What brought you to Valencia?

This is a question I’m asked multiple times a day, so here’s the long answer.

Glasgow will always have my heart. It’s where my soulmate lived, looking over the River Clyde, my Granny. A unique creative who’s words and bright light touched everyone she met. She was a writer too and could recite any Shakespeare play at the click of a finger, in fact the name of this blog is a little ode to her as “Sunshine” was her nickname as a child. That’s why I was dying to move up to Scotland and hoped some more of her magic would rub off on me. Well, 6 years ended up being the limit for me in Glasgow because once the pandemic hit I had had enough of the grey and craved the sunshine so I finally decided to move to Spain, a dream that had always come and gone in my mind.

My aunt moved over to Mallorca when she was young and married a Spaniard and that has resulted in Spanish being a big part of my upbringing.

Always being so jealous of my cousin who has been bilingual since birth, I made the decision to get a qualification in teaching English and secured a job in the North of Spain.

La Rioja was my first destination of choice. The smallest province in Spain and the producer of delicious wine and food. I lived in a small town called Nájera with a population of just over 8000 people. I wanted to be as immersed as possible and my goodness was I, (but that’s for another post.) The only area that this beautiful place lacked for me, was the weather. Having just moved from, I think, the greyest country in the world, I was looking for a bit more…blistering sun and the weather in La Rioja resembled the Scottish temperatures too much!

This was the view from my flat in Nájera!

So, on the 2nd June 2021, I booked a spot in a bla bla car, packed all my belongings into a stranger’s boot and made the 6 hour journey from Logroño to Valencia to an apartment I hadn’t even seen in person. And wow, was it the best decision I’ve ever made.

Now, having lived here for three years I am completely hooked on all things Valencia. I have been a tour guide for most of my time here and I’ve surprised myself with just how passionate I am about sharing the sights and secrets of the city with those who come to visit. It really has everything you could hope for: Century old winding streets studded with colourful facades and twisted balconies, a café or tapas bar on every corner oozing with character, coffee, cervezas and croquetas. Modern architecture so innovative and futuristic that your eyes won’t be pulled away from the ocean inspired world at the end of the riverbed. A riverbed transformed into the longest, lushest and most enchanting park, so inviting that it will have you forgetting the busy city life just a few metres above your head!

And if that small snippet of life here in Valencia has already got you interested, welcome to my blog!