It is not easy to celebrate Thanksgiving in Spain. You won’t find whole turkeys — fresh nor frozen — in a supermarket. So when Michael and I host Thanksgiving in this country, our first mission is to go to the butcher shop and order a turkey. We have to specify that we don’t want the…
Category: Spain
One Step Ahead of the Storms
I lived in Asheville, North Carolina until June, 2021–when we moved to Valencia, Spain. In the last five weeks, both have experienced natural disasters on a monumental scale. On Friday, September 27, after multiple days of rain, Western North Carolina was hit by Hurricane Helene, causing flooding on a scale never seen before. On Tuesday,…
Timeliness is Next To. . .
My husband Michael and I have different definitions of “early.” Five minutes, maybe ten–that’s good enough for me. Michael? Fifteen, ideally more. I learned this early on in our relationship. We were going to meet friends for dinner. Michael walked into the bathroom and said, “You’re not ready yet?” “We don’t have to be there…
The Master of the House
I grabbed my breakfast bowl and headed into the living room. I plopped myself down on the couch and that’s when I saw him, sitting on one of the recliner chairs as if he was part of the decor, his black and white fur complementing the dark gray chair. Teo is not our cat. But…
Camino with Dad 2024: The Bar
June 14, 2024: Upon arriving in a town after a long stretch on the Camino de Santiago, pilgrims often stop at the first bar they see. If it’s morning, we may get a coffee and a snack, maybe some for water; later in the day it may be a beer or glass of wine to…
Houseguests
“That poor donkey–being forced to walk all this way,” said a fellow pilgrim on Spain’s Camino de Santiago. I watched the donkey saunter past. He didn’t seem tired. No one was pulling him along. In fact, it wasn’t clear who actually owned him. Knowing nothing about donkeys, I asked the woman, “Are they not good…
Getting In Cars With Strangers
“Is this safe?” someone asked on one of my international Facebook groups. They must be American, I said to myself with a sigh. I’ve had more than a few international friends tell me it’s usually us Americans who ask questions about safety. Whether it’s walking the Camino de Santiago, traveling on budget airlines, or car…
License to Drive (In Spain): Part 3
I’ve driven a car only handful of times in Spain–and most of those were in the past month. Under the supervision of a driving instructor. Even though I’ve been driving for 30 years. Some Spaniards I talk to are surprised to learn there is no reciprocity with the United States on the matter of drivers’…
The Best Laid Plans
In December, 2022, I printed out a monthly calendar for 2023 and started filling it in. “If I can just make it ’til August,” I thought. I made it ’til March. Planning my parents’ visit had nearly done me in. Probably because planning trips to New York and California hadn’t been the easiest thing to…
Signs of Spring
On our terrace, the first poppy has bloomed and the irises are only days away from bursting open. The afternoon sun makes our living room so warm that Michael has to pull down the shades. But my favorite sign of spring’s impending arrival? The local artisanal ice cream shop has opened. When I walked in…
RenaissanceRebecca 