30 March 2025

This has been a more calm week.

No news on the visa. I’m still waiting for my attorney to get me an appointment with the police station.

I did get a new oven and range installed on Monday in my apartment. It cooks so much more evenly and consequently than the old one.

The only problem was that they had to cut part of the marble counter top to install the range. And that meant fine dust over everything…everywhere. I’m still finding places that need cleaning!

On Tuesday afternoon, I met my friend Manuel for language exchange. I think this may become a semi-regular meeting. We talk for thirty minutes in Spanish and then 30 minutes in English. I’ve known Manu for about a year and he was really encouraging in my Spanish improvement. Of course, he was kind enough to speak slowly and clearly. That really helps!

I met my friend Rafael for dinner on Wednesday night. He recently suffered a fall and broke his upper right arm, requiring surgery. He’s mending well. And it was great to catch up with him.

I had planned to meet my friend a Martin and go to the beach yesterday. But it was windy and colder than we expected. So, we’ll reschedule that.

I enjoyed dinner with Vicente last night. But he had to go out of town today. So, we canceled our Sunday plans.

Since today (Sunday) I was alone for the day and the weather was delightful, I decided to walk to the beach (about a 90-minute walk). I took a lot of pics, so you can walk with me.

I walked past the City of Arts and Sciences, with the Science Museum and Caixa Forum (event center).

I passed this old abandoned factory.

And I saw Spring blooming everywhere.

I walked past this church.

And past the port.

I passed a canal.

And the Turia River

I walked toward the beach.

I passed what I think was a fishing competition.

And I officially arrived at the part of the beach where the river joins the sea.

Pinedo Beach includes some lovely beach side restaurants, with some of the best paella.

The walking and biking path goes all the way along the coast.

I ended up staying longer than I planned. I met a guy from Alicante Spain who spent 15 years in London. We talked about politics in the US and in Spain for a couple hours. So I ended up getting more sun than I expected. But it was a fun conversation.

That’s the news from me for the week. I hope you have a great week ahead.