Normal Life in Valencia

9/24 At 4am that morning, John left out little piso and headed to the airport and back to the USA. I was too tired to be sad, but I felt it later. It was so great to have him in Spain, and the visit of course went way too quickly. I spent the rest of my day editing photos and being lazy, and then once Bárbara got off work I went with her and Nathan to get some drinks at the little café on our street. We were celebrating Bárbara’s high score and the fact that she passed the dreaded TOEFL exam she had been studying so hard for the past few weeks! I had some tinto de verano, and then later we ordered Telepizza and ate it on the couch in the piso. A nice relaxing day in Valencia! The highlight of my day on 9/25 was an impromptu meet up of some friends at the park near the old river. The river Turia used to flow through the whole city, but once it flooded in the 60s it was drained. It is now a park full of running trails and gardens that follows the path that the river once did. It’s a little strange that you can sit in grass under the old medieval bridges, but it is a very fun and pretty area. People still refer to it as “the river” though- (it took me a while to realize that there actually is no river anymore). We all packed bocadillos, chips and some vino, and we sat down on a blanket in the park. It was dark by the time we were all there, but the lights from the city were good enough. It was myself, Bárbara, Nathan, Whitney, Rachel, Marissa, and a new couple I met that night named Carlos and Christie. Christie is American and met Carlos, her recent fiancé, while studying abroad in Valencia 1.5 years ago. All in all there were 5 Americans there, and only 1 doesn’t live permanently/forever in Valencia- me :( . Sadness. 

Flamenco Themed Restaurant in Valencia

So the next day 9/26 while Bárbara was at work, I walked around in the Benimaclet neighborhood of the city with Nathan. It is an older less developed part of the city, and as a result there are a lot of really cool old buildings and plazas. It makes you feel like you are really in 19^th century Spain or something. Bárbara and her family grew up in this neighborhood, so it was nice to see her childhood stomping grounds a little. We also randomly ran into her friend Vicente, small world! We stopped and had some horchata at a café, and then we made the long walk back to the piso on Calle Menendez y Pelayo. At 7 that evening, I had a Spanish tutoring lesson with Whitney at her apartment. I walked down the long street of Blasco Ibañez to her apartment, and I got in some quality Spanish knowledge! On 9/27 Nathan and I met up with Bárbara and her co-workers for lunch at Taberna Jaen near our piso. The funny thing about her co-workers is that they used to be my study abroad program advisors 5 years ago. If someone told me back then that 5 years later I would be sitting in a café having drinks with them and speaking in Spanish, I doubt I’d have believed it- oh how far I’ve come ;) After a smoke filled hour of drinks with Manuel, Sara, Raquel, and Bárbara, Nathan and I took the bus downtown to the center. We shopped around for a little bit and went to the bookshop. I got a nice coffee table book on the city’s history! We also ate lunch at a Flamenco themed restaurant that was too touristy, even for me! That evening, the three of us had drinks and bravas before they left on their 12-hour-bus to Santander, where Nathan lives. That night, I was alone in the apartment. It was a little creepy. I thought every sound was a serial killer and I slept with the lights on!

Some of the downed trees from the wind storm

9/28- To start out my weekend, I slept in super late on Friday. It was awesome. I walked around the city a bit and just people watched and explored. I did some cleaning, and then around 6pm I packed my bag and was picked up by Whitney and Raúl in his car. They drove me to their apartment, and on the way the weather took a crazy turn for the worse! I’m used to Valencia being perpetually sunny and dry, so the fact that it was thundering, rainy, and super windy was strange. I saw a car wreck, which is rare there, and several trees were starting to blow over. We parked on the street and in order to get in their apartment we had to pass through a “wind tunnel” in between 2 buildings. It was seriously intense wind! I felt like my body could have been lifted in the air- it was crazy. Once we were safely inside we got a carry out pizza from the place in their building, and then we watched a movie! This was my “slumber party” night with Whitney, and I’m glad I wasn’t alone during the storm. During the course of the night we kept looking out the window and saw more and more trees or bushes that had come down. They have a guest bedroom there so I got to stay in my own comfy bed, and all in all it was a great deal! One sad thing about the evening though is that the abandoned bird they found and have been taking care of, named Tallina, had broken its foot somehow and was basically dying…

Barbara's Note to Me on the Frame we made!

