Andalucía – Exploring Southern Spain

25 April 2017May 18, 2017EddieSpain12 grapes, adventure, Andalucía, bla bla car, Córdoba, culture, Europe, family, flamenco, Game of Thrones, Granada, Ronda, Sevilla, tapas, travelLeave a comment

Andalucía

Earlier this year, we took a trip to the south of Spain, to visit Andalucía. This region is responsible for many of the stereotypes associated with Spain. E.g., flamenco, bullfighting, and the Moorish influenced architecture (it was under Moorish rule from the 8th-15th centuries). As we traveled though Andalucía, we began to feel a better sense of this amazing country. We saw olive orchards that seemed to go on forever. Green pastures with the famous fighting bulls (toro de lidia). Snowy mountains of the Sierra Nevada, with their views of the shore of northern Africa in the distance. Continue reading

Our Favorite Methods To Learn Spanish

15 February 2017May 1, 2020HeatherLife in Valencia, Likes and Dislikes, Spainconversation exchange, culture, family, intercambio, language schools, learning Spanish, school, Spanish, Valencia, work life balance4 Comments

Updated 1 May 2020.

We get asked a lot – how’s your Spanish? (current status: B1/B2) Which is inevitably followed by, how are you learning? So, we thought we’d give an update on our progress, our experiences, and share our favorite methods to learn Spanish.

We arrived in Spain in July of 2016, and began our journey to learn Spanish (Castilian/Castellano). We’re from California where there are lots of Spanish names for places, streets, Latino owned businesses, Latino radio and TV stations, and lots of Spanish speakers. We were familiar with a few basic words, and some pronunciation, but were starting from knowing near-zero Spanish. So how do you learn Spanish in a hurry – at least enough to get by? Continue reading

The Best Activities in Valencia For Kids

5 December 2016June 3, 2018EddieLife in Valencia, Recommendations in Valencia, Spainadventure, aquarium, beaches, bikes, christmas, day trips, family, favorites, go carts, horchata, imax, kids, laserium, museums, paella, parks, planetarium, pools, theater, Valencia, zoo4 Comments

Is Valencia a good city for kids?

You bet it is. The people of Valencia seem to adore children, and they’re welcome everywhere. There are lots of kid-friendly activities in Valencia, and we’re constantly exploring and discovering what our son and his friends like and keeping a list of the best. We’ve included active and passive activities, which will help you find something to do regardless of the weather or time of year.

Update: Christmastime activities in Valencia, from our friends Janis and Linda: What to do in Valencia this Christmas?

If you have any ideas to improve or add to this list, please add a comment. I’ll keep this updated as we discover new activities in Valencia for kids. For all-year-round activities, read on…

Settling into Routines

2 October 2016October 2, 2016EddieCalifornia Expat, Life in Valencia, Spaincooking, family, school, Valencia, work life balance5 Comments

Almost 3 months after leaving San Jose and now that summer is nearly over, our family is starting to settle into routines. We’re adjusting well to our new European and Spanish ways of life. We’ve learned some survival Spanish, no longer need maps to get around, are drying our clothes on the line, using the 24 hour clock, the metric system, celsius, and managing to get by just fine without a car.

First Impressions

9 September 2016April 1, 2017HeatherCalifornia Expat, Likes and Dislikes, Spainarchitecture, bocadillos, culture, dislikes, family, likes, medication, persianas, pharmacy, shopping, tapas, Valencia, wine4 Comments

Plaza Ajuntamiento view from above — The view from our apartment in Valencia

We moved to Valencia about 2 months ago, so I thought I’d share some of my first impressions, both the good and the not so good. Keep in mind that we’ve only lived here for a short time, and much of that time has been spent finding an apartment, and setting up our household. We’ve been eating out a lot during this time, and since it was summer, TJ was not in school and we were working hard to try and keep him entertained. (Note: We now refer to our home in San Jose as “Home Sweet Home” and our apartment in Valencia as “Home”. It just makes it easier in conversation so we can distinguish one from the other). Continue reading

Valencia Bound – Fourth of July

9 July 2016June 1, 2017HeatherSpainfamily, moving, travel, visa14 Comments

Leaving San Francisco

Our little family, making a big life change by moving to Spain The day has finally arrived. We’re on our way to Spain to start a two year adventure and making a big life change. I’m writing this from a 747 en route to Frankfurt, then on to Stuttgart, and Valencia. It’s the Fourth of July, and seems fitting to be leaving our great country on Independence Day. We won’t see any fireworks, since we’ll be over Canada before dark.Continue reading