Tom in Spain Begins

December 25, 2025 Hello all. Two weeks from today I will be, according to current plan, in Valencia, Spain, at the top end of a planned three-month long Spanish Language Immersion experience which I have had my eyes set on for the better part of the last six months. Today is Christmas Day, 2025, and my flight Logan to Valencia is January 7th 2026, arrival Spain sometime Thursday, January 8th
Photo is grandson Sweet Baby James from months ago, as a test. It is now the evening of January 6th, 2026 and I am experiencing the last frantic hours before tomorrow's departure. Lufthansa has sent me a check-in email with a departure today, not tomorrow, even though I have a confirmation email of a 7th departure. I will fret not, assuming that the hell of the last month will not have been in vain, and that I indeed have a ticket for tomorrow, not five hours ago today. Onward.
Likewise, lovely granddaughter Lily as a test. ------------------------------- January 9, 2026 (Friday) The travel went as follows: Wednesday 3a to 10a last hours of sorting, packing, schlepping, and car stuffing in Narragansett before departure to airport. 1p to 4p, Boston/Logan hang. 4p to 11p Lufthansa to Frankfort (now 5a). 5a to 10a discovering the remarkably pedestrian Frankfort airport. (Fun fact, scattered everywhere in the airport are little kiosks that sell hot frankfurters!) 10a to noon fly to Valencia. Noon to 2p missing luggage at Valencia airport. 2p to 4:30p figuring out app registration to interim apartment, which was supposed to be a hotel with a front desk.. And apps are not yet my forte. 4:30p to 5:30p neighborhood pizza and espresso. 6p to 5:30a, blessed sleep. This morning, an incredibly helpful gathering with my Valencia on-the-ground living/housing consultant Amanda and her husband Corey. They moved here from Seattle a couple few years ago, so we have Seattle in common. Already think I have a long-term place nailed down - in the process now, it's in the old town, a 1 BR with a beautiful outside terrace ! More than I wanted to pay but so's everything it seems. And I promised myself a nice place to come home to every day - this one qualifies! So. Current studio (through Wedneday next) is nice, right across from Mercado Central, the biggest historic public market in western Europe. Sunday, Corey and I do a couple-hour neighborhoods crawl. ------------------------------- January 10, 2026 (Saturday) Slept in until 9am, a stunning accomplishment since I usually arise 5-ish, and woke to (once again, sorry all you East Coasters) brillianly blue skies, bright sunshine and near 60 degrees F conditions (need to finally figure out that F v. C thing), a welcome respite from the ice and cold back in RI. Went to Mercado Central to get some basics (coffee!), had empanadas for breakfast, and ambled over to the Plaza of the Virgins to sit on a bench and people watch in the sunshine for an hour or so. Can't say if I spotted any virgins... As they say here, "hey man, just tranquil" and I'm tranqil-ing for sure. Why a blog? Well, I got the bug first about 15 years ago when I went to Ecuador and kept one but really got bit a couple of years ago when I did a solo backpack trip for a month and a half or so to Southeast Asia - Viet Nam, Cambodia and Thailand. I find that it both enhances the travel time to reflect and write about it, and beats the hell out of picture postcards. Some people like to do vlogs (video) but I prefer a blog (blather) since I don't want to be seen in public walking around talking to a selfie-stick! BTW I'm still working on figuring out how to attach photos to all these words (my daughter Emily is helping immensely) or at least create an album of some sort, so hold tight, visuals to come. Did face time earlier today with Emily, Kevin and the grandchildren on my brand new I-phone (been Android up until last week) and hit yet another milestone. Pix to come. -----------------------------

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