Fleur van de Put: An enthusiast of bike tours in Valencia

My name is Fleur, and I’m part of the Typical Non Spanish team. I came to Spain nearly a decade ago from the Netherlands because I wanted to find out about life in other countries. So a friend and I came at first for a holiday and then started looking for a place to live. We started in Girona, then went to Valencia and settled there since we liked it so much and didn't want to go any further.

Moving to Spain and running bike tours in Valencia

I saved money to live in Spain for only six months because that was our initial plan: after that first year we were intending to head back to the Netherlands. I started looking for a job and of course in the beginning it wasn't easy, but then everything started improving. I opened a running company and I was already doing bike touring in Valencia because lots of Dutch people visit the city. I stayed with the bike touring and we conduct a city tour every day now.

A love of Valencia, Spain

For me Valencia is an excellent combination; I really love the historical city but also the modern architecture, the sun, the weather and the beach, it’s all a beautiful mix. I would like to take part of that combination back to the Netherlands, of course the sun, the ‘jamón’ and some other Spanish specialities.

2 other great cities: Madrid and Granada

I have visited a lot of places in this beautiful country in my 8 years here, but I especially love Madrid. It's a really nice city, with lovely, friendly people with whom I share an enjoyment of good food. Two things that really stand out for me are that is so international, and that there’s such a lot of things to do at every time of the day. I also love Granada: the history, the tapas and that undefinable something special the city possesses.

The amazing Spanish lifestyle

I think that I’m still very Dutch, but now I also enjoy Spanish ham at Christmas time. We love to invite family and friends to the house and share a big dinner with them. And I’m a very big fan of the Spanish lifestyle, they're so relaxed. Everyone values time spent sitting on a terrace having coffee and not doing anything much, not thinking of anything, they appreciate their free time in a different way.