Nuestra Casa y Barrio

Apartments in Spain are designed so some sunlight enters, but not too much. Most have a little balcony overlooking the street, usually with a clothes line of some kind - this is exactly what we have. On sunny afternoons I like to read or write on the balcony and have my afternoon merienda (snack).

When you look down at the street below, notice anything strange? Valencianos routinely double park! The way they manage this is the inside cars are generally parked there for longer periods of time, by the residents. The outside cars are generally visitors, and they don't set their parking brake; in this way, someone wanting to move their inside car simply pushes a couple outside cars gently out of their way. Of course, this doesn't always work. In that case, they lay on the horn. The "visitor" may take notice and come out to move their car.

Our neighborhood is called "Barrio Ideal" on the map, which means "ideal neighborhood". Most Spaniards who live here have never heard of that name, so I guess it is only for those of us who are tourists and temporary residents. We are just a short walk away from the Rio, the park that runs through Valencia like Central Park, only following the course of the old river like a long snake. All the little shops we need are nearby, and by crossing the Puente de los Serranos (Bridge of the people from the Sierras) we can enter the old center of town, Barrio Carmen.

My favorite place around here, besides our comportable home, is El Parque de Marxalenes. I fell in love with this lovely, tranquil oasis the moment I saw her. I usually go there on my own once a day to "dar una vuelta" - take a short walk. More on this park later.

For now, we are preparing to take an early evening stroll to see how the local Fallas are shaping up.

Hasta pronto! Pearl