Saturday morning 9/29, we assessed the damage outside. Wind is crazy! At about 1pm Whitney and I headed out and got some tapas at a little place near her piso. She also gave me another Spanish lesson, and I must say she is a really awesome tutor! I get personalized lessons, and I really do feel like I’ve learned more from my sessions with her than I did at the Don Quijote classes. After that we just hung out, then I made the 25 minute walk back to my piso. Marissa had invited a bunch of people over to her apartment in Benifer for game-night that night. I didn’t feel like navigating the metro, so I took the slightly pricy cab to her apartment on the other side of town, and got there right at 9:30. Rachel was there too, and we were joined by Josep, Ruben, Miguel, and Pablo. We played “Uno” for a while, and then I taught them how to play a drinking game called 21. Somehow we all stayed up laughing and having an amazing time until about 5:30 am. I love how late Spaniards stay up! It just fits my life, haha. A highlight of the evening was Marissa & Josep’s dog Coco pooping on the floor because they put a diaper on her and she didn’t know how to react.  Not sure why, but it was hysterical to us at the time. Pablo drove Rachel and Ruben home, and then was nice enough to drop me off to my piso. So, after that fun-filled evening, I of course slept in crazy late on Sunday 9/30. I cleaned and did some laundry, and then around 8:30 that night Whitney came over to hang out with me since Raúl was at work and she was bored. I made us some bravas and we basically just watched tv and chatted. I went to bed around 2, and Whitney stayed on the couch until 6am when Raúl was coming home from work and could just pick her up from my place. Bárbara came in around 5am from Santander, so luckily I was never alone in the piso that weekend again!

Our little balcony in the Piso

Valencian Wine Country!

Vineyard of Hoya de Cadenas

It was our first day back in Spain after the crazy trip to Marrakech, and we weren’t wasting any time. We started the day out early- Bárbara, Nathan, John, and I were on the metro to the airport by 7:30am. Once there, we picked up our rental car for the day. Luckily, they honored John’s American driver license, because he was the only one of us who knew how to drive a manual! I was also surprised at how inexpensive it was to rent a car- it only cost about 40 euros for the whole day, so just 10 a person. We found it through www.europcar.com, I’d definitely recommend using them if you ever need to! After a quick breakfast, we met up with Marissa and Josep, and our car followed Josep’s car out of the city and on the way to the Valencian pueblo of Utiel. It was about an hour drive outside of the city, and there were of course some interesting sights along the way. Finally, we arrived at the vineyard called “Hoya de Cadenas”, and had our introduction to the Spanish wine country. This vineyard offered a guided tour for 8 euros each (with a reservation), and the best part was that we got to ride a little train through the vineyard! We got to see the grapes growing of course, and we stopped at an old casa from the mid 1800’s where the original wine-making family lived. We got to explore a bit, and also got to see these barrels creatively decorated by local artists. The informational part of the tour was given only in Spanish, so we had to translate for John, but he still got the general idea. It was a beautiful day out and we got really lucky with that, the whole area was just so sunny and pretty, I loved it!

The wine train = Best train ever!

Barbara loves the artsy barrel

Once our wine train ride ended, we got to go down to the cellar where they kept the wine aging in the oak barrels. There, we also got to sample a few of the different house wines. Right before our train ride had started, my eye had been bothering me- at this point though, it was having a full on spasm, and all my makeup had come off. My one eye was so little and red that I think I was scaring people, so I had to wear my sunglasses the rest of the day: Even inside a dark basement. Yes, my life is awesome like that. Anyways, after that delicious wine tasting and of course impromptu group photo shoot, we went up to their gift shop. John got a few bottles and they wrapped them up for him in a cool travel box so he could safely fly them back to Kentucky. By this time it was about 11:30am, and we were ready for the next destination on our “Wineyard Tour 2012”!

