It’s early on a cold Sunday morning in Madrid. We join a group assembling on the street, half Spaniards, half Anglos. We’ll soon board a bus to an isolated hotel …
Cycling Spain’s Via Verde Ojos Negros
Spain’s vias verdes are cycling and hiking trails that have been developed along abandoned rail lines. The longest of them all is Via Verde Ojos Negros. If you ride the …
Volunteering at Vaughan Day Town
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, …
Short Trips from Valencia: Zaragoza by Train
The towers and domes of Basílica del Pilar beside the Ebro River. Zaragoza, capital of the old kingdom of Aragón, I love the name. Say it with a bit of …
Day Trippin’ and More: Destination Teruel
During our first experience of Las Fallas, Valencia’s multi-week spring celebration, we exposed our pets to more than enough fireworks for a lifetime. This year the whole family, Lizzie dog, …
Day Trippin’ – Destination Requena
After spending sunny January days roaming the streets of Valencia, Susan was ready to get out of town for a day. I had no objection, so we hopped aboard the …
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 …
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, …
Day Hiking Around Valencia With Our Dogs (and no car)
A walk in the city, no matter how pleasant, isn’t a walk in the countryside. When we long for the quiet of a hillside trail far from hustle of the city center, we hop on a train…
Day Trippin’ (and More) – Destination Cuenca
Cuenca has a rich history that dates back to the Muslim domination beginning in the early eighth century. Then there’s the breathtaking Karst geology of the La Mancha plateau. It’s …
Day Trippin’ – Destination Xátiva
We were finally feeling settled enough to think about leaving Lizzie and her four cat buddies behind and doing a little trippin’ out and about, at least for a day. …