Hello Renaissance Rebecca Subscribers and Friends– You may have noticed that I haven’t posted on this blog since Nov 22, 2024. This is because I’m working on something new and am writing on a different platform once per week. I want to keep reading your stuff–how do I sign up? What’s this new thing you’re…
Tag: 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,…
The Worst Day on the Camino de Santiago
“How do you know how to do all this?” Dad asked me as we stood together waiting for the metro in Madrid. “Do what?” “This–trains, buses, subways . . .” “On that high school trip to London, Mr. Briggs taught us how to use the subway, and once you know the idea, they’re pretty much…
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…
Camino with Dad 2024: Routines
Dad: Did you check for bedbugs yet? Me: No! (I stop what I’m doing and walk to my bed.) Dad: Though in a place like this, I doubt there’s a problem. Me: Yes–I’ve heard that bedbugs look at how many stars a hotel has and choose accordingly (as I pull up the sheets of one…
Camino with Dad 2024: A Poem
June 15, 2024: Another dayAnother fresh squeezed orange juiceAnother bar giving us a free snack when we order our breakfastAnother medieval bridgeAnother taxi ad in the middle of nowhere in case the 16 miles walk is too much for usAnother napAnother day meeting people from all over the worldAnother day Dad and I are lucky…
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…
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