Living in Spain

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Trip start
January 22, 2022
Living in Spain
Xàtiva
February 27, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C
Xàtiva (valenciano)/ Jàtiva (castellano) has been our home for five weeks now! Time for an update on Find Penguins :).

After spending 10 days in a hotel, we've found a little 🏠 in a cosy, colourful street 'on the mountain' of the city (on the way to the castle).

Our jobs are fun! Miel teaches English to all ages, even (sometimes) cute 3 YO, singing and dancing included! We go to the gym a few times a week, and the group lessons are a great way to learn the body parts in Spanish :). We take Spanish lessons and try to go to the local dog shelter once a week. We already met some great people there!Read more
TravelerDit is wat we zeggen " genieten" 👍👍👍
2/27/22Reply
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Living in Spain
Las Fallas
March 20, 2022 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 14 °C
Our first visitors in Xativa! Laura’s parents came from sunny Belgium to rainy Spain to experience the Fallas of Valencia, a crazy four-day festival that celebrates the arrival of spring. ‘Fallas’ are giant figures that are displayed in the streets of Valencia and neighbouring cities. Locals wear traditional clothing, there is a daily ‘concert of gunpowder’ (known as ‘La Mascletà’) and everyone is playing with firecrackers (day and night). And oh yeah, in the end they burn all the figures. A very destructive but impressive festival!Read more
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Living in Spain
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Bienvenida Lisa!
April 10, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C
Lisa's visit encouraged us to explore certain things we kept on postponing. We finally visited the castle in Xativa - which turned out to be pretty spectacular - and the Silk Exchange and the Opera in Valencia. Lisa also joined us on our Saturday visit to the shelter and almost took a 🐶 home (we can still bring Ted to Belgium if you want, Lisa 😉).Read more
Jenka Mergaert 🤩
4/23/22Reply
Jenka Mergaert Oooh zo'n gelukkige snoetjes. Miss you guys!
4/23/22Reply
10 likes
Living in Spain
Granada
April 15, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C
Easter break! First stop: Granada. We rushed to Andalusia to meet our time slot at the wonderful Alhambra. Located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada, the views over and from this palace complex are breathtaking. We can see why this is Spain's most visited attraction.

Granada is formed by three main barrio's, each with their own character. Realejo, the Jewish quarter, is the oldest neighborhood. Albaícín, which was later added by the Moors when they settled here, is a cozy network of narrow streets full of tea houses. Our favourite, Sacromonte, is a hilly neighborhood where gypsies made beautiful cave houses in the 15th century after the Reconquista.

As it was Semana Santa we witnessed a lot of processions and a prayer where a thousand people went silent. Granada just made it to the top of our favourite cities!Read more
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Living in Spain
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Sierra Nevada & Almuñecar
April 17, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C
We made two cool day hikes in the Sierra Nevada, a beautiful mountain range containing the highest peak in continental Spain. In nearby Almuñécar we visited Miel's family, who spoiled us with a refreshing pool, nice sea views and good company.Read more
TravelerWe had nice company 😊 !
4/22/22Reply
Jenka Mergaert Wow!😁
4/23/22Reply
Jenka Mergaert Prachtig!
4/23/22Reply
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Living in Spain
Sevilla
April 19, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C
Back in Seville! As we stayed here for five weeks in December, we felt right at home. We walked around and visited our favourite places in the city, hung out with friends from the CELTA course who are still living there and ate a lot of tapas!Read more
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Living in Spain
Cordoba
April 21, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
Last stop of our Andulasia road trip: Cordoba. An important Roman city and a major Islamic center in the Middle Ages, the city is best known for La Mezquita, an immense mosque that was transformed into a cathedral after the Reconquista. We furthermore enjoyed the countless colorful patio's adorned with flowers and ate some more tapas.Read more
Hilde De BuyserTorcal boven Malaga niet vergeten bezoeken hè….
4/22/22Reply
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Living in Spain
Moros y Cristianos
April 24, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C
After Fallas, we thought we had experienced the loudest festival there is. It turns out we were wrong. People in Alcoy take it a step further while celebrating Moros y Cristianos, a festival that commemorates the battles between the Moors and the Christians during the Reconquista. They dress up in Medieval clothes, walk in processions accompanied by live music and fireworks and re-enact the conquering of the city. We were happy to have front-row seats at first but we soon came to regret it when they started firing extremely loud guns non-stop 🙉. We decided to flee to nearby Bocairent, a peaceful village where the oldest houses were dug out of the rocks.Read more
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Living in Spain
Bienvenidas Sandrien y Ine!
May 2, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
We were happy to receive our next visitors, Ine and Sandrien, and took them on our usual tours around Xativa and Valencia, which mainly focus on food 😅. Additionally, we went on a day trip to El Palmar, the birthplace of Paella. Good thing thing we traveled by bike so we could overtake the cars stuck in traffic (it turns out that we were not the only ones who wanted to try the national dish) and make some stops along the Albufera national park and its beautiful beach.Read more
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Living in Spain
Valencia
May 2, 2022 in Spain
Our adventure in Spain wouldn't be complete without a post about this magnificent city. Valencia really has it all: breathtaking buildings ⛪, a former riverbed converted into a picturesque park 🌳, delicious dishes and drinks 🥘, a bustling beachfront⛱️, an eye-catching contemporary cultural complex 🏛️, a trendy and eco-conscious neighborhood ♻️, marvelous (indoor and outdoor) markets 🛒, frequent and often fascinating festivals 🎉 and last but not least, an average of 300 days of sun a year! ☀️Read more
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Living in Spain
Life in Xativa
May 6, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C
Some impressions of our laid-back life in Xativa the past months ☺️
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Living in Spain
New roomies
May 11, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C
Meet our new foster friends: Ivette & Boomer. The shelter asked if we could foster one of the two dogs that needed extra help. We couldn't choose, so now they both live with us until they find a forever home (feel free to contact us if you want one these cuties 😇)!