Ladies loving Life at Pago de Tharsys

We got back into our awesome little European car, and rode through some quaint little Spanish pueblos, passing old ruins and falling-apart farmhouses on the way. About 30 minutes later, we arrived at the next town called Requena. This town is probably the most famous in the region for its wine, and has the most vineyards as well. We had a reservation for a group tour at noon at a place called “Pago de Tharsys”, where Marissa and Josep had been before and loved. Once there, we could see why! It was a lot smaller than the last place, but it’s a family run business and they handpick all of their grapes. We got to walk through a little grape vine tunnel, and got to see the 200 year old wine cellar. Of course the grape vine tunnel made for a perfect photo op! Next up, we got to sample some of their house wines in the main gift shop. I wasn’t a huge fan of any one in particular, but I didn’t dislike any either. The guys in the group bought some Spanish sausage and jamon serrano from the shop, and once we took the final photos of our wine tasting, we were ready for lunch. We drove into the main plaza of town, parked on a side street, and started wondering around. Since it was a Sunday, many places were closed, and it took us a while to find a place with good prices that was open and that we all agreed on. During this time though, we passed by the castle of Requena. I love how in Spain you see castles everywhere just like you’d see Walmarts in the US. Obviously, one is a lot cooler though. We finally picked a place, and sat down outside. The weather was nice, but then an insane wind kicked in. During the course of our mass amount of tapas and drinks, a few of the drinks blew over from the wind. Also, a bird pooped in Marissa’s wine glass. We were there for a few hours, taking our time and enjoying the day. Once were feeling stuffed and tired, we all got back into our cars and headed towards the city.

Marissa picking a grape

Castillo de Requena

Marissa and Josep went back to their apartment, but Nathan, Bárbara and I decided to stop first at Port Saplaya so that John could see that part of Valencia as well. We walked around the picturesque canals, and just relaxed and took in the views. I wanted him to see this little area of the city so he could get a better idea of all that Valencia has to offer! It was getting really hot by this point in the day, and also crazy humid, so we swung by a frozen yogurt place for a little bit. After that we walked along the beach walk, and of course took more photos. Since we were all really tired, we took the rental car back to the airport, and took the metro back home. John started packing his stuff for his flight to the US tomorrow, and I was glad that he was able to see and do so much in Valencia during his brief time here.

Port Saplaya, Always beautiful.

Random building on the country drive

Beach at Port Saplaya

Morocco and Beyond

My trip to Marrakech, Morocco will be detailed later in a different section of the travel blog! Until then, here is a photo I will leave you with :)

John's Valencia Experience- Parte Dos

Risking his life for a photo.

Being the morning person that he is, John made sure we were up and out of the piso by 9am and on our way to explore more of the city. Since he had the chance to see the modern parts of the city yesterday, I decided today to take him on my “historic tour” of the old city. By this point, I have a whole walking route mapped out, and can point out the places of note. I am a pretty good tour guide if I say so myself- I even know random little informational tidbits and have dates and facts all memorized by now. It’s too bad I can’t do this for tips! We took the bus downtown to the Plaza de La Reina, and began our day there. It was nice and hot, per usual Valencian style, so the first thing we did was go inside the Cathedral. This is the main point of the old city center, and so we paid the 2 euros to climb the 300+ stairs to the top of the church’s tower, El Miguelete. This was the 4^th time I’ve done this in my life, and I know more times are to come. The views at the top are spectacular though, and I definitely wanted John to have that vantage point of my beloved city. Next, we swung by the classic horchata place for a drink, and then we explored the Plaza de La Virgen and the surrounding buildings. We got to see the River Turia fountain, the old Islamic entrance to the church, and the old Roman ruins underneath the plaza too. Once I felt John had a real feel for the look and architecture of the central part of the city, we headed over to the Torres de Serrano. Unfortunately, the towers are randomly closed on Mondays, so we only got an exterior view. We then kept walking through the narrow streets (with me leading the way, be proud) and walked over towards the quarter of the city with the old wool market (Llonja de La Seda) and the Mercado Central. We passed by a church called Iglesia de San Juan, in honor of John, and he also got to see giant paella pots for sale. We didn’t end up going inside La Llonja, just had a quick peek, and then we arrived at the market. I figured John would love it, especially given that he enjoys trying random foods. I was right. Once he’d had his fill of taking photographs and buying unique fruit, we headed over to the business and shopping centre of the city, or the Plaza de La Ayuntamiento. This is a beautiful part of town full of tall buildings with gorgeous architecture. The fountains and palm trees all around don’t hurt either!

