Every year, fall (or autumn for the fancier set) brings welcome relief.
I absolutely wilt in the summer. Have you ever watched a piece of spinach disappear into a hot soup?
That’s me in summer heat and humidity. Valencia might seem like an odd choice, but for about nine months of the year, the weather here is borderline perfect. It gets juuuuuuuust chilly enough to feel like I had a taste of winter, but not so much that I want to crawl into a warm cave and never come out. (Tennessee winters left me with a mild version of SAD every year thanks to its gray skies and damp weather. I even kept a HappyLight on my desk in an attempt to ward off the inevitable slump.)
In a couple more weeks, Valencian locals will be fully decked out in autumn wear — jackets, jeans, long sleeves. Meanwhile, the weather will still be saying, “Look for a high of 85°F (29°C) tomorrow!” The Spanish tend to dress for the season — not the thermometer — because otherwise, when would some areas ever get to wear fall and winter clothes?
While my brother dreads the arrival of winter, for me, it’s always felt like a new beginning. The school year starts, and the next few months are filled with holiday celebrations, school events, and cozy clothes. Autumn brings new soup recipes, cinnamon-scented candles, pumpkins, apples, books that feel like warm hugs, and leaves that crunch underfoot as Old Man Winter edges closer.
Fall is my happy place.
While it may seem like Valencia doesn’t have a fall season, it does in quieter ways. Palm tree leaves don’t change color, but the lingering humidity dissipates, creating spectacular panoramic views of the mountains surrounding the city. I can still wear sandals to walk Leo, but the supermarket shifts toward fall produce. The sun loses some of its intensity, and the days shorten little by little.
In Spain, school starts well into September, creating a clear dividing line between the beach season and the back-to-school period. We’ve never been big beach people, but if we ever go, it’s during these cooler, quieter September afternoons, grabbing brunch at Boa Beach and then wandering the sand, looking for seashells. As October approaches, we’ll shift back into the city’s plazas and cafés, looking for that perfect cup of café con leche to warm our hands. Our family meal menu changes too: heartier dishes like chili, Zuppa Toscana soup, and pasta.
This time of year still makes me long for Kentucky and Tennessee autumn, leaves changing into vibrant shades of yellow, orange, red, and brown, and a fire pit crackling in the backyard. While the setting has changed, my love for this season hasn’t. I’m always looking for ways to honor my love for this time of year, even if that means finding the elusive Pumpkin Spice Latte at the Starbucks inside El Corte Inglés.
Fall here may not be the same as the one I grew up with, but it’s the one I embrace now.
