Thursday 30 August 2012

Moving Day

Well we have moved into our new flat.  A mountain of cases and a taxi ride later we found ourselves in Monteolivet.

Our flat is in a large complex, on the 6th floor and it seems like a nice area.  There are lots of little cafes and bars nearby and one even sells perfectly drinkably wine for 50c a glass.  OK that's a small 125ml glass for 50c but at 250ml for less than £1, we're happy!

What makes the location even better is that we have 5 tennis courts just outside the building and we're only a 5 minute stroll from the Riverbed park and the City of Arts and Sciences with its incredible architecture.  We've yet to explore either properly but I know we'll be there soon and no doubt take all our visitors there too.

We took some pictures of the new flat so you can have a gander...

Not a bad park to bike and walk in eh?


The view at the end of our street.


I was a little bit excited to get the keys and move in!


The lounge.  The colours in the flat are a bit loud but it's really comfy and homey.

Dining area in the lounge.


If you look closely you might spot a few tiny pictures of my family- I got them up as soon as I could and now we need to get some of Rich's family organised.


The kitchen is a little galley kitchen, but very well equipped.  Our landlady has left crockery, cutlery, glassware, everything for us right down to tea towels which is a bonus when you can;t bring any of that stuff with you. 


I took this before I bought more hangers to hang my dresses up and before I put some new sheets on the bed but this is the master room in all its red and gold glory.  I told you it was bright!


The guest room is orange and has quite a tribal feel.  It'll probably look a bit different by the time people visit though, slightly calmer. 


And lastly the bathroom.  I absolutely love this shower with its 4 settings including a separate foot shower and jets out of the wall!  It's been up to 35c this week so a good shower is a must here.

So there you go, a little tour around our new place.  It still feels very new but hopefully we'll settle in soon and see lots of our friends and family for visits.  Rich's parents are our first and we can't wait to show it off!

I'll post about other things we've been getting up to at the weekend.  We may have been busy with flat hunting, paperwork and moving but we've still found time for some fun as well!

Tuesday 28 August 2012

Tengo uno piso!

That means we have found a flat!  To be fair we only took a day and half to find somewhere but it's 35c and that  is pretty hot to spend long days traipsing around a city!

We sign the contract tomorrow and move in on Thursday when I will be able to pop some pictures up.

We both love it though which is the most important thing as it's our first flat together :)

Saturday 25 August 2012

Leaving on a jet plane...

My bags are packed and I'm off!



I have no idea when I'll be able to post next but keep your eyes peeled for updates when I can get to a computer.

Wish us luck!

Friday 24 August 2012

So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehn, Goodbye...

I knew that I'd find saying goodbye to my friends and family difficult.  Given that I won't see most of them until Christmas, that's not a surprise but like so many things the reality is proving even more tricky.

My brother is cycling from London to Paris this weekend and he left this morning so he was the first family member I said bye to.  Cue floods of tears.  I know it's not that long until he'll come to visit in October, but it wasn't very fun regardless.  And to be honest once you've cried that much at 7am, it leaves you feeling a bit funny for the rest of the day.

I've just spoken to my grandparents and that was difficult too.  They're already far away (well, Glasgow) and to be honest moving won't really affect how often I see them but I won't have the same amount of contact with them.  It probably doesn't surprise you they're not on Facebook and don't read blogs or even e-mail.

This all has me slightly worried about the goodbyes at the airport tomorrow, partly because I don't have any waterproof mascara and Rich will fairly inevitably have a streaky faced girlfriend in tow as he goes through security.  But it's not all bad.  I love my friends and family to bits and if it's hard to say goodbye then that just means I'll miss them.  I'd rather this than not being fussed at all.



To anyone reading this who I've seen over this summer (to name a few- Dave, Sharon, Jenny and her boys, Josh, Tom, Lucy, Olly, Marianne, Laura, Amy, Sarah and so, so many more people-sorry if I've missed you out) I have loved catching up and sharing my excitement and I look forward to posting about our new life in Valencia which I'm sure will be fantastic.

Tonight will involve the last of my packing before I relax with my Mum tomorrow morning.  And then it's on to the airport...

Sunday 19 August 2012

Reasons to be cheerful

Well after my slightly subdued start to this blog, it didn't take long before I had a grin on my face.  As soon as I posted and told the world (well Twitter and Facebook) about this new blog I had followers!  And you know what?   I was just as excited to see those first few followers as I was when I first started blogging back in 2009.

I'm pleased to report that, although I'm still nervous too, I'm far more excited now.  And there's lots to be excited about...

Living with Rich.

Finding an apartment and making it our own.

Learning Spanish.

Wandering through the Riverbed Park.


Getting to know my new class and colleagues.

Agua de Valencia (a mix of champagne, Cointreau, vodka and orange juice!)


Paella, tapas and sangria.

Trips to the beach.


Having our friends and family to stay and showing them round.

The Valencian fiesta, Fallas.



Sunshine!

There's definitely plenty to have on my face about.  I think I'm most excited about the sunshine at the moment though... Just look at the weather forecast!

What would you be most excited about?

Saturday 18 August 2012

Packing...

Oh the planning, the list making (OK this bit I love), the packing, the weighing, the decision making, the repacking, the reweighing.  It's not very easy to decide what to move with it, it isn't very easy to fit everything I love into 2 cases and it really isn't very easy to pick them up once I have packed everything I love into 2 said cases.

Packing is my nemesis and I don't think my Mum appreciates that fact that her spare has looked like this for the last couple of weeks.  I imagine that she'll pretend to be upset that I'm leaving but then throw some kind of party once I'm out of earshot and she can reclaim her house.  And I really don't blame her.

I know it'll all be worth it though.  Just 1 week to go and this will all be packed up and heading the East Midlands airport with me...



I still need to reduce how much I'm taking but I'll tell you one thing, those PG Tips are coming with me no matter what.

Friday 17 August 2012

8 sleeps to go...

So don't get me wrong, I am so excited to move.  It's just that with a little over a week until I step on that plane, I'm starting to get a little... I'm not even sure.

I suppose I'm nervous.  Of moving to a country where I don't speak the language and I've never lived before.  And of starting my first teaching job in said new country.  Teaching is wonderful and I love it, but it can be stressful and challenging so I suppose I'm nervous about not having my friends and family around me.

Ah, friends and family.  I typed that and my stomach did a little flip because last night I had a little moment.  I was getting so worried about how to fit in seeing all the people that I need to see before I go and I will admit I got a little teary.  Because as exciting as this is, as much of an adventure as it will be, I am moving away from my lovely family and that's pretty scary.

It's not just nerves or anxiety though.  I'm struggling to even put my finger on which emotion it is.  I think I'm just overwhelmed.  By how much I have to get ready, by how quickly it's come round and by all the things that are going to change a week tomorrow.  In 8 sleeps.  Gulp.

Annoyingly being overwhelmed has taken away a good 90% of my excitement this week.  Well being overwhelmed and all the boring jobs I have to do, they don't help either.  I definitely need some excitement back so my next post will be solely focused on things that I am excited about.  I don't intend for this blog to just be about me feeling like this...


I'm pretty certain that a large part of this feeling is to do with the fact that I haven't seen Rich for a few days so I'm doing all of this getting ready on my own.  Roll on Tuesday when I'm sure (after seeing him) that I will be raring to get on that plane.

LinkWithin