Day 57: We’re Not in Kansas (aka Evanston) Anymore

I feel very settled and at home here now, and yet…some days make it clearer than others that we are *not* in Kansas (aka Evanston) anymore.

Public transit:

The last time I was a regular user of public transit in Evanston was when I was in high school, and I didn’t love it then. Cars (mine, my friends’, or more recently lyft) were how I moved from point a to point b and if a car wasn’t available I usually stayed put.

Now? I haven’t driven a car since returning a borrowed car on August 1. I’m on bus, tram, and metro lines daily, with cabs serving as rare treats and only taken out of necessity. Yesterday we took the 31 from Malvarrosa into Ciutat Vella and back again just to meet friends for a coffee + Farmer’s Market date, and then we walked to and from the beach.

One of these things is not like the other; opulent architecture spotted on our way to the bus stop

Familiarity:

Living in the town where I grew up did not afford many surprises. I knew where to find everything I wanted, and it was easy to give people directions using either landmarks or cardinal directions.

Now? We spot mysterious things while traveling across town on the bus and take photos to research later. We are 100% reliant on our apps for navigation. I am tracking everywhere we’ve been on a google map and there are big swaths of Valencia we haven’t stepped foot on (though we have probably traveled through them via bus, tram, or metro). The discovery of new places is an almost daily occurrence, and there are only a handful of establishments we’ve been to multiple times.

Places we may go someday

The Great Outdoors:

In Evanston, spending time outside was An Event. I would go out for a run. I would teach in a park or on the beach. I would go to a street festival. Since pandemic times I would sit outside at restaurants and cafes, and I would paint outside. All of these were scheduled on my calendar and planned for — what to wear, what to bring, etc.

Now? We eat on our terrace (and have made a space for Mitzie to join us, too) every day (honestly, every meal). We are outside more thanks to our use of public transit (see above). Pretty much every cafetería and restaurante here has outdoor seating (and not just because of the pandemic). We go for walks “just ‘cause.” I visit the beach several times a week, sometimes just to look at the water, other times to lounge and enjoy.

Well-used time off before my work-day started

Mitzie, not eating pizza, on the terrace. Pizza with artichokes and chorizo with manchego cheese on a GF crust (from Schaar that we’ve never seen in Chicago)

There are, of course, more differences between where we were and where we are. These are the ones that presented themselves yesterday. What might today bring?