Relaxation, Intercambios... and Magic Mike

Olivia making us AUTHENTIC crepes!

 10/4 My day started out better than ever because this morning, Olivia made Bárbara and I a traditional meal from her home country: CREPES! YUM. She was flipping them on our tiny little stove and she even made some caramel from scratch. It was delicious! I could definitely get used to this whole hosting a couch-surfer thing if they are all as awesome as her! So, we spent the rest of the morning just hanging out in the piso, and then she headed out to visit some museums. I stayed behind since I had already been to the ones she was visiting. I just did some chores and studied my Spanish class notes from Whitney, and then Olivia was back again. I don’t really remember what all we did, but I know that we had some good chats! At 7, when the sun was just beginning to set, I met up with my intercambio Sandra- this time she just came to my piso. We sat out on the balcony with some cerveza so she could enjoy a cigarette, and we chatted in Spanish and then English for about two hours. I really am a firm believer that simply talking with someone while taking notes and asking questions is truly the best way to learn a language! Bárbara got home from work and Olivia rejoined us, so after Sandra left we ended up having some tinto de verano to drink and had a Spanglish girl talk night. The next morning 10/5 we introduced Olivia to the world of typical Spanish breakfast. It’s nothing too complicated- basically coffee or fruit juice and then bread with tomato paste on it, but it’s still very tasty somehow. Bárbara went off to work, and then Olivia headed downtown to some more museums while I ran some errands and looked for stamps. We had initially planned on meeting up for lunch and then I was going to take her around the City of Arts and Sciences, but when I hadn’t heard from her by 5pm, I figured she was probably either distracted, wrapped up in something else, or simply forgot. The problem was that she didn’t have a cell phone. Man, what did we do in the days before cell phones??!

Breakfast by our Piso!

Alone in the Theatre... Loser! ;)

 I wasn’t sure what to do at that point, because then Marissa invited us out to see the film Magic Mike in English.  I hadn’t seen a movie in the theatre in forever, so of course I wanted to go! Plus it’s a movie about hot guys. How can you say no? So, since I had no way to get in touch with Olivia, I did things the old fashioned way. I wrote her a post-it note with my Spanish cell # on it, and stuck it to the doorbell of the apartment. Bárbara and I shared a taxi to the theatre, and met up with Marissa there. We got a huge tub of popcorn, and plopped down in the theatre to enjoy our show. Since American movies played in original version aren’t hugely popular in Valencia, we were literally the only three people in the whole theatre. It was more fun that way though! During the movie Olivia called Bárbara- she had got our message and wanted to know if it was too late to meet up, which unfortunately by then it was. After that we went back to the piso, Olivia packed up for her night train to Granada, and we said au’revoir, goodbye, and adios to our lovely French visitor!  Since it was a Friday night and all, Marissa, Bárbara and I went down and had some alcoholic beverages at a little place near our piso. Then we walked over to the hopping bar street of Polo y Peyrolon (the one I used to live on in 2007). We got some coupons from the promotions people as always, and got some free drinks and good deals at the random little bars along the way. My favorite one was this cute little place called Aguacates, right across from my old apartment. We had a good time, as always! Oh, and how could I forget to mention that on the way there I mailed in my presidential election absentee ballot: One firm vote for Romney!! Anyways... the night ended with us running into Josep, Pablo and Ruben. I love that Valencia is a big city but that sometimes it has that small town vibe! I also love the fact that you can walk everywhere, and that the weather is always awesome, and that nobody cares if you sneak and drink in the middle of the street, and basically… I just love Valencia. 

Ladies ready to see "Magic Mike" in Valencia

Mailing my Absentee Ballot- U.S.A.!

Hosting a Couchsurfer!

10/1- Finally my precious roomie Bárbara was back from her trip to Santander (North of Spain), and back to hang out with me! We went and got breakfast together at the little place by our piso and caught up. I love Spanish breakfast- it’s late enough in the morning that I’m actually functioning, but I don’t have to eat boring old cereal. Instead I get pan tostada con tomate and some zumo de piña… yum!! She had to head off to work at the ISA office, and so I spent my free time cleaning our apartment from top to bottom, and rewarding myself with a siesta. That evening, the two of us ladies went out to the usual restaurant Sal y Pimienta (Salt and Pepper) for some tapas. She knows how picky I am about Spanish food, and so she obliges me by letting me pick what we get. This usually involves (of course) my beloved patatas bravas, some pan tomate, and possibly some ensaladilla rusa. Even though she wasn’t out of town for that long, I was very glad to have her back! On 10/2 I continued the mass cleaning of our little piso, and that afternoon my friend Rachel called and invited me to hang out with her near her apartment in the Valencian neighborhood of Russafa. I took the 20 minute bus ride across the river towards where she lives. I had never been there before so I was proud of myself for making it there successfully. After I met her two adorable cats, we walked around the cute artsy streets of the area. We grabbed some mini-sandwiches and cerveza at one place, and then finished up at another place where we shared more cerveza and bravas. We had some good, genuine girl talk. I definitely admire Rachel for picking up and leaving her life in Wisconsin and creating such a great “new life” here in Spain. Her confidence is definitely something I admire!

