the adventures of brian and hugh
The Sweetest Festival
Every year on March 3rd, residents of the neighborhoods in the district of Gràcia in Barcelona celebrate the Festa de Sant Medir.
In Catalan, this festival is fondly known as la festa més dolça — the sweetest festival — owing to the literal tons of candies (caramelos) tossed to spectators from parade contingents.
Continue reading “Festa de Sant Medir”Celebrating the Spanish Constitution of 1978
After the death of Franco in 1975, Spain embarked on a transition from a dictatorial state to its current social democratic parliamentary monarchy, the Kingdom of Spain.
Following an initial parliamentary election in June of 1977, a working group of seven deputies appointed by the lower house of parliament, representing all parliamentary parties, drafted an initial proposed constitution which was debated and amended by the legislature over the course of the next year, resulting in a final version being approved on October 31, 1978, and submitted to the people of Spain in a constitutional referendum on December 6, 1978.
Continue reading “Constitution Day of Spain”Man, time flies! Tempus fugit, my Grannie always said. It may be a cliché, but clichés are usually rooted in truth, right?
Today I celebrate the anniversary of 96 hours that changed our lives.
December 1st, 2020, when the world was in the throes of a pandemic, I boarded a plane bound for Spain. I had a very specific mission to accomplish: using my Irish passport to register myself as a resident in Spain.
Continue reading “How Is it Four Years Already?”The day I became an Irish citizen.
Today is the 9th anniversary of the recording of my birth on the foreign births register of Ireland, marking the date I officially became an Irish citizen: 24 November 2015.
I’ll never forget picking up the envelope at the post office in Seattle a couple of weeks later. The paperwork came in a hand-addressed plain Kraft brown envelope looking like my Irish grandmother had written the address herself.
Continue reading “A Birthday of Sorts”Who knew a vacation would change our lives?
We may not have known it then, but nine years ago today was really the start of our little adventure. We boarded a plane for our first trip to Spain, during which a tiny little seed of an idea was planted waaaaayyyy back in the corner of each of our minds that perhaps, possibly, maybe, perchance some day at an undetermined time in the far future we might find ourselves retiring to this enchanting land.
Life is funny. And unpredictable. And grand. And seeds germinate. And grow. And if we’re lucky, produce flower and fruit. Brian calls this our Spainiversary. Apt, no?
Continue reading “A Seed is Planted”An American’s first encounter with the Spanish healthcare system.
One of the many attractions to life outside the United States for Americans emigrating abroad is access to better healthcare systems. Now, this does not mean the U.S. has poor healthcare, per se, but accessing that healthcare is problematic for many, and it is frequently especially problematic for those who need it most.
Our first significant encounter with the Spanish public healthcare system was nothing short of magical from the American perspective and yet it was mundane from the point of view of the Spaniards, who are puzzled by our incredulousness.
Continue reading “A Visit to the Doctor”Fish & shellfish by the kilo, cooked up right.
When we visited Barcelona in 2013, we discovered a small local chain of marisquerías (fish shops) called La Paradeta. Since then we have been back many times and we have introduced many friends — including professional chefs — to the establishment to their great delight.
Continue reading “Eats: La Paradeta”Historic Lithuanian Cuisine in Vilnius
In researching my trip to Vilnius, I was fortunate to come across a recommendation for Ertlio Namas from a fellow traveling foodie in a group to which I belong on Facebook. When I saw his pictures and read his review, I immediately booked myself a table. Spoiler alert: I look forward to returning and bringing my hubby with me.
The chef, Tomas Rimdys, and his team, have set up camp in a seventeenth-century building in which they present a tasting menu based on Lithuanian recipes dating from the 16th to the 19th centuries. Each course is served with a story putting it in historical context. The menu changes six times a year.
Continue reading “Eats: Ertlio Namas”How two Americans leveraged the Irish citizenship of one to establish residency in Spain for both
With citizenship in any member state of the European Union comes E.U. citizenship. Just as U.S. citizens can live and work anywhere in the U.S., E.U. citizens can live and work anywhere in the E.U. It’s not quite as seamless as the U.S., though. Non-Spanish E.U. citizens living in Spain are still considered foreigners and have some administrative requirements to fulfill, but there is no application process, per se.
Furthermore, the E.U. grants its citizens the right to bring their non-E.U. spouse and certain other family members with them under a policy of “family reunification.” So my husband also gets to live and work in Spain (or any other country in the E.U.), as long as we remain married and I remain in the same country. (Someone has to be very, very nice to me!)
Read my post about becoming an Irish citizen, which is the basis for our Spanish residency.
Continue reading “How We Became Spanish Residents”How this Connecticut Yankee got himself an Irish passport!
Our pathway to Spanish residency meandered through Ireland. Not physically, bureaucratically. Ireland offers citizenship by descent to the grandchildren of any person born on the island of Ireland (even Northern Ireland).
Both of my father’s parents were born there. In 2015 I received my Irish citizenship and in 2016 got my Irish passport. Since Ireland is a member of the E.U., this permits me to travel, live, and work anywhere in the EU without restrictions, and to bring my non-EU spouse with me.
Many people have inquired about my experience, so read on for details if you’re interested. BTW, it’s not necessary to visit Ireland to do this; I never set foot on Irish soil until six years after I got my Irish passport.
NB: if either of your PARENTS was born in Ireland, you were an Irish citizen AT BIRTH. Your process will be similar, but just a bit simpler. My father, whose parents were born in Ireland, obtained his Irish passport after I did using the same documents I collected for mine.
Continue reading “The Road to Irish Citizenship”