Walking around the old city center

Me in Plaza de La Virgen, love that place!

Mercado Central Valencia

Plaza de La Ayuntamiento- Government Center

We decided to stop for lunch on one of the pedestrian streets at a Thai place called Lemongrass. I convinced John to abstain from Spanish food for one meal because pad-thai is just so good! After that, we walked across the street to the Plaza De Toros. Since the Oktoberfest event was going on still, we were able to go in and walk around, which isn’t usually the case on a day with no bullfights. He was lucky to get to see the inside part, and I of course forced him to pose next to the matador statue outside too. It was still early afternoon at this point, and we weren’t really sure what else to do. We tried to go to the Museo Taurino, but that also was closed. Since it was getting really hot, we headed back towards the Cathedral and took a few more photos. Then, unfortunately, we had to take the expensive metro ride back to the Valencia airport. Air Europa had texted me saying John’s luggage was finally in, but that instead of delivering it he would have to go pick it up himself. It takes about 30 minutes to get there on the metro, so we wasted over an hour of our day getting his luggage. I was just a little mad. Once that annoying task was done, we took his bag back to my piso. We had done a lot of walking and it was really hot, so we just took it easy the rest of the day. Bárbara, Nathan, John, and I ended up going out to dinner at Montaditos, and had a really good time! The little sandwiches they serve were a good way for John to get to try a variety of the Spanish meats. Afterwards we had wine and goat-cheese at the piso and just hung out and chatted. I think after today John had a good idea or “feel” of Valencia, and now we are ready to venture off to Africa tomorrow!

John in the Bullfighting Ring

The Couple- Reunited!

John's Valencia Experience

Matador Kills the Bull. Ole!

The much-anticipated day had finally arrived! My boyfriend John was here in Spain! I woke up early and took the long metro ride out to the Valencia airport to pick him up. As soon as I saw him, we locked eyes, and I ran through the airport and jumped into his arms. He spun me around and it was so romantic—Just kidding, that is not how it happened at all. Actually, his luggage was lost so I found him in a long line, and helped him speak Spanish. Once that crisis was somewhat averted (no thanks to Air Europa), we took the long metro ride back towards the University district where I live. I got off the wrong exit at my stop though so he got an accidental tour of the streets near my piso. Oops. Anyways, once he dropped off his backpack and got to meet Bárbara and see our lovely piso, we were ready to begin the day and commence his Spanish tourism! First things first, we walked to a little restaurant close by called Taberna de Jaen so that John could have his first “typical Spanish meal”. Bárbara came with us, and we ate a ton of food and had a great time. Poor John, we kept forcing him to talk to our waiter in Spanish since it entertained us to see him get embarrassed. Despite this, he got to have his first paella, jamón Serrano, patatas bravas, and Valencian seafood- all in his first meal. While we were eating, our waiter (who could somehow tell we were foreigners) invited us to check out the “back room” where they keep their bullfighting souvenirs. We agreed, and before we knew what was happening we were all in costumes. John was a matador, I was a flamenco dancer, and Bárbara was a bull. Of course we took tons of silly photos acting out our roles. It was one of those unplanned, random travel moments that turned out to be hilarious and made for some awesome pictures. Maybe it played up stereotypes that tourists to Spain might have, but whatever, it was fun!

The couple at the CAC

Our next stop was the City of Arts and Sciences. I didn’t care if John was tired from his trans-atlantic flight, we were going to beat his jet-lag by not letting him stop moving until night. We walked towards the River Turia area, and got to enjoy the gardens, fountains and little riverwalk along the way to the CAC. It took us about an hour, and once we got there, we spent time wandering around and exploring the place. The architecture always makes for great photos, and I was happy for John to get to see one of the “gems” of Valencia. It was a beautiful day, a bit hot, but the lighting was perfect for my pictures. I was just so happy John was there with me, I’d been talking up the city to him for years, so I was just pumped he could finally see it all in person. Once we’d had our fill of the CAC, we started walking back towards the center. Realizing how tired we were, we gave up and took a cab to the beach area.

