Digging your scene

Another year has passed and we head towards another summer of travel and visitors. I find it hard to believe that this blog started five years ago, leaving England in a Ford Transit van with all of our possessions and a three year old child, heading into our Spanish adventure. Here we are in 2023 […]

Light at the end of the tunnel

After three months of surreal and challenging isolation restrictions we have finally been rediscovering our liberty and the ‘new normality’ beckons. We have been able to socialise, the shops and bars are open, and even the beaches are beginning to welcome locals. For that I am grateful, but I still can’t shake off the feeling […]

The Good Life

This is a pretty good place to practice self isolation. We are fortunate to have plenty of outside space and an endless list of things to be getting on with so we are rather grateful, all things considered. It was before our trip back to England for Christmas when I last wrote about our life […]

Caravan on a hill

We successfully completed on the house purchase on November 25th!! On the day it was relatively straight forward. The bank representative appeared to hand over the cheques, everything was read and signed, and we met the vendor who spoke perfect English. Trying to be mature and respectful I refrained from asking him out loud “How […]

¡Madre mía!

Less than a month ago I said that I didn’t want to see my mechanic Mario any time soon. You can guess what has happened since then. The disconcerting clunking noise that has plagued the car since day one came back gradually so I had to revisit my greasy friend and arrange another appointment. I […]

Superbombon

This article is purely an excuse for me to extol the virtues of living here in Valencia, specifically in regard to the outdoor activities and lifestyle. Often I find that I want to rant about my frustrations with the language barrier and the endless bureaucracy but ultimately we chose to live here so I know […]

Happy times

It’s a glorious time of year to be in Spain. We arrived last August so we missed the spring and early summer which every guide book in the land will assert is one of the best times to enjoy this country. Every week the temperatures creep up, and although we have had some high winds […]

Fiesta time!

With winter behind us we are enjoying our first ever spring season in Spain and so far it is fantastic. The house is no longer cold and damp and daytime temperatures are perfect for enjoying an outdoor lifestyle without suffering heatstroke or being attacked by mosquitoes. We will certainly appreciate the next few weeks before […]

Out of the comfort zone

As we hurtle through the first month of 2019 I find myself reflecting on how much life has changed for us as a family, and for me personally. In the absence of friends and family we have had to navigate our way through a whole new process of socialising and integrating. It’s all part of […]

Countdown to Christmas

We return to Wiltshire for the first time since our move to Spain in the summer. The flights and trains are booked, and we are counting down the days. There have been a few parcels and cards arriving at our home here in El Puig recently, which has been nice, and we have been making […]