So, some time off, and we wanted to go to Europe and be somewhere with a bit of light and sun, and here we are on the coast of Spain.

It may not be the smartest choice, this time of year, given that the UAE finally is cooling off. But everyone in Abu Dhabi knows it can be unpleasantly warm right into November, and even Spain begins to be a bit chill in another month.

So.

How does one get to the Valencia area from Abu Dhabi? Take the nearly sold out Etihad Boeing 777 flight to Rome, which leaves at 2:45 a.m., fight your way through the crowded Fiumicino airport (which seems to be in the midst of a major rebuild) and catch the Alitalia flight to Valencia.

With a 90-minute drive in a rental car, the trip is about 14 hours, all told.

But it is seems worth it, when you pull in to the bustling seaside town where the sun is breaking through fluffy Euro-clouds and the rented apartment affords a great view of the church tower as well as the Mediterranean Sea.

A few early impressions of Altea:

–Any movement in this city is almost certain to involve climbing or descending. The city is built around a church which appears to be on the highest point in the area, perhaps 200 feet above the sea.

–The place appears to be an official retirement destination for northern Europeans. Old people everywhere.

–Prices in Altea seem remarkably low. For pretty much everything. Certainly for groceries and rent. An initial run to the supermarket yielded three bags of stuff that cost 16 euros — about $18.

–The locals do not quite speak Spanish of the sort one associates with, say, Madrid. Valencian appears to be related to Catalan, which is the language spoken in Barcelona. People here are fluent, in terms of vocabulary, in the Spanish of Madrid, but they have their variants on those words, usually shortening them. And most road signs are in three languages — Spanish, Valencian and English.

–It is a community of tight-quarters. Medieval, in that sense. Streets are narrow, apartment buildings stand side by side and some journeys are best attempted via stairs.

So, this is where we will be for a few days, trying to get a sense of the place and celebrating temperatures in the 60s and 70s, Fahrenheit.