As everyone knows, I absolutely LOVE the beach. So I forced John to come see it with me. We started out near the Las Arenas hotel, and did a stroll in the sand. We shopped for a swimsuit for him at the little stalls on the walkway, but for some reason this did not make him want to go swimming. He’s not a big fan of sun or beaches. I guess I had anticipated this, because I wasn’t that upset about not getting to lay out and swim. So, once we walked around and saw the sights, we went to the America’s Cup Port area. This place was lively and hopping back in 2007 when it was hosting the world’s largest sailing competition, but now it’s a bit like a ghost town. All the cool buildings are still there, but a bit dingy and void of activity. The only good part about exploring the port area was that an old ship that looked like a traditional 

Spanish armada boat or pirate ship was there. It also happened to be sunset, so we got to have the beautiful views of the water at twilight. To wrap up his first day in Spain, we ate a quick dinner near my piso, and got ready to face the next day!

L'Umbracle at the City of Arts & Sciences

View of Playa Malvarosa in Valencia

Red-Beard the Pirate by his Ship

German Oktoberfest in Spain

My card to Barbara for the TOEFL :)

9/15 To start my weekend off, I had another intercambio with my new friend Sandra at Sal y Pimienta. We shared some patatas bravas and talked for about 2 hours, half in English half in Spanish. Luckily for once it was nice outside, without being unbearably hot. While I was there, poor Barbara was busy taking a super-important exam for her entry into a Master’s program in Wisconsin. Being the sweet roomie that I am, I bought her chocolate that morning (since it helps your brain function!) and I wrote her a nice little encouraging card. I know, I’m too kind J Next up, I went downtown to Calle Colón with Marissa and Bárbara to go shopping. It was to celebrate Bárbara’s test being over, so we hit up some good stores and I got a little black dress. It’s so hard to go shopping in Valencia and not buy anything! We all had a lot of fun though; shopping with those ladies was very entertaining! After that, we took the bus back to our piso. There we tried on each other’s dresses as typical girls would, and I decided to wear Bárbara’s orange dress and she wore one of mine.  We listened to some good music and had a few drinks, and then we were ready to go out on a Saturday night! We met up with Josep, Rachel, Ruben, Pablo and an American girl named Nicole at a restaurant in the city center called Montaditos. It’s a cool chain restaurant where you order up from a list of tiny cheap little sandwiches. We all were sitting outside chatting, and I got Nicole’s info since she’s living in Madrid, and I’ll be going there with my friends in about a month.

Oktoberfest in Valencia!

Marian, Marissa, Me, Sandra y Barbara!

After debating what we should do after dinner, half of the group decided to go to the Plaza de Toros. It had been converted into a German beer fest for the week: The Oktoberfest of Spain. The only ones from our group who decided to go were Marissa, Bárbara and I. Once we got there, we met up with some of Bárbara’s other girlfriends Sandra, Chus and Marian. Just like the Hofbrauhaus in Northern Kentucky, we ordered some super tall beer steins, sat down at the long wooden tables, and listen to German polka music- but sung in Spanish. It was a little strange at first, but there were even pretzels so all was good! It was also weird to think I was standing there dancing and drinking on a table on the actual field were the bulls were killed at the fight I went to in July. So, Marissa thought we should go ahead and play the card game “Kings”, and before we knew it these two guys Bárbara had met at her exam that morning had run into us and decided to join. It was all fun and games until the Honduran guy kept inching closer and closer to me and was totally invading my personal space. Basically, I was being hit on to the point where it was really uncomfortable, so we did the typical “girl escape route” and went to the bathroom. After that, we stuck around Bárbara’s friends and I tried my best to hide from that creepy guy. Basically, the evening ended with the security guards telling us that it was time to leave, and my friends yelling at them that they should be allowed to finish their beer first. It was quite hilarious. We all then walked to the El Carmen district, and after a brief stop at another bar, cabbed it home. I wanted to go to bed early because in the morning I was going to pick up my boyfriend at the Valencia airport!! Yay!

