valladolid Airport, arrive Stansted

 

Excited is NOT the word.

It’s been a little while since I’ve been to Spain; being of Mediterranean (Maltese) blood I am a little ‘Moana’ in that the line where the sky meets the sea calls my soul, and so I’ve travelled most of the coastal southern half of the country, from beautiful Cadiz, through half-hidden Sevillano rosemary-scented alleyways, down the crisp Atlantic Costa de la Luz, snaking through the Pueblos Blancos, contemplating the gorge at Ronda, to Algeciras and the apes in Gib…

Then east through Malaga and the Costas (of course!), the bougainvillea-bowed white walls of Marbella old town, the reverential stillness of the Alhambra, La Mezquita…

Around to the Valencia region picking fresh sweet oranges from the trees in my parents’ orchard and then on, as everybody seems to, up to Catalunya, scaling Montserrat, Girona and then Barcelona for some gaudiness and Gaudi.

And of course I’ve dipped into Madrid’s xocolaterias and a few of the more central cities… but not yet the north of the country, though I have a hankering to visit Marqués de Riscal, and not just for the wine…

Deplaning to Spanish soil and taking that first breath of sun and dust, I’m transported each time back to my days of studying Spanish in Malaga. Mornings filled with study and laughter while sunlight spilled into cool school halls, learning the most beautiful language from scratch (trying not to mix up my French and Italian) and feeling my confidence in myself grow; freshly baked loaves of bread and hunks of cheese taken in the coolest shady corners before heading to bake on the beach for the rest of the day… bliss!

So Spain is my favourite place in all the world, and to be one of the first to drive the All-New Fiesta… quite frankly this looks like two days full of WIN.

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I’m taking part in a really special @forduk event this week, sharing all the excitement with you on Social Media. Be Social with me using the icons below #newfiesta #FordFiesta