20 July 2025

It’s been a week of guests, celebrations and hot weather in Valencia.

On Monday, a Couchsurfer arrived from Germany. Samet is a university student from Turkey and is currently studying on scholarship near Nuremberg. He comes from a conservative Muslim family. So we had lots to discuss about our shared experiences as gay men from religious families. It gives me tremendous joy to be an “uncle” or “big brother” to young people who are discovering their authentic selves as their creator intended for them to be. When I was in my Spanish classes, he went to many of Valencia’s tourist areas. When I wasn’t in school, we went to the City of Arts and Sciences, the Turia River Gardens and to the beach. I also took him to enjoy some authentic Spanish tapas.

Samet left on Wednesday and that night, I went to a party at a friend’s house. A party just because it’s summer. We enjoyed an amazing evening on his large penthouse terrace overlooking the Tura River Gardens. They’re were eleven of us, eating, drinking, laughing and sharing stories…and almost all of it in Spanish. I do miss a lot because of the language barrier. But I am also starting to understand and participate more than I could a year ago. Progress with my Spanish is slow…but it is happening.

In Thursday evening, my friend Medi arrived from France. Medi lives between Paris and Marseille with his husband. On Friday, he organized a picnic on the beach. We had eight people sharing food and drinks on a warm summer evening. I was thrilled that Isabelle was there with her partner and a best friend.

You may remember after last October’s horrific floods outside the city of Valencia that I wrote about Isabelle who witnessed two of her friends getting swept away in the torrent. On Friday she also told us that, all told, she personally knew 30 of the 225 people who were killed in that disaster. The people of those communities are continuing to clean up, rebuild, and restart their lives.

On Saturday morning, Medi and I got up very early and left the house at 5:30 AM to walk to the beach and see the sunrise…about a 90 minute walk. We walked past the port.

And we arrived just in time to see a new day beginning.

Before he left on Saturday, Medi brought some flowers to say thanks for having him at the house.

On Saturday night, Vicente joined me to watch the fireworks…a summer tradition in Valencia. Every Saturday in July at midnight, the city provides a spectacular display.

Sunday was a scorcher! 101 degrees and a sun that beat with a vendetta on anything not shielded with a modicum of shade.

So, we stayed home through the day, watched a movie and I am writing this blog.

Tonight (Sunday), we went to see the new Superman movie…just to do something in the air conditioning. It was far more corny and silly than I expected. But it was a fun two hours of laughing and feeling good.

I hope your week ahead leaves you entertained.