Plaza de Ayuntamiento at Night

Intercambios and Historical Valencia

Flag of Valencia

9/10 I didn’t have class this week, so I was “just passing the time”. Honestly, I can’t complain! I spent the day planning our trip to Morocco and what to do about day trips. Independent traveling takes a lot more time and effort than people think, so that took up most of my day. For dinner Bárbara and I ordered in pizza, and that was my great Monday! The next day 9/11, I decided to take the tram to spend the day at the lovely beach of Valencia. Because it’s not August and people are back to work, it was far less crowded than usual. I stretched out on my towel with my coca-cola-light and a book, and had a grand old time. That evening, I had plans for an intercambio with a Spanish girl. In case you don’t remember, an intercambio is when you meet with someone who wants to learn your native language and you take turns conversing in the two languages. It’s one of the best ways to become comfortable speaking, and plus you get to meet locals! We met at the little restaurant near my piso “Sal y Pimienta” and then I got to meet the lovely Sandra Gonzalez for the first time. Intercambios are a little like a blind date at first honestly. I’d never met her before, but our mutual friend Lorena set us up on this “date” because we’re the same age and she knew we’d get along, haha. So, after the initial awkwardness was over, all was good. We had some cerveza and just got to know each other. I really enjoyed getting to talk to her and I think it boosted my confidence a lot. On 9/12 after a trip to Mercadona, it was time for my first ever “class” taught by my lovely bilingual friend Whitney. I asked her if she was interested in tutoring me for 8 euros an hour in the coming weeks, and luckily she was interested! We met up on the main street Blasco Ibañez and then walked to the nearby park together. We hung out on a bench in the shade and spent an hour doing our Spanish class. She prepared a little lesson for me, and I was taking notes- so cute. It was really great actually, and I think I learned more in this one class than I did in a week with the Don Quijote program. Not that there’s anything wrong with that program, but having one-on-one individualized attention from a tutor is extremely helpful!

Plaza de La Virgen

 So, that night, the study-abroad company that Bárbara works for (ISA) was hosting an event for their students at a bar/restaurant on the street I used to live on, Polo y Peyrolón. The event was basically a big intercambio so that the American students could meet Spaniards and vice-versa. Free drinks and tapas were provided, and it was a good opportunity for me to meet people to practice with! So, I met up with Bárbara at the office and walked there with her. It was kind of funny, a few of the students thought I was working with ISA, and at one point one of the kids told me he was shocked that I was American. The whole time I was talking in Spanish in front of him, he thought I was actually Spanish. That’s probably the best compliment I could ever receive! Seriously. So anyways, the night went by fast. I talked to a bunch of locals and the students too, and had a fun time chatting the night away. By the end of the event, my voice was lost and I had contact information for 3 different promising intercambio contacts- Go me! Thursday 9/13 I spent another day alone at the beach, it’s a rough life. That evening, I met up with Marissa and Rachel downtown at the Plaza de La Virgen. We had some drinks in the square by the fountain, and then we went into the Carmen district to find dinner. We ended up splitting some delicious Spanish food, and got in some good girl talk.

Sights on the walking tour of Valencia

9/14 Today, Bárbara was giving a walking tour of the downtown part of the city to the ISA students, and she invited me along. We took the bus to the center, and I followed our tour guide around like a good little student would. I actually learned a lot of new information about the historical details, which for me was really cool. Of course I’d seen all the sights before, but it was nice to learn more about the stories behind them. Plus it was a gorgeous day and I just love walking around the beautiful old city center. I also got to bond with some of the students. It’s still so weird to me that I was in their shoes, but that it was 5 years ago. It just doesn’t feel like it was that long ago, but it was. Crazy. We began the tour that morning by having some horchata (the typical Valencian drink made from nuts) at the oldest horchatería in the city, and then we explored the Cathedral area.  Something new I saw was the old Roman ruins underneath the ground of the plaza. I never realized that was there before, so that was neat to learn. Next we went to the Torres de Serrano, and then on to the Llonja and the Mercado Central. The tour finished up in the big Plaza de La Ayuntamiento, and once the students left at about 4pm, Bárbara and I had some tapas together in the center. That evening, Bárbara was invited to dinner at her boss Manuel’s house for his birthday, and she invited me along too. The funny thing about this is, Manuel was the program director for me when I studied abroad in ’07. One of those weird life coincidences- who would’ve thought one day I’d end up going to his birthday dinner at his house? Anyways, they grilled out burgers and I got to meet his very sweet American wife and two adorable bilingual children. We hung out on their nice patio for a few hours and just socialized. I also talked a lot with Bárbara’s co-worker Raquel. She is such a sweet girl. Overall, it was a good night with good food! I heart España! 

