by cwells | 2013-02-01 | Expat, Housing, Spain, Spanish, Travel
In some ways, this trip to Spain was a test. I wanted to learn enough about Valencia to see if I would be comfortable living here alone. Of course, this means that making friends is not optional… it is a necessity. There are two groups to which I belong: the American...
by cwells | 2013-02-01 | Culture, Expat, Spain, Spanish, Travel, Walking
The last time I was in Spain, I made a comment about having a “panhandle me” kind of faces and/or demeanor. This time in Valencia, I was the apparent source of directional goodwill for other visitors to the city. I was asked for directions six times, with...
by cwells | 2013-02-01 | Expat, Spain, Spanish
For those who don’t speak Spanish fluently, there is a process that can strike fear in the heart of many honest and strong adults: the mail. In Spain, the mail is called El Correo, and if I didn’t have friends to help me broker the transaction, I would not have been...
by cwells | 2013-02-01 | Culture, Pix, Spain, Spanish, Valencia, Walking
Also in the Plaza de la Virgen, there is something called the Tribunal de las Aguas, or “Water Court” that occurs every Thursday at noon. This is the oldest judicial body in Europe. There are some deep traditions associated with the Water Court, which was...
by cwells | 2013-02-01 | Culture, Pix, Spain, Spanish, Valencia
The relative ages of things here fascinates me. A building that was created a thousand years before our country was founded sits next to a building constructed in the last 20 years. A characteristic of most of Europe, the heterogeneity of constructions, time periods,...
