Soaking up the city

Tomorrow we move to our temporary housing in the “burbs”, so while Mitch has been at work we’re soaking up as much city as we can. The dogs were supposed to be here yesterday. There was a glitch along the way, and now they’re scheduled to arrive tomorrow. We’re trying to see the silver lining. They would’ve struggled in this apartment and the nearest park is a few blocks away. Plus the temp house has yard with a pool. There is a lot to do to get the girls ready for school so it will be nice to be closer to that location so we can try to figure it all out. And I’m not sad about this house:

The girls (especially Leah) are really noticing the way that the ladies dress. Lots of wide leg, flowy pants and skirts. They dress a lot nicer than we do back home. So we got up the “main strip” for a little shopping. The sale rack at H&M was a big hit and all the girls got some cute outfits. I keep reminding the girls that it doesn’t matter because soon they’ll be fashion forward in their school uniforms! 

Ciudad de los Arts y Sciences

 To say we hit the ground running might be an understatement. We knew we needed to try and adjust to the time zone, but we’re also suffering from some serious jet lag. So as I sat, falling asleep on the couch at 10:30 am after having woke up at 8, Mitch decides that we needed to get out. 

We started walking the neighborhoods around our apartment. There was some super shopping…reminded me a lot of Michigan Avenue in Chicago. And the trees that lined a small park in the middle of the busiest road we’re just gorgeous. The sign said something about Australian Figuera, but they were enormous. We saw an ancient bill fighting ring, the girls were unimpressed, as well as the train depot and then we decided to stop for lunch. Mitch has been dying to try Paella so we did. We ordered two doubles, thinking there are five of us, it’ll be fine. We had SO MUCH leftover. We ordered Valencian Paella that featured rabbit and chicken and artichokes, and then the Mariscoso Paella, fresh seafood. Normally Mitch doesn’t love seafood. But it was by far the superior Paella, we’re talking sushi quality seafood. The Valencian was good but it was a lot of sage and thyme. The girls enjoyed it, and after we finished we took the leftovers back to our place.

After resting for a few minutes we got back on the street. Fallas begins on Wednesday so there are these crazy artistic sculptures being set up about every two blocks, all over the city. The girls just love looking at them. But we kept right on walking. 

Anytime you google Valencia these beautifully architected buildings are the very first images that pop up. I never really investigated what they were, but now I know. It’s a cultural experience! It’s called the City of the arts and sciences. There is a museum, something that looks like a planetarium, and aquarium and an amphitheater where the ballet, orchestra etcetera perform. It was an absolutely beautiful place. 

Then we made the long walk back…with jet lag, and the girls got hangry!!! So we stopped at the Mercado Colon and got ice cream and Mitch and I got our first beer. The Suc De Lluna was fantastic. We’re definitely off to a good start!

New digs

We landed in Valencia yesterday afternoon, and I promptly said “welcome home” to the girls. They certainly looked at me funny. But that’s our reality.  It’s been such a long process but we’re finally living that expat life!

We expected to be at the Valencia airport for quite some time to go through customs and declare our entry to Spain, but that wasn’t the case. The customs official directed Mitch into a room to search our luggage but when he realized there were 5 of us and 8 suitcases he waved us on through and told us to keep going. 

We were at our AirBnB apartment in about an hour. The architecture is beautiful and it’s a fun time to be in the city. Their annual festival Fallas normally takes place in March but after being cancelled the last two years due to Covid they are celebrating Fallas Sept 1-5. There are so many crazy decorations being assembled and we’re enjoying all the color!

The girls were so excited about the apartment. It has 4 good sized bedrooms that each has two twin beds except the master, two full bathrooms a kitchen and a living room. But by far the biggest highlight is the little balcony off each bedroom.

Sergio, one of our relocation coordinators met us right away and took Mitch to get a few groceries. Then we walked a few blocks to the Mercado Colon for a local drink called orxata. Mitch and I both felt it was similar to an almond milk, it’s completely natural with a mild sweet flavor and milk texture. The girls enjoyed theirs with ice cream. Leah had a delicious local flavor similar to vanilla with a  touch of lemon and cinnamon. We can’t remember the name but she really liked it.

We all got a good nights sleep and are looking forward to exploring our new home.