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, …
A Few Days in Porto
We went to Portugal to experience the Douro Valley and to learn about the process of creating the fine Port wines of the region. So, despite our usual attempt to …
Provesende and the Douro Valley in Spring
We lived in Oregon’s Willamette Valley for more than 30 years prior to moving to Valencia. With more than 500 wineries in the region, we fell in love with the …
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, …
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 …
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 …
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 …
How to Get Your Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa – February 2019 Update
× Important Notice Please be aware that we received our non-lucrative visas in July of 2017. It’s likely that some of the information included here and on our original …
How We Managed (and Mismanaged) Our Move to Spain & You Can Do Better
It all started out over Saturday morning coffee on a dreary February day in western Oregon. Susan and I had been thinking about how we wanted to spend our retirement …
Prague in December
Charles Bridge completed in 1402 is usually much more crowded Prague is a year-round destination and the Christmas season adds an extra sparkle to an already handsome city. With a …
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. …