6 September 2026

It’s been an eventful week.

On Monday, I registered for driving lessons. You say, “But Jim, you’ve been driving for years. Why do you need to take driving lessons?”

In Europe, a US driving license is only valid for six months. After that, to drive a car, requires a European license. Now, since moving to Spain in December 2023, I have not owned a car and in fact, I love not owning a car. But on those rare occasions when I might have considered renting a car, or sharing the driving in Portugal, or other road trips, I was relegated to the passenger seat. With a Spain driver’s license, I’ll be able to rent a car if and when I want to be able to do so. I’ll also keep my Colorado license current, so long as I keep my permanent residence there.

The thing is, the rules are different here and there are a lot of details and nuances. Getting a license here is not like in the US. It’s tough. I’ve heard tons of horror stories of people who have tried multiple times and finally passed.

There are weeks of classes, starting Monday, then tons of theoretical exams, all before I can take the practical driving lessons. If all goes well, I should have my Spain driver’s license in a few months.

On a crazier note, I went to dinner with my neighbors Carlos and Jose Luis on Wednesday. We met at 9:30 for a night to remember.

Wednesday was the reopening of a local seafood restaurant after the August vacation of the owner. It’s really quite good and I had never been.

Restaurante JM is owned by Vicente (one of the most common names in this city) and has been in business since 1992.

For dinner, we enjoyed two bottles of Turbio wine, oysters, tiny clams called, “Clochinas,” octopus (don’t judge me for some Netflix movie you saw!), calamari, scallops served on the shell, and just because Carlos and Jose Luis wanted to ensure that I had the true Valencia experience, they insisted on sharing a horse meat sandwich…something I had enjoyed before. We topped it off with Cremaet (coffee with rum, cinnamon, sugar and lemon peel).

It was after 11:30. They were closing the restaurant. I thought we were done.

No. After leaving the restaurant, we went to a local bar for a shot of whiskey. Okay. It’s time to go home.

No. There’s another bar. “Let’s get a beer.”

As we sat outside the second bar, a bright red Camaro showed up and dropped off Patrice, a 6” trans woman (whom I had met before with Carlos). The four of us laughed and talked until I finally called it and went home around 1:30 am.

My classes the next day weren’t my best!

This weekend, I went to the beach both Saturday and Sunday morning. i want yo estoy it before it gets cold.

And because life is more beautiful with color and contrasts, this afternoon (Sunday), I went to church.

It was actually a very special occasion. It was the very first service of this budding congregation.

I had learned from a couple different friends about a couple that were exploring whether they should start an English speaking church in Valencia that would be affirming of gay people. Of the few churches here that are not Roman Catholic, almost none are truly welcoming.

But apparently there is one. Church of Hope is part of the Spanish Evangelical Church (a shared ministry of the Presbyterians and Methodists in the US). We met in their sanctuary.

The English group had met a couple times before to gauge interest and I had not been able to go. So I was committed to going tonight.

And given my history with churches, I was really nervous.

Fortunately, while I was on the way there, my friend Matt got on the bus. He was also on his way there.

We met at 5:00 for a Bible study led by Pastor Judy. I was thrilled when my friend Nancy from New Orleans also walked in. We enjoyed a vibrant conversation about what makes for a healthy community or group.

Then, at 6:30, we were joined by the local congregation for a joint bi-lingual service. It was lovely with choruses, Scripture readings, a wonderful message from Pastor Judy, followed by Communion.

At this point, the plan is to meet about once a month. I’ll definitely go back. It felt like a kind, warm community…something I’ve been missing.

Well, it’s late. Spanish classes in the morning tomorrow, followed by driving classes in the evening. Here we go.

Vroom! Vroom!