Week 1 in the Land of Oranges

Hola!
6 hours ahead on the clock, 6 months ahead in fashion, but 10 years behind in the music scene, I'm loving Espana. Valencia is a lovely coastal town, it harkens Paris, New York, Venice, Rome, Florence, DC, London, and Georgetown in a beautiful fusion.

It's windy and chilly, but you can always find the sun here. There are mandarin trees on the streets, with fruit you can eat if you can reach it, every other store is a cafe, bocadillos are eaten in passing in the park, people whiz by on their fold-up portable bikes, kids trot to school, older women shuffle with little rollies of groceries from the market, it's a city on the move, but it's not a rush, they know how to slow down and take a siesta every day from 2-5 and every Sunday. It's sleepy, yet's it's alive. It's the great contradiciton of Europe, they say "no pasa nada" something akin to "Hakuna Matata", no worries, it's all good, and it's effortless. The real lesson is learning to breathe into their lifestyle and relax into the large lunches and late late dinners, take a cafe and a siesta mid day and chat and chat and chat. My god they love to talk here. And it's life and it roars when it's awake.

I've found that pictures are quicker for you busy bees to take in rather than my words and at times they express more, so here's the first round from my time in Valencia, a visit to a sea side town called Cullera, a visit to Madrid and a day in Toledo.

Besos and amor, I miss you all dearly and send hugs and hugs and bear hugs to you all!

woo