5 January 2025

Happy New Year and Happy Kings Day!

I hope your new year is off to a wonderful start.

Mike (my friend visiting from Denver) and I continue to celebrate the holidays and enjoy Valencia.

For New Year’s Eve, we started the day with Vicente for Almuerzo. In most of Spain and the Spanish speaking world, “almuerzo” means lunch. But here in Valencia, it is a light meal (sandwich and drink) after breakfast and before lunch. In fact, there are five meals a day here:

8:00 a.m. Desayuno (breakfast), which is typically, coffee with toast and a tomato spread.

11:30 a.m. Almuerzo (see above)

2:30 p.m. La Comida (full lunch)

5:00 p.m. La Merienda (snack)

9:00 p.m. La Cena (dinner)

I don’t think I’ve had a day that included all five. But it is part of the culture here.

Anyway, the three of us went to a neighborhood near the beach for almuerzo. We had a sandwich and then went walking on the beach. It started to rain and so we got rather wet. But it was a chance for Mike to see Malvarosa, the main tourist beach area. We were talking about a US country band called, “Cactus Blossom” that is coming to Valencia in February. Vicente suggested we go and of course I agreed. But I told him that my cowboy hat is still packed in my brother’s basement in Kansas!

We came home and had a siesta, knowing it would be a late night.

That night, we went to Min Dau, a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown, where nearly everyone else was of Chinese descent. The meal was amazing and included duck, seafood, fish and much more.

Vicente surprised us with matching cowboy hats!

Afterwards, we went to City Hall Plaza in the rain for the midnight fireworks. Sadly, we (and thousands of others) missed the memo. The fireworks were moved to the Turia River Gardens. But, we looked great in our matching sombreros!

So at midnight, we each ate our twelve grapes with the twelve strokes of the clock, made a wish for the new year and then started on our way home.

On New Year’s morning, Vicente joined us for a traditional American breakfast of sausage and eggs, toast, and fresh squeezed orange juice. He then went to spend the day with his kids.

That night, Mike and I went to see the Alabama Gospel Choir! The Olympic Theater was sold out and the concert was electrifying. Watching an audience of Spanish people embrace the joy and passion of Gospel music was inspiring.

On Thursday, Mike and I helped my friend Travis move. He’s returning to the US to care for an ailing aunt for a few months. He and his husband plan to return to Valencia in May. We had a great lunch near the beach.

Friday morning, I met Vicente for a walk with Cooper, his dog. It was a beautiful morning!

Vicente went to work and Mike and I headed to the city center to meet Travis. Friday was his birthday and I planned a day of fun things he had never done in Valencia.

We started at the City Hall to see the creche. I wanted to see this because it’s huge and because they added a new piece this year.

This year, they added a new figurine:

From there, we stopped for churros con chocolate, a kind of fried dough, with thick hot chocolate…a first for both Mike and Travis.

Then, we walked to the Torres de Serrano. These are one of two remaining sets of towers that were original gates to the city.

From the top, there are great views of the city.

From there, we walked to the Belle Artes, museum of fine arts. It’s a fabulous collection of mostly Spanish artists.

Most prominent among the artists displayed here are numerous works by Juaquin Sorolla. Sorolla was a native of the Valencia region.

This larger-than-life work was done by Sorolla in Xabia, the town where we hiked last weekend.

After the museum, we rested with a lunch in the Royal Gardens and enjoyed the local wildlife.

Friday night, Mike and I went to a holiday party hosted by my fellow classmates, Mark and Laurel, from San Francisco. Mark and Laurel are superlative hosts. And Mark makes some incredibly fine cocktails.

Afterwards, we stopped by the restaurant where Travis was celebrating his birthday. Most of the crowd had left but we stayed briefly and met a few of his friends.

Now, if all this sounds tiring, all I can say is, “you have no idea!”

On Saturday, we had talked about going hiking with Vicente again. I’m glad to tell you that he had to work and so we had no plans.

I literally spent the day resting and sleeping. Mike went to the Botanic Gardens. And I eventually went to bed at 8 p.m. and slept until 8 a.m. After feeling so exhausted all day Saturday and waking still feeling a bit tired, I took a home COVID test. I’m glad to report:

Today, my English student, Dima came over with homemade Borscht and Syrnickis, typical Ukrainian food to celebrate the new year. We had a fun afternoon talking and eating.

Afterwards, Mike, Vicente and I went to the Three Kings Parade.

If you know the Christian calendar, January 6 is Epiphany or Three Kings Day, the day that the visit of the Wise Men to Baby Jesus is celebrated.

In Spain, Kings Day is even bigger than Christmas! Truly! Kids get a few gifts from Santa on Christmas. But on Kings Day, they get the big loot! Vicente tells me that the tradition includes leaving alcohol for the kings, water for their camels and shoes outside your door. The kings arrive in the middle of the night, and leave gifts hidden around the house!

The parade is one of the biggest events of the year.

The event includes LOTS of candy thrown from the floats. Kids come with big grocery bags to carry home their treasure.

Marchers, balloons, floats and marching bands all prepare the way for Melchior, Gaspar, and Balthazar. Each arrive with their own retinue of dancers, military guards, and musicians.

After the parade, I walked home with Vicente to bring a king’s gift to Cooper. He loved his new frisbee.

Vicente surprised me by finding an envelope with my name on it. Tickets to see “the Cactus Blossoms” in February. Those kings move fast!

As this holiday season comes to an end, I hope you carry the spirit of life, love and joy with you all year long.

Happy Kings Day from Valencia!