Life in Málaga—with jaunts to Brussels, Paris, Nantes

Tourists taking pictures and looking at the sites in Grand Place, Brussels

September brought another opportunity for travel, starting with Brussels, where in addition to ogling the sites such as the Grand-Place above, I attended the European Writers Salon yearly conference. I went because I wanted to be in a physical space with other writers. Also, I’d never been to Belgium. I’ve never been to a lot…

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Life in Málaga—A retreat, France, racism. Oh, and Feria.

Women dressed for feria in Malaga, Spain: black dresses with white polka dots ad red flowers in their hair.

August in Málaga means Feria, when women don traditional Flamenco dresses and accessorize with flowers, fans, and shawls, when countless bottles of the sweet Cartojal wine are poured, and song and dance, both planned and spontaneous, fill the streets of the Centro by day and the fairgrounds by night. And it happens during some of…

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Living and Learning in Málaga—A New Apartment

Living room with white sofa draped with a blue scarf. A small round dining table with an embroidered tablecloth is in the foreground. In the background against the terrace doors framed by pink curtains a woman in a dark top and pants sits on the arm of the sofa looking toward the camera.

This month marked two wildly contented years in Málaga. The anniversary passed with barely a nod of observance because we were in the last phases of moving to a new apartment. Though our possessions are few (clothes, linens, plants, and books—yes, I’ve begun accumulating books again) and we’d been able to move things slowly over…

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Living and Learning in Málaga, Year 2—Otra Vez Madrid

Facade of a bar in Madrid called Madrid Me Mata. Graffiti covers the closed doors.

January meant another trip to magical Madrid where I spent time with my friend Miguel, whom I first met in Málaga at the now-defunct writers meetup. With a Dutch father and Spanish mother, Miguel grew up in the Netherlands speaking three languages. He’s very much at home in Spain, is well-versed in Spanish history and…

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Living and Learning in Málaga, Year 2—Four Joys

Two women and a man in winter coats standing together and facing the camera

I’m not a big celebrant of Christmas. Organized religion and I parted ways many decades ago. But I’m still a believer in the family, friendship, and community aspect of the season. And the joy of solitude. I made a point to experience each of these this month.   Family James and I took the train…

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Living and Learning in Málaga – Year 2, Migration

Painting of a boat on a screen in a small theater with viewers seated on pillows

Migration is the theme for this month’s post, which includes an Englishman who moved to Spain in 1920 and became a hispanist; Latin Americans who migrate to Spain because economic collapse in their own countries compromises their future; and an exhibit at a Madrid museum by a Filipina Canadian filmmaker who looks at migration on…

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Living and Learning in Málaga – Year 2, Renewal

Garden with arbor and a cat walking down center path

Renewal Our renewal application for our Spanish residency was approved and in record time, according to our gestor, which is the intermediary for the administrative requirements for living in Spain. All thanks go to the diligent and detailed efforts of James who has managed our visa and residency paperwork from the start. So, kudos to…

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