December 28, 2024

I hope your Christmas and Hanukkah have been as wonderful for you as my Christmas has been here.

It’s been wonderful hosting my friend Mike from Denver this past week. My friend Milo (friends since college at Oral Roberts University) arrived from Barcelona on Tuesday, Christmas Eve.

We met Rafa for lunch. Then we stopped and bought some great wines for Christmas dinner. The store owner is from Ireland and really knows his wines. Fascinating, amazing wines, and so much less expensive than the US!

After a simple dinner of pork chops, rice and roasted Brussels sprouts, the three of us went to Midnight Mass at the Valencia Cathedral. In Spain, they call this service, “Misa de Gallo,” named for the Spanish word for rooster, the first voice to herald the new day.

The mass was underwhelming…at first. For the first hour, the chapter of priests sang and chanted the psalms, not beautiful and way too long. But patience is a virtue and was worth it. When the choir started singing Adeste Fideles, it was suddenly Christmas. Silent Night, O Holy Night, the Hallelujah Chorus. Now, we were having “church!”

Milo, tired from travel and work went home. Mike and I went for a drink with Vicente, after his Christmas Eve celebrations with his kids.

It was a wonderful way to welcome Christmas Day.

The next day, Mike and Milo opened their gifts…Christmas pajamas!

I made a big breakfast of sausage and eggs. By the time we got things cleaned up, my friend Travis (from my Spanish School) arrived with two of his friends who are visiting from the US. They brought fun holiday headwear for all of us.

Travis brought a pork tenderloin and sautéed some mushrooms. I made roasted cauliflower and baked Parmesan butternut squash. we had mashed potatoes, a salad and lots of delicious wine.

For dessert, we had cookies and my signature chocolate pecan pie, with a touch of bourbon. This was the second such pie I made this week.

I had made a pie on Monday before Milo arrived and it got burned! When I set the temperature and put in the pie, it was at 177c. I remember doing that. When I pulled out the pie, the oven temperature was set at nearly 300c. I said some bad words. I don’t know how it got changed. After letting it cool, I cut the pie in half in order to make it easier to throw away. The top was hard. But the innards were soft…and delicious. I called Mike and said, “we’re making lemonade!” So for dinner that night, we ate the inside of the pie with a glass of cold milk! (Kids, don’t try this at home!)

It was a perfect first Christmas in Valencia.

I had class on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday this week. So, Mike and Milo were free to relax and do their own thing.

On Monday and Tuesday, Mike and I did some shopping and cooking in the afternoons.

On Thursday, Milo rested while Mike and I explored the City of Arts and Sciences.

That evening, we all met with Vicente to the Hotel Barcelo rooftop lounge, not far from my house.

On Friday after class, the four of us met for sightseeing. I really wanted to see the City Hall nativity scene. But when we arrived, they had just closed the line for siesta. So we decided to go back after 4.

We went to the Lonja de Seda (a UNESCO World Heritage sightseeing) which Milo hadn’t seen.

Then, we went to Mercado Central, which had an impressive Nativity scene.

We stopped for a coffee at a lovely plaza.

Then,we went to lunch at a place where Vicente knows the owner of this location. It turns out that Milo also knows the owners who created the Federal chain of restaurants.

After lunch, we went to the Ceramic Museum. Wow!

The ceramics were mildly interesting. The palace, however, is fit for a king. Dazzling!

Milo and Mike went home. But I still hadn’t seen the Town Hall Nativity scene. Vicente and I stopped there for a brief visit… and the line to get in was out the door and across the street. Darn! I’ll try again next week.

I came home, met Mike and we went to see an exhibit on Genesis and the six days of creation. We went by metro and bus. I think the bus driver was in the holiday spirit. I had two types of bus passes and neither worked. She asked me, “Patron?” In this context, I had no idea what she was asking. So she gestured for us to have a seat. Somehow, we got a free ride. The exhibit is in an old Jesuit Church. This exhibit uses computers and lights, projected on the walls and ceiling. It was spectacular. And I was exhausted. I slept through half of it! Mike had to tell me about all the cool parts I missed.

We took the bus home (this time with the correct bus passes), I climbed in bed at 10 and slept till after 8. Clearly, I needed it.

On Saturday, we all agreed that we needed a slow start to the day. So, Mike, Milo and I slept in. I made a breakfast of sausage and eggs and we relaxed around the house.

Vicente arrived by early afternoon and we went to the beach for paella.

Palleter restaurant at Pinedo Beach is as authentic and delicious as it gets.

After a short walk, we took Milo to the train station to head home to Barcelona.

Mike, Vicente and I came and watched a movie.

On Sunday, we left early for Xabia, a town about 90 minutes south of Valencia along the coast, for a day of hiking.

After a great hike, we ate a lunch of tapas and then went for coffee and dessert, before heading home to Valencia.

It was a wonderful way to wrap up the weekend.

Happy New Year!