*apologies to Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
We were diligent. We are diligent. When it first started we wore gloves and masks to go for walks, double, even triple masks. We made masks. We washed our bags of tortilla chips before we opened them. We waited days to open the mail. We avoided friends and family, now with a legitimate excuse. We carried and used hand sanitizer multiple times a day. We washed our hands incessantly until we needed moisturizing cream. We’ve gotten five vaccinations. Even mixed them up to give wider coverage. We knew travel was dangerous. We lived in a van. We knew travel to Europe was dangerous, but unlike the US, Europe loves vaccines and masks. We were going to Spain which has one of the lowest rates in the EU
We continued to wear our masks, wash our hands, use hand sanitizers, not go to restaurants and avoid people. But, we still got Covid. Well, Patricia did, in Valencia, the healthiest city in the healthiest country in the world,(https://www.cntraveler.com/gallery/healthiest-countries-in-the-world) Fortunately, it was very very mild and towards the end of our 3 week stay.
We went to Spain to pet sit a dog, no other reason.( We could have stayed home, except we are homeless.) Chocho, his name was changed to Choco in Spain, because in Spain, Chocho is a derogatory slang term for female genitalia, but in Argentina, where the mother of the family we sat for is from, Chocho means a happy go lucky person. We first met Chocho Choco in Providence, RI last June for a pet sit. https://chosenfugue.wordpress.com/2022/07/06/the-dog-days-of-summer/ The family moved to Valencia, Spain a month later and asked if we could pet sit over the Christmas Holidays for them while they traveled to Buenas Aires.
We had a sweet setup, almost 3 weeks in an eighth floor penthouse apartment (4 bedrooms, helpful during Patricia’s quarantine) in an ideal location, near the university and the Valencia FC stadium. The historic center was just over the bridge, well, actually there were many bridges to chose from that went across not a river but a huge park, Jardin de Turia, which used to be a river.
The river was diverted after a massive flood in 1957 and replaced with a 9 km park which includes the City of Arts & Science Center and Aquarium ( can you see the guy cleaning the artificial river in the right hand picture?),
Gulliver Park
and a ton of different paths- for runners, for scooters, dog walkers, walkers, strollers, we actually never really figured out which lane was ours (analogous for life in general?).
Because Chocho, Choco loved walks we would wander 2-3 times a day for about an hour at a time. He had favorite routes; past the large Futbol stadium, through the park and specific neighborhoods.
We were in Valencia just before Christmastime until Epiphany (January 6), the streets were packed (possible source for Covid exposure, although mysteriously we did not see the building’s doorman for a few days just before Patricia got it ?). Valencia captured all the European tropes with a Spanish twist. Tons of parks, countless beautiful stately buildings surrounding plaza after plaza with cafe after cafe,
Impressive train station, in Valencia, decorated with orange-tree tiles and adjacent to a bull ring,
Wide sandy beach (although it was too cold and windy to spend time at)
Wonderful trees, many full of noisy parrots
Our last night, spent in separate hotel rooms due to Covid precautions (Nick never got it), was Epiphany (January 6) which is the actual Christmas celebration in Spain, and it was a celebration. Fortunately we stayed in the heart of Valencia.
We thankfully were there at the annual shaking of the Valencia orange trees lining the streets (12,000 orange trees!) .https://www.dreampropertiesvalencia.com/orange-shaking-in-valencia-a-must-see/
Since we are looking for a city to make our own, we are constantly asking “could we live here” both in Europe and the US. Valencia has a very large American ex-pat population which is understandable as it is a charming, pleasant city. Comparing any city to another city often feels like comparing apples to oranges, just too many differences. For us, though, while Valencia was sweet, it was overall not that appeeling.
Chosen Fugue 