Daily life
Empadronamiento
em-pa-dro-na-mee-EN-to
Registration on the municipal roll at your local ajuntament. The single most important piece of paper in Spain — healthcare, schooling and your TIE all depend on it.
Cita previa
SEE-ta PREH-vee-a
The prior appointment required for almost every government office. Getting one is the hardest part of Spanish bureaucracy, not the appointment itself.
NIE / TIE
nee-eh / tee-eh
The foreigner identity number and the physical card that carries it. The number comes first and everything else needs it.
Gestor
hes-TOR
A licensed administrative agent who handles bureaucracy on your behalf. Not a luxury in Spain — most residents use one and it is money well spent.
El Jardí del Túria
el har-DEE del TOO-ree-a
The nine-kilometre park built in the drained riverbed after the 1957 flood — the city's spine and, per head, one of the best urban parks in Europe.
Culture
Valencià
va-len-see-AH
The co-official language, a variety of Catalan. Street signs, official forms and schooling all use it alongside Castilian, and nobody expects you to speak it.
Fallas
FAH-yas
The March festival — enormous satirical sculptures built in the streets and burned on the last night, with daytime fireworks so loud they are felt rather than heard.
Mascletà
mas-kle-TAH
The 2pm pyrotechnic barrage in the Plaça de l'Ajuntament during Fallas. It is a rhythm of explosions, not a light show, and it is genuinely deafening.
Social
Horchata / orxata
or-CHA-ta
A cold tiger nut drink from nearby Alboraia, served with fartons for dipping. Local and taken seriously.
Almuerzo
al-MWER-tho
The mid-morning second breakfast, around 10:30, and in Valencia a proper meal — a bocadillo, a beer and a coffee. Distinct from lunch, which is at 2pm.
Emergency
112
—
The single European emergency number for police, fire and ambulance. Free from any phone and English-speaking operators are usually available.
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