A Belated Happy 2024! It’s hard to believe that it is already 2024 and that I have been in Valencia now for almost two years. Two years ago in January I said goodbye to western Massachusetts and moved back to Connecticut as I awaited my visa to go to Spain. March will be officially two years.
As you all know, I’ve been pretty horrible at blogging which shouldn’t be a surprise to me since I’ve never been a good and consistent journalist. Chalk it up to being busy, which is a good thing I guess! Not much has changed since I moved two years ago. I am still in my great apartment not too far from the city centre and life at Berklee keeps me on my toes. Always something going on at Berklee from welcoming a new group of students, a variety of different institutional visitors and a lot of wonderful events and concerts. Outside of work I have been trying to be more involved in the yoga community I have found and even did a short yoga retreat with them outside Valencia. Mostly I love being outside whether it is walking or biking to work, working out in the park, going for a walk on the beach or just walking around the old city.
2023 was also the year for guests. From April to July my apartment became a regular B&B (so fun for me!) with many visitors, family and friends coming to visit. My mom has managed to visit 3 times since I moved, and twice in 2023, once with our friend Magdalen Livesey and then again with our friend Don Rickenback and my brother Chris, sister-in-law, Sarah and niece and nephew Caroline and Henry. My Waterford teaching friends (Aka Waterford chicas) all came at different times with their husbands and my friend Linda from Northampton came at Thanksgiving while she was spending a few months in England. It has been really great to be able to host and show everyone around this great city. Other travel included Pamplona, Italy (Rome and the coast in San Felice Circeo), Barcelona, Paris, Italy (Rome and other great local excursions when people were visiting. And of course all of it was done with beautiful scenery and amazing food (I think I will have to do a separate blog on just the food!) Here are some pictures of some of my favourite memories from 2023.
From left to Right/Top to Bottom:
A winter pic in the City of Arts and Sciences
March Fallas 2023-me with Vivian and in my neighbourhoods Falla and the Virgen Offenda (all flowers)
April in Rome and in San Felice Circeo, Italy with Katie and her sons Sebastiano and Alesandro
April with Sonja and Mark In Valencia, City of Arts and Sciences and the Albufera, followed by Barcelona
May mom visits with Magdalen and we do a trip up the coast to Peñiscola and then inland to Morella
May birthday with Vivian and Beat
June Irwin family visit to Valencia -Caroline at the Bridge of Flowers near my house and then pic with me under the bridge in the rain (yes it occasionally does rain!) yummy Paella at Casa Carmela, Henry and Caroline with Don Rickenback
June Irwin family visit to Paris, we will always remember La Diva, pics along the Seine, on the bateau mouche, Notre Dame, Caroline with the best profiterole dessert EVER. Pops (my dad) would have loved it. And yes, my brother was there, he’s just camera shy 🙂
July visits by Kathy and Anthony (not pictured) and Becki and Joe
Fall hiking near Valencia, new yoga retreat friends
November visit by Linda Tropp
More City of Arts and Sciences pics and varying times of day
My Life in Valencia 
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