How We Got Here

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We have FINALLY ARRIVED but how we got here is a significant part of the journey. Over the next post or so I will talk about that journey. But first a little about the last 24 hours. Of course, up until last night we had not slept for about 40 hrs. The transatlantic flight went through some significant weather so we didn't get much sleep on the plane. Once we arrived in Valencia, we grabbed a cab at the airport and headed to our AirBNB. That was about 6pm. So we unpacked a bit and headed to a lite dinner. We had beer and wine at a local bar but the service was rather slow. I ordered in spanish and finally got served after the bartender and waitress quit laughing. ? Oh well.... This morning (Friday) we got out of bed about 10am had coffee and to breakfast and tooling around.

But enough of that. Let me talk about what it took to get here. It was a journey in itself. A couple of years ago, Kathy and I talked about traveling but decided that we would prefer to live in another country rather than visit. That was the beginning of a wonderful and interesting trip in itself. In early 2017, we went to Ireland as the first stepping stone and we loved the people and the country but the weather wasn't quite what we were hoping for...it was cold and rainy. Nix Ireland.

So we looked around Europe and decided on Spain as our next choice. After spending about a month in Spain in late 2017 we chose Valencia for several reasons: the cost of living was about 15%!c(MISSING)heaper than Barcelona, we felt that the cultural experience would be better here, it is large enough to have a public transportation system, it is on the coast and close to mountains, etc., etc., etc. Once we made that decision, we were able to begin the process for resident visa application.

About December of 2017, we started our application process. We had to get a background check, had to have it certified through the state department, get a medical certificate, and write a page on why we wanted to move to Spain . Anyway, we had to have all of that translated to Spanish via a sworn translator. Then we had to fill out the application and pay the money to get an appointment in Chicago at the Spanish embassy. We submitted our application and then we waited, and waited and waited. One day our passports came back to us with a residency visa inserted. Now the work really began.

Kathy made a list of all the things she wanted done on her house before she sold it. I looked at the list and said "That's going to cost you a lot of money." After further discussion, i started working on the list....damn. Our first moving sale was at the end of April. Because we had to sell the entire house, very little of the stuff was outside. We invited the entire world into our house. And I call it "our" house because of the labor investment I had in it (see previous sentences). Sooo....I was concern that since we opened up the house to all manner of folks, that someone could find their way into the basement or the upstairs and pilfer through our stuff. One hour into the sale, I realized these people could barely make it from the sidewalk to the driveway. All we were doing was entertaining all the old folks in Lexington. Not only did they not have any money but they already had one or two of everything we had for sale.

We did experience the underbelly of the garage sale counterculture though. I will never feel the same about people who sell at booths and peddler malls again. We opened our garage sale at 8:00am. There was a crowd of resellers on our front porch at 6. It was like Walmart on Black Friday, If it wasn't for our friend Beth bringing the champagne, we would never have made it through. All these people wanted to do was pay $2 for the matching set of Jamie Kenard paintings that I paid $500 apiece for. But we held our ground and finally sold them for $3. It was a blood bath. Seriously, you can't imagine how little the stuff that you spent a lifetime collecting is worth. Both Kathy and I have a new perspective on "our stuff." We also have a huge appreciation for our friends who helped us. Without their support , we would not have been so successful. I would love to include pictures of each and every one of them, but we haven't heard from them since....hummm!!!!!

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Photos

Our New Temporary Home
The two brown doors are the entrance to our AirB&B. It is in the older part of the city. Across the street is the museum Turnul Micalet.

Kathy Along the Sidewalk
Notice that the sidewalk is tiled. Several walkways in this area are tiled. It must have cost a fortune.

Post Office (we think)
We believe this is the Valencia post office. There were a number of police officers guarding the place and several tourists throughout. We will have to check it out later.

Sidewalk Cafes
The area that we are staying in is very popular. Once again Kathy has outdone herself in selecting our AirB&B location.

Comments

[Kim Newby]

Hallelujah
Glad you made it safely!

[WalkerIAM]

Thank you
We have been tooling around looking at apt locations. Found one place that looked promising until we realized it was over a bar that didn't open until 9pm and closed at 2am. We will talk to our realtor about that.

[WalkerIAM]

Thank you
We have been tooling around looking at apt locations. Found one place that looked promising until we realized it was over a bar that didn't open until 9pm and closed at 2am. We will talk to our realtor about that.

[Kevin Harbert]

Stop along the way and siesta!
You made it, so relax and partake in the local customs and soak up the culture.

[WalkerIAM]

Local Custom....
Like eating and drinking vino tinto y cerveza. We are fitting right in.