Michael surprised us with a revelation about Spain, that it and especially the third largest city in Spain—València—were worth checking out and perhaps even moving to. So with the generosity of my parents to take up the helm at our household watch the kiddos together with Linnéa, and generally hold down the fort (they strengthened it), we jetted off to the Mediterranean for the first half of November.

València did not disappoint. Such a beautiful and varied city. We found it balmy, friendly, walkable, brimming with arts and culture and we were even able to find an authentic vegetarian paella. Our urban Airbnb apartment provided the perfect home base to explore and sleep off our jet lagged mornings. We loved the ocean, the castles and the fresh squeezed oranges. We saw an operetta at the opera house, and several “foreign films” at the cinema across the street from our flat. Two were shot in and around València so it was a wonderful cultural experience and good for practicing our Spanish and Catalonian.