The market in January looks smaller in Spain than it really is. Not because there is less on offer, but because nothing shouts. The colours are softer, the piles lower, the repetition greater. You see the same shapes, the same products, the same order. A quick glance suggests there’s little to buy. Stay a moment longer, and you realise the market is doing something other than selling. Less choice, more […]

What strikes me every year in the weeks after Epiphany is not what disappears, but what is left behind. The holidays are over — everyone knows that — yet no one seems in a hurry to make it visible. The street lights are still there. Some evenings they’re on. Some evenings they’re not. As if the system hasn’t been switched off, and no one feels the need to look for […]

I stood still in the house. Not for long. But long enough to feel it. Outside, the air was soft, almost kind. Inside, the cold crept up slowly, from the floor, along my legs. No draughts, no drama. Just a house that made no effort to keep me warm unless I did something first. For many newcomers, that comes as a surprise. January in Spain feels mild outdoors, yet indoors […]

The morning after Three Kings’ Day feels different from other mornings. The calendar says life is back to normal, but the body lags behind. Not exhausted, not refreshed. More neutral — as if the system hasn’t quite decided which mode to switch to yet. The festivities are officially over, but the engine doesn’t start straight away. That in-between feeling is often misread. We tend to think something has to happen […]

January mornings at home always begin the same way. The house hasn’t warmed up yet, the light is thin, and the lingering stillness of the festive weeks hangs in the rooms. Coffee is made quickly, but it keeps something slightly awkward about it. You drink it while still half-searching for the start of the day. There is no rhythm yet — only time waiting. Outside, it’s different. Not warmer, but […]