Boomie has an obsession with food and ate all the food in the shelter, which is why he is so fat 🙈. We put him on a diet and go running with him every day. Ivette has a brain disease and can't keep her balance. She was attacked by other dogs in the shelter on several occasions. She seems to be enjoying our safe home. Walking her is an adventure but she's learning :).Read more
Travelermooie honden en een goed werk dat je doet zou spijt hebben dat je dat weer moet afgeven veel groetjes 😉
5/12/22Reply
TravelerWat een geluk dat ze jullie hebben 😍
5/12/22Reply
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Living in Spain
Chulilla
May 14, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
Day one of our camping trip with the dogs. After we arrived at the beautifully situated village of Chulilla, we started the 'Ruta de los Puentes Colgantes', a breathtaking hike with highlights such as a stunning turquoise lake, a steep canyon, a few suspension bridges and a huge water reservoir. Not ideal with a dog that has a balance disorder!Read more
Travelertoch weer een beetje gevaarlijk dat je doet geniet er nog van gr
5/31/22Reply
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Living in Spain
Montanejos
May 15, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
After a spending the night with Ivette and Boomer in tiny Otto, we drove to our next destination. Montanejos itself was less likeable than Chulilla, but the environment certainly wasn't! We had to skip the famous thermal springs because dogs weren't allowed but another hike took us to a cave and a narrow canyon with some waterfalls. On the way back home we stopped at Valencia's dog beach to cool down.Read more
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Living in Spain
Bienvenidos Maarten y Laura!
May 22, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 35 °C
Another lovely visit from Belgium 🥰! We visited nearby Cova Negra & Anna, tried to hike but instead we enjoyed the sun and went swimming (too hot too hike!).
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Living in Spain
Bienvenido Michel!
June 30, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C
Michel's visit encouraged us (Miel especially) to plan some more action into our daily life than we normally would. And so he got spoiled immediately by two consecutive two-day trips. During the first one we went rock climbing and hiking in beautiful Chulilla and on the second trip Michel gave Miel a hard time on the bike in the hilly neighborhood of Altea. In the course of the following working days we also went slacklining, swimming, and climbing.Read more
Michiel Van OoteghemIt was awesome!! Thanks guys.
9/2/22Reply
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Living in Spain
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Bienvenida Elke!
July 5, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C
Yet another wonderful visit that made working life seem like a holiday. Since Elke's not one to stay still and temperatures are starting to rise here in Xativa, we sought out some water activities and went cliff jumping in Charcos de Quesa, stand up paddling on a nearby lake and swimming at Gandia's beautiful beach☀️.Read more
Michiel Van Ooteghem Baywatch couple!!
9/2/22Reply
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Living in Spain
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Bienvenidos padres!
July 24, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 39 °C
We had warned my parents that it could get quite hot here during summer and that turned out to be an understatement 🥵. Temperatures stayed above 26°C during the night so there was just no escaping the heat! The only thing we could do during the day was seek out some refreshing swimming places. Luckily there's plenty of beautiful spots in the neighborhood (my dad even dared to take on SUP).