Paella, Long Walks, and Peñiscola

My cute dress!

9/3 After the first day of my last week of conversation classes at the Don Quijote school building, I came home and got ready for the Gasquet family birthday dinner for Bárbara’s Mom. I put on a super cute low back dress and we walked to the metro stop in Benimaclet to wait and meet up there with her parents. We were going to go to a Spanish restaurant in the centre but there was a change of plans so we ended up going to a Chinese buffet restaurant. That was fine with me- all you can eat dessert AND soy sauce? I’m down. Also that night I talked to my boyfriend John and we officially confirmed the dates he’d be flying to Spain to visit me! I’m so pumped! Then, the next two days were pretty uneventful for me; on Tuesday (9/4) I went to class then hung out alone. I walked around the city for a few hours just to kill the time, and then once Bárbara got off work we went out to a little restaurant for some patatas bravas. On Wednesday (9/5) I went to class, but then after that I was super low-key and basically just went to Mercadona, worked on planning for my upcoming trip to Morocco with John, and started making a frame made out of the shells I collected on the beach in Cullera. That night, Bárbara left to go to Madrid with ISA to pick up the incoming group of students that will be studying in Valencia for the fall semester. Man, I remember being a little 20 year old and coming her to study abroad with ISA- those were the days! So, after a night alone in our little piso, I spent my Thursday (9/6) hanging out with Whitney and her American friend Sandra who was in town to visit her. I was so happy they didn’t mind me tagging along, otherwise I think I’d have been very bored and lonely all week. I met up with the ladies that morning at Whitney’s place, and we walked to the Museum of Fine Arts, or Museo de Bellas Artes. It was free entry and a neat old building, and many of the painting were from a locally famous painter named Joaquin Sorolla. I enjoyed it, but I think I’m a bit spoiled art museum wise after having been to the Louvre. Things still impress and interest me, but I don’t know if anything will have quite as much an effect as “that one” in Paris J. After the museum we went back to Whitney’s apartment and Sandra and I were treated to a delicious meal of paella along with Raúl  Whitney made it herself, and I especially loved it because she made a vegetarian version. I’m not particularly fond of eating the rabbit meat that’s usually in paella, so I was excited for this paella de verduras. We spent the rest of the day together laying out and chatting at the beach, Playa Malvarrosa. For dinner, they let me hang out and eat pizza with them at Whitney’s apartment! I was happy to have a nice relaxing day with some girlfriends. I was worried I’d be “intruding” on their friend alone time, but luckily they didn’t seem to mind too much!

Paella de Verduras!

Photo Frame!

Friday (9/7) I decided to be a rebel and skip my class again, and I slept in and finished the picture frame I was making from the shells. It was nice outside and not too hot, so I decided to go for a walk. I ended up making the 45 minute stroll to the local Burger King. Judge me if you want, but Spanish food just didn’t sound good to me today. I can’t explain the joy I felt eating some juicy fried chicken with ketchup. Anyways, during my walk I also went past the street Polo y Peyrolón that I used to live on with Sarah and our host mom Esperanza back in the day. It was definitely a nice little walk down memory lane. I can’t believe that was more than 5 years ago! Seriously, time flies. The rest of the afternoon I basically did nothing, and then I met up with Marissa. The two of us walked to the cute little sushi restaurant Miss Sushi and there we met up with Whitney and Sandra. The four of us had a nice little dinner together, and then we went out to some of the bars that were close by. We played pool at a British place called Big Ben, and we had some colorfully delicious girly drinks. We finished off the night at some place with cushy chairs, and then all day Saturday I did nothing. Seriously, I was a waste of life. But I enjoyed it. It was okay to have a “do nothing” day because the next morning, I had plans to go on a day trip!

Drinks at the Pub!

