Tuesday, September 26, 2017

An Interesting Series About Galicia



Craig and Melanie and their sweet
dog, Slawit. 
While we are here in Galicia, my postings would be incomplete without reference to friends of ours, one of whom has written a series about living here in Galicia.  Craig and Melanie Briggs actually sold us our house in Trasulfe twelve years ago. (How time flies!) Since then, we've added touches to make our second home more commodious, but we have always enjoyed the house from the get go. And they have always been special friends.

Meanwhile, Craig has written a series of books describing their adventures when they first came to Galicia 14 years ago and, step by step, became more and more immersed in the life of the area, until they decided to live permanently in Galicia. Originally they hail from Huddersfield, England, but 14 years of living here have turned them into Spaniards. They live in a village called Canabal where they have fitted right into village life. (Expats seem to average about one family per village here, and the villages are scattered around larger towns that are hubs of grocery and clothes shopping, etc., not to mention the abundance of fiestas. Canabal is close to Sober, which has a wonderful wine festival each year and often offers classical musical concerts.)

The Books: These are the books in the series:



The very last one, Opportunities Ahead, has just been released.
As you can see from the titles, this is a joyful series, recording how they met challenge after challenge and found that they were not simply "expats" but actually, finally, "home".  This series will give you a good feel for the challenges and adjustments, but also the joys of life in Galicia and what it is like to find a new life in a new setting, speaking a new language.

All of these books are on Amazon, in print and in ebook form. You can go to Amazon.com and Amazon.uk (an maybe other sites as well).  A good way to know your options is to go to the Briggs' travel blog HERE, which makes for delightful reading about certain villages and towns in Galicia and historical signposts that make the area unique.

In addition, a new, humorous posting once a week — The Someday Supplement — includes tidbits of local news and some pretty good local recipes.

You can also reach Craig on Facebook HERE to catch up on latest posts of interesting events and sights.  Happy reading.


How about you? Do you have an author friend who has released a new book lately? Does the author have a site you find particularly interesting? (If yes to either or both, by all means share with us.)

16 comments:

  1. Cool books! Sounds like a great trip too:)

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  2. Hi, Mark, they do capture their experiences very well. You would probably enjoy his blog as well, because he and his wife take beautiful pictures of the various towns and villages and side roads.

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  3. It's interesting you say that, Richard. I happen to know this writer, but I'm sure there are others. I know tons of writers are writing about El Camino (the Pilgrim's road.) It's been interesting to see that mushroom during the 12 years we've been coming here.

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  4. Sounds like cool books and that your friends are certainly passionate about where they live. Awesome that your friends sold you your home too.

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  5. Hi, Natalie, yes they really love living in Galicia. They've been woven right into the community. It's always nice to hear their latest news. And we love the house they sold us.

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  6. I guess you and Rajan have found your second home too. The books look great. Thanks for the post. Enjoy your travels.

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  7. Thanks, Rosi. It's always so restful and relaxing to come to Trasulfe. There's something about Spanish culture that encourages tranquility.

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  8. Elizabeth, thanks for introducing us to Craig's books--they sound like great reading, especially for those of us who have expats in our families living abroad :-) I will have to check them out. And your experiences in Spain are always a good read. Hope you are enjoying your time there in Galicia!

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  9. Thanks, Kenda. I'm glad you enjoy our travel posts. We always enjoy coming. It's so relaxing (in these stressful times, especially.) I remember now that you mentioned you have expats in your family living abroad. I hope they are enjoying their experiences.

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  10. They sound like wonderful folk and so does the series.

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  11. They are wonderful folk, Sandra. We count ourselves lucky to have them as friends.

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  12. Best of Congratulations to your friend. Being able to write about our journey and help others find theirs is such a wonderful gift!

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  13. That's such a nice way to put it, Tanya: helping others find their journey. That's a good description of what their sojourn here is about. Have a great day.

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  14. Sounds like a fun set of books! Awesome that your friend wrote about his experiences. Thanks for sharing. :)
    ~Jess

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  15. Hi, Jess. Thanks for stopping by. Yes, he kept journals from the first day. He's working on a new book now.

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