His name was José Maria.

He is where it all began. He swept me off my feet and I landed in Spain, thrown into a life I had only really dreamed of. No language, no idea of where I was, no understanding of the country I was now residing in - it was unbelievably exciting. Here I was, a small-town Australian woman in a beautiful village nestled into the mountains above Madrid. I was overwhelmed with it all.

There’s a certain rhythm to this part of the world, a beat that seems to drive the way of life here. The way people interact is boisterous and expressive - hands waving, loud exclamations and laughter, so much laughter.