Although they loved Boomie instanty, we couldn't convince my parents to adopt him. He will have to go back to the shelter soon since we are going to travel, so if you know anyone interested in adopting a sweet dog, let us know 🐶!Read more
Traveler Dat hondje past goed bij jou 😉
7/27/22Reply
Traveler Aha, daar zitten jullie…. Heel veel plezier samen. 🙂
7/27/22Reply
Agnes DegangPatrick, Heidi, het doet pijn er niet bij te kunnen zijn.....
7/27/22Reply
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Living in Spain
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Sagunto & l'Hospitalet
July 27, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C
Roadtrip to Catalunya, where we will meet Jolien & Julien :)! After dropping Boomie off at the shelter (😥) we drove to Sagunto. This small town north of Valencia preserves several archaeological monuments, such as a Roman theatre (built in the 1st century) and a castle containing remains of the buildings left by its various inhabitans (Romans, Visigoths, Arabs & christians). Second stop: the beautiful Platja del Torn at L'Hospitalet de l'Infant, where we took our SUP to a hidden cave and stargazed on the beach!Read more
Michiel Van Ooteghem It’s a little dark pall, but at least you tried!
9/2/22Reply
Michiel Van OoteghemBoomie 😭😭
9/2/22Reply
9 likes
Living in Spain
Tarragona
July 28, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
This provincial capital in southern Catalunya is known as one of the best destinations in the country for ancient culture, with several UNESCO-listed Roman archaeological sites that date to when this was the most important city in Iberia (the Tarragona Amphitheatre being the most famous one). Maybe we didn't visit the city thoroughly enough or maybe it was the heat, but apart from the best vegan croquettes we ever had, we didn't really like Tarragona. The spatial planning of this city felt really weird with parking lots & highways right next to the seaside. The nearby Pont del Diable made up for it! This impressive aqueduct channelled water from the Francolí River to Ancient Tarraco. Today you can walk in the channels where the water flowed :).Read more
Travelerbedankt voor de mooie foto's zo ga ik ook een beetje op reis gr
8/17/22Reply
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Living in Spain
Poblet & Montserrat monasteries
July 29, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C
Two monasteries in one day! The Monastery of Poblet was founded by Cistercian monks from France in the 12th century and served as a royal pantheon of the kings of Catalonia and Aragon. The Montserrat Monastery wasn't as beautiful, but the surroundings were super impressive!Read more
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Living in Spain
l'Escala
July 31, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C
Yeey, we finally met Jolien & Julien! Our days in L'Escala were mostly spent in the water. We went diving, snorkeled at the nature reserve of Illes Medes, and went on a 10 km-long SUP-adventure (4 people & 1 SUP = switching between snorkeling & paddling + very tired at the end of the day!).Read more
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Living in Spain
Figueres
August 1, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C
We stopped for a few hours in Figueres on our way to Cadaques. This town is known as the home of surrealist Salvador Dalí. We visited the impressive Dalí Theatre-Museum (designed by Dalí himself) which showcases all the various aspects of his art!Read more
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Living in Spain
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Cadaqués
August 4, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C
The former fishing village of Cadaqués is surrounded by the Cap de Creus Natural Park. Another SUP adventure gave us the chance to admire the incredible landscape of this park, both above (rocky coast, beautiful beaches, quiet coves) and below water (a lot lot lot of fish in turquoise waters). At night, we strolled around the cozy historic quarter, full of old alleys, water-front restaurants & bars.Read more
Michiel Van Ooteghem Smells fishy!
9/2/22Reply
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Living in Spain
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Girona
August 4, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C
We stopped in Girona on our way back to Valencia and loved it! We visited the Arab Baths, walked on the medieval walls, admired the impressive cathedral, strolled around in one of the best preserved Jewish Quarters in Europe and found an all-vegan ice cream shop 😱. (FYI:The city also appears in S6 of GOT as Braavos).Read more
Michiel Van Ooteghem There is only one God, and his name is Death. And there is only one thing we say to Death: Not Today! (S.F. First sword of Braavos.)
9/2/22Reply
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