Me and my French couchsurfer Olivia!

Although we were having a grand old time, I had to cut things short because Bárbara and I were hosting our first ever “couch surfer” that night back at our piso. I had plans to meet this girl named Olivia for the first time, and get dinner with her. Now… for those of you who don’t know what Couchsurfing is, here is my brief explanation of this amazing new trend in travel: People create an account on the www.couchsurfing.org website, and receive a “location verification” that serves as a background check. You can read people's references and see photos of them if you are worried that they are sketchy or anything- but the theory with this website is you just have to let go and trust people. Basically, you can offer your “couch” to travelers visiting your location. They send you a “couch request” noting when they will be there, and if you are available, you can let them stay at your place. They stay with you for free, and you (the host) get to learn firsthand about their unique country and culture. Every situation is different, but typically you end up going out and becoming good friends with them, and if you ever “surf” in their location one day, they’ll be willing to host you. It’s a good way to meet locals and have authentic travel experiences. I had heard of this idea before, but hadn’t actually done it yet. I created my account about a month ago, and now I was going to finally host my first couchsurfer. Olivia is a 20 year old student from a small town north of Paris, France. She was on a 2 week journey throughout Spain, and she was going to couchsurf the whole way. I definitely admire her boldness and sense of adventure in doing so- not just everyone has the guts to do that alone! She met up with me at my piso, and to get to know her and talk about the city a bit, the two of us went for some tapas at Sal y Pimienta. We really hit it off right away- She speaks perfect English, and is of course fluent in French, and I was pleasantly surprised to hear how great her Spanish was too! All these multi-lingual Europeans, making us Americans look bad ;) So, that night, she stayed on our comfy couch, and had her first evening in the beautiful Valencia!

Horchata and Fartones- the traditional side dish!

Gargoyle at Lonja de La Seda

Optical Illusion at Lonja de la Seda

On 10/3, I spend the whole day with Olivia, showing her around the city and acting as an unofficial tour guide. Of course, I loved this- and I was happy to see that she actually was appreciated the fact that I knew all these nerdy historical tidbits. I love talking about the main sites of the city and its history, and having a friend to walk around, take photos, and admire it all with was a plus! We started that morning out in the city center at the Plaza de La Reina, and I began my “usual” tour of the city (the same one I gave John, for example). She climbed the Cathedral steps, we had some horchata together, and we explored the Torres de Serranos. We headed over towards the Mercado Central area together, and after doing some vegetable shopping we had lunch together at a place right outside, where we also shared a pitcher of sangria. She is very outgoing and was making conversation with all the vendors and waiters, definitely added entertainment to the day! After lunch I showed her the 15^th century Lonja de La Seda medieval silk market building. Olivia wanted to pay the 3 euros to go in, and while I had been there dozens of times I had never actually been inside, so I decided to join her. In addition to being able to see the crazy obscenely-posed gargoyles around the whole complex, we got to explore the gardens and go up inside a few of the old rooms, complete with period furniture. It honestly wasn’t that exciting, but it was cheap and it was something new to see. Plus the floor in one of the rooms had some very confusing tile work that made for fun optical illusion photos. After that, I got us a bit lost- but it ended up being a good thing. We wandered the old city wall perimeters and I finally saw the Torres de Quart that I had not seen yet. These towers are unique because they have French bullet and artillery holes in them from during the Napoleon era. So, once our long day of walking around the city wrapped up, we returned to the piso with tired feet. Olivia is a really good dancer, and so I helped her pick out one of my dresses to wear and she headed over to El Caribe (a nearby discoteca) to join in on some group salsa. I used to do the dance classes there once a week when I was studying abroad, but those days are over for me- I preferred to just relax :)

Torres de Quart- Riddled with Bullet Holes