Jamie and I just volunteered for the first time in Spain. Woohoo! We’ve been waiting for our Spanish to reach that “good enough” level and guess what? It hasn’t. So, …
A Friendly English/Spanish Conversation Group with Maria Hidalgo
One of the reasons we decided to live in Spain was to meet new people and learn the language. One way to do that, we thought, was to participate in …
How to Get a Senior Bus Pass in Valencia
We live car-free here in Valencia. The city is so compact we tend to walk almost everywhere we go. But in the hot weather or when heading to the airport, …
How I Spent My First Ever Yoga Retreat at Yoga Sutra Shala
I’ve wanted to go on a yoga retreat for years but never got around to it. Recently I started to have the feeling that a rigorous week-long retreat just might …
Using Our Tarjetas Doradas on Cercanias Trains
Shortly after we arrived in Spain we discovered the Tarjeta Dorada, or Gold Card, that provides reduced fares on Spanish trains for those over 60 or the disabled. We purchased …
Flipo en Verde – A Zero Waste Shop in Valencia
During our first months in Spain, we struggled just to find certain products. Our language skills weren’t very good, so some days even the grocery store seemed mysterious. Our primary …
Our Friends at Moving to Valencia: A Business Review
You’ve decided that you are moving to Valencia. And you want to understand just what is going to make that move successful. Easy and successful will be even better. So, …
Our Lesson in the Orchard: Paella Verduras
We’ve been living in Valencia, the home of paella, for more than a year now. During that time we have enjoyed a couple of excellent, some good but not great, …
Renewing Our Non-lucrative Visas in Valencia
Our first year of retirement living in Valencia, Spain passed so quickly, we might not have remembered to renew our non-lucrative visas if it hadn’t popped up on our calendars. …
Our Whirlwind Month of Intensive Spanish
After a young friend of ours reported she’d had a positive experience with an intensive Spanish class, we each signed up for our own month long class at the Centro …
Valencia is Good for Our Active Lifestyle
I’ve always known that I’m not particularly good at urban living. I’ve never once imagined a visit to New York, London, or Tokyo would be fun. Truth is, I shudder …
Adventures in Applied Spanish – El Ciné
I was watching the movie, Don’t Worry. He Won’t Get Far on Foot at Babel, a charming local Ciné just a few blocks from my house. They show movies in …
We Pause a Moment When Old Pets Die
We were a family of seven when we made our move to Spain just a few short months ago. One of our furry friends passed on, and we were six. …
Sell It, Store It, or Send It to Spain?
When Susan and I decided to move to Spain, we were living in a 2400+ square foot home that we‘d managed to comfortably fill during the 15 years we’d spent …
My Downsize Push Back… Can I Be Helped?
The culling that happens with any downsizing effort should kick the twin beasts of want and really want right in the butt. But not always. You would think that after …