Streets of Peniscola

Bright and early Sunday morning (9/9) I was picked up at the piso by Raúl, Whitney, and Sandra.  We rode in the car for two hours to the lovely beachside town of Peñiscola. I went there with Greaham and Christina back in July, remember? It’s the town with the old castle built into the side of the rocks with all this awesome history relating to the knights Templar- in case you forgot. So, once we got there we walked around the quaint little streets on the interior part of the town. We got to see a little parade going on because it was the city’s “saint day”. They were also preparing for a big “running of the bulls” event for tomorrow night, which sadly we did not get to see. Once we were done exploring we had a delicious lunch next to the beach, and then we made our way down to the sand. Whitney and Raúl went back to the car to get their snorkel equipment, and Sandra and I did some tanning. Unfortunately, after about just 30 minutes the sun decided to hide behind several clouds. I still decided to go snorkeling out in the ocean later on despite this. It was a bit chilly but I love swimming in the ocean and wouldn't let something like that stop me! Whitney and Raúl were looking near the rocks, but I decided it was too painful to scrape my feet on, so I just swam out really deep with only my goggles. I felt like a bad ass exploring the rocks and seeing the little fish. Sadly there weren't many shells, but it was still awesome. It was a really cool feeling though, to be out in the middle of the Mediterranean just floating around and loving life! The view was also gorgeous, even with the clouds. We probably would have stayed longer, but it started to lightning. So, sadly, we headed to Valencia, and back at home, Bárbara was back from Madrid. No more nights alone in the piso thinking every sound is a murderer!

Beach at the Start of the Day

Beach at the End of the Day

Shopping, Bars, and Birthdays

Blue Moon in Valencia

8/30 In the aftermath of the Tomatina, I spent the next day going to my conversation class at Don Quijote and then cleaning our piso from top to bottom. To treat myself, that night I went shopping with Bárbara at the Las Arenas mall in the Benimaclet neighborhood. My best purchase was some fake clip-on hair from Claire’s. I tried it on as a joke but it amazingly matched my hair color perfectly, so I bought it, why not. On Friday (8/31) I went to my last class of the week and enjoyed the 30 minute walk in the blazing heat... I then made one of my tri-weekly stops at the grocery store under our piso (Mercadona), and then I had a girls night with Whitney! I took the tram and we met up near the beach for some tapas, and to enjoy the ocean breeze. Finally the heat wasn’t unbearable! After we ate we took a stroll on the beach, and it was extra beautiful because it was the night of a blue moon. The reflection of the sky on the water was perfect, and of course very photogenic.

El Carmen District

To get the weekend really going, on Saturday (9/1) Bárbara and I went shopping at the “rich people” mall downtown by the City of Arts and Sciences called Aqua Mall. We didn’t buy anything but it’s still nice to look! For dinner we were invited to Marissa and Josep’s apartment, and Marissa cooked us a delicious meal of tortilla soup. Rachel and Ruben were there, as well as their friends Pablo and Miguel. It was a good group and we had a lot of fun playing this drinking game called 21. It was hilarious and I laughed the hardest I had in a while. After the pre-game was done, we headed out to the bars in the El Carmen district of the city. These bars are smaller but still crowded, and thanks to the bar employees who walk around handing out promotional coupons like free entries or drinks, we got into the bar we wanted for free. A highlight of the evening included Marissa and Bárbara shot-gunning a beer in an alleyway, and the Spanish guys hanging around who had never seen this before (apparently it’s just an American thing) being amazed and making them do it again. For some reason we also decided to lie about where we were from, and so people thought that shot-gunning was a German tradition. They also thought Bárbara was American and that Marissa was Russian. Not sure why, but it’s fun to make up your nationality and then successfully convince people it’s true. Also Bárbara bonded with a random Indian guy who was selling 1 euro beers on the street. You know, the usual. To finish up a great night out, we had some greasy pizza from a store that was still open at 5:30am when we left the bars. Pablo drove Bárbara and I home, and we called it a night. The next morning (9/2) poor Bárbara woke up way too early (considering how late we went to bed) to set the piso up for her Mom’s birthday celebration. Her parents came over in the afternoon and we all shared a nice lunch of paella and tortilla. Bárbara made her mom a really cute card and then we had some cake as well. After that we just hung out and chatted, and once we had wished her mom Nuria a Feliz Cumpleaños, they headed home. 

Me and the Gasquet Family