25 May 2025

For those in the US, Happy Memorial Day weekend.

Summer is slowly making its way to Valencia.

On Monday, my long time friend Milo arrived from Barcelona. We met each other at Oral Roberts University in the 1980’s! It was a joy to relax and spend quality time with him.

We relaxed, cooked and talked. It was a quiet, restful week…just what we both needed.

Milo left on Friday and that night my friends Deb and Dick arrived from Denver, along with their friends Chuck and Terri from California. Deb was the chair of the board and I was a member of the board of Metro Caring, a hunger relief center in Denver.

I met them on Saturday morning for breakfast and then a day of sight seeing.

We explored Mercado Central.

Afterwards, they wanted to ship some clothes home to lighten their load as they continue their travels through Spain. When we arrived at the UPS shipping store with several bags of clothes to be boxed and shipped, the very gracious young lady explained in perfect English that this was only a place to leave boxes that had been sealed, labeled and registered with UPS for shipping. Without us knowing where or how to do that, she graciously agreed to help us. It clearly wasn’t her job but she didn’t blink an eye in her efforts to be helpful.

She explained where we could buy boxes, yes she has tape, yes she would help us with the UPS web sight to get the right labels and everything ready to be shipped.

So we walked two blocks to find the boxes. No, we didn’t need tape, thank you. We returned to the store and the sign said, “I’ll be back in 10 minutes.” She returned immediately and graciously helped get everything registered, labeled add shipped. She is Romanian but grew up in Connecticut. As the boxes were getting sealed, we used the very last bit of her tape. Terri gave her a €10 tip and she almost cried. She didn’t need to do all that she did. And we were more than grateful for her help.

After more than an hour tackling all of that, we toured the Lonja de Seda, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Then we stopped for horchata and fartons. Horchata in Valencia is made from Tiger nuts. It’s a refreshing, cold and not overly sweet beverage. Fartons are a pastry specifically designed for dunking in horchata without getting soggy and falling apart.

From there, we went to the cathedral and saw the physical, mummified arm of San Vicente Mártir, a medieval relic. We also saw what is believed by the local faithful to be the real “holy grail,” the chalice used by Jesus at the Last Supper.

Afterwards, we stopped for Agua de Valencia, a cocktail that includes orange juice, vodka, gin and cava…delicious and dangerous!

We each went home to get some rest before dinner. Then at 8:30 we reconvened again at one of my favorite restaurants for a seven course dinner, with each course paired with a selected wine. For entrees, they chose the cod. I savored a teriyaki Iberian ham cut. It was an excellent meal!

Sunday (today), we met to explore the City of Arts and Sciences, the futuristic group of buildings designed by the world renowned architect Salvator Calatrava.

We explored the various buildings, including a great exhibit in the Science a museum about the life and work of Leonardo DaVinci.

From there, we caught a very crowded bus and went to the beach for paella.

Palleter is the best place (that I have found) for authentic Valenciano paella. And that is what we had! With rice, chicken, rabbit and snails. We also enjoyed a delicious and huge salad, roasted red peppers with cod, and tiny mussels called Tellinas.

After a full meal, we took a short walk to the beach.

From there, we made our “farewells” so they took a taxi to their AirBnB and I took the bus home.

After so much walking, I’m exhausted. But words can’t express how much I love to be tour guide and to spend time with friends from home. I say it often in this blog, because I mean it. Please consider yourself invited. I have a guest room and I would be delighted to host you when you come to Valencia.

Tomorrow, I have my appointment with the police department to complete my student visa for this year. I believe I have everything I need. Wish me the best!!

Hugs and love to all.