Siestas, stray cats, and switching it up

Valencia, Cordoba, and the week ahead

Sep 16, 2024

Buenos Dias!

I’m sorry for the delay with this newsletter. Honestly, this has been a hard one to write. Our time in Cordoba and Valencia has been perfectly fine, but it’s been missing something. Maybe the novelty of a new place is wearing off? Maybe I’m sick of tapas. Maybe something shifts in the way you feel excitement when you’re constantly doing exciting things? Whatever it is, it’s colored our time here in a way that makes it hard to write about to you all because I can’t quite put my finger on it. Hopefully, you’ll forgive me and I’ll find the words and inspiration I’m searching for before next week’s newsletter. Suffice it to say, we’re loving the trip through the ups and downs.

We had four full days in Valencia and it was the the perfect amount of time. We’ve hit all the major highlights - the Central Market, the Silk Exchange, The City of Arts and Sciences, to name a few- and also had the time to wander, take a mini day trip to Albufera, and lounge, buzzed and full of paella, on the beach. Not to mention following around stray cats in the park, Grant’s favorite pastime (scroll to the bottom to be absolutely shook by the final count). Valencia is a perfect-sized city for us; it’s by no means sleepy, but not dauntingly large like London. There’s a little bit of everything you could want here, from nature to history to shopping, and everything in between. It’s been a welcome change to spend some time in a different region of Spain.

We loved the Ruzafa neighborhood in Valencia

Albufera, National Park (and farming/fishing village) outside Valencia

We’ve been in Spain for more than two weeks now and the majority of that time in Andalusia. Our trip to Valencia came just as we were looking for a change of scenery. The people in Valencia have been kinder and more welcoming, and thankfully, don’t have the Andalusian accent which makes it so much harder to communicate with the locals. The Andalusian accent must sound something like a rural Louisiana accent to everyone who’s not a rural Louisianan. It’s quick and slurred, they drop the last letters off their words and smash other words together. Our first few days in Andalusia I was worried I’d never learned any Spanish at all.

Lately, we’ve been thinking we may be spending too much time in Spain. Andalucia is beautiful and full of amazing architecture and interesting history, but the unwelcome feeling we get from the locals is wearing on us. The language barrier isn’t nearly as challenging as feeling othered. Before this trip, I didn’t consider the friendliness of the locals too much in choosing a destination. Maybe it’s because we would only go on week-long trips-who needs to feel welcomed when you know you’re going back home in a few days? After more than two weeks in less than welcoming Spain, we find ourselves longing more and more for a country that has a hospitality culture. I know that may sound silly, Amelia, you’ve only been traveling for three weeks, you’ve gone soft so soon, but it really does make a difference, especially when you’re traveling long-term, to be able to connect with the locals. We can only look at so many beautiful churches and monuments. I’m learning that people are kind of a big part of why we travel. I’d also like to say: this is just the experience we’re having! When we were last in Spain in 2019, everyone was incredibly friendly. I’m absolutely not trying to discourage anyone from visiting or paint the Spanish in broad strokes.

In Cordoba, we met so many new people from all over the world. French, Mexican, Slovenian, Australian, American, Belgian, and Czech. I didn’t learn too much about what it's like to be a Cordoban that week, but I did learn about life as a Mexican expat in the Netherlands and was surprised at how much, culturally, I had in common with him growing up. North Americans, we’re all the same.

Sunrise around the corner from us in Cordoba

The Mosque in Cordoba. Originally built to hold more than 40,000 worshippers then they dropped a catholic church into it.

Cordoba was beautiful and laaaazy. It was the perfect place to travel slowly-something that’s been very important to us. We siesta’d by the pool. We had some very interesting experiences with the older Spanish men who were staying in our room (is it a cultural or personal thing to put the communal hair dryer up your towel post-shower? What a sight to wake up to). We watched a free flamenco show set to music by a harpist (you can listen to her here!) under the stars while the famous Andalusian breeze blew over us and erased all memory of the day's heat. I painted at cafes, in the pool, in beautiful squares. It was a very leisurely week and exactly what I wanted ahead of the next busy 10ish days.

Did you know there are invasive parakeets in Valencia? You will the moment that you step outside and hear them screeching

After Cordoba, the original plan was to go to Madrid for 11 days and to leave on my birthday. Some plans sound so good on paper, months in advance, planned in the comfort of air conditioning. We changed those plans and scrapped Madrid entirely in favor of two cooler, and smaller, destinations: Valencia and Porto. In hindsight, I’m so glad we weren’t traveling on my birthday. Not only should no one have to be crushed into the earth by wearing 26 pounds of luggage while navigating a transit system in a foreign language on your birthday, but also no one should be alone on it. Of course, I have Grant and he always makes me feel special. But birthdays have always been a day I’ve celebrated with other people and by the time our week in Cordoba was up and I turned 31, I’d made friends and was able to celebrate it with them. It made it that much easier to be away from everyone I love back home. Thank you all for the birthday wishes and the birthday gifts. It was very generous. I’m lucky to be so loved.

We’re in Porto now and so glad we changed the plans and found ourself here on a whim. Can you believe two weeks ago I didn’t have any plans of ever visiting Portugal and now here I sit, in one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever seen, writing to you? I’m still getting used to having so much freedom and control over my life. On that note, we’re still planning the trip! We don’t have much planned after late October. If you have a destination you’ve always wanted to go to and you think we may enjoy, please let me know!

Until next week,

Hasta luego!

-Amelia