Friday, February 8, 2019 Today we ventured down to the beach side of town, El Cabanyal. Our mental model is Barcelona and it’s vibrant and extensive beach front, Barceloneta. We rode the bus down, which meant the trip took about 40 minutes. It’s a lot farther from the city center than Barcelona. The bus was… Continue reading El Cabanyal, Casa Montana

Thursday, Feb. 7 2019 We have breakfast out at a cafe before going to the Central Market for salsa and guacamole fixings. We always miss Mexican food when traveling, and have not yet found a decent place in Spain. Interestingly, they have no jalapeños or hot peppers, but we count on our our apartment having… Continue reading Cats, Gardens and Empanadas

Wed. Feb. 6 We have a nice breakfast at home of scrambled eggs with ham and parsley. Delicious start. One of the neighborhoods that I’ve looked forward to seeing is “El Carme.” The tourist office here had a walking tour that I’d downloaded, so we set off following their recommended route with Kitty navigating.  … Continue reading Walking Tour of El Carme, Refugio Restaurant

Feb. 5 2019 Turia I ventured out this morning to walk the Turia. At one time this was a river, but it was filled in and is now an amazing green space and park that encircles much of the old town. It’s close to our apartment, and the walk is predictably photogenic. It was about… Continue reading Warming Up at the Bioparc

Feb 4 2019 We started our day with a breakfast out–fresh orange juice, coffee and croissants. Funny we never eat croissants at home, but it’s such a standard part of our breakfast here, and a pretty lovely habit to fall into when traveling. And oranges are everywhere here! Central Market The Central Market was much… Continue reading Market day, Russafa

Feb. 3 2019 Quite Sunday at home.  The wind is really blowing.  The. weather promises to break soon and give us  65 to 70 degree temps (did we pack shorts?- no) but for now the wind  is fierce.  Lorena is excited and gets up before light to go and take pictures.  (“It’s the best time… Continue reading Windy Sunday

February 2 2019 I wake up craving kale of all things. This inspires our first true outing here to the Central Market.It’s Saturday and the crowds are out. As described, our apartment is off the beaten track on a quiet street, yet major sights are close by. I’m surprised how close things are–much more so… Continue reading Bella Valencia

Feb 1 2019 Usually I am the late one all unconcerned about time.  I am so anxious about getting on the train that I get Lorena to the train station two hours early.  We watch the people thread through the entry port for several prior trains till we start offering advice to other frantic English-speaking… Continue reading Travel to Valencia

1/31/2019We have fallen behind in our blogging in our attempt to squeeze every last bit of joy out of our final day here. It’s odd to finish what has been our standard travel cycle of two weeks, and still have two weeks to look forward to in a new place. That helps to mitigate the… Continue reading Last Day in BCN

It’s a beautiful day, though it’s cool when the breeze blows and you’re in the shade. We head down Grácia and walk through Catalunya square and down the pedestrian street, Ave. del Portal de l’Àngel.  We realize we’ve never been able to enjoy this area  before because of the crowds.  There are still lots of… Continue reading Another Beautiful Day