This week is a week of last minute “things to do” that we missed over the last three weeks.  It’s hard to believe that in four more days we will be off to Italy and out of Spain.  We are tired but amazed at how much we did and saw.

We had a nice surprise when our host, Josep, who always responded to our e-mails when we needed him, asked us to his place for lunch.  We hopped the subway and he came to meet us and take us to his “tiny” flat as he called it. It was lovely and the view from his rooftop on the 10th floor was breathtaking.  I got to use my panoramic again.

He put out a lunch of fish, cheese, crackers, olives, chips and of course wine made in Valencia that was delicious.  We sat on the rooftop surrounded by all his huge potted plants and chatted with him about many subjects for almost two hours, all while enjoying the view. What a delightful afternoon spent with a very nice young man. We think he should come for a visit to Canada.

After lunch, we took a new subway line that lead us to a much more modern part of the city where new high-rise buildings towered over newer restaurants, cafes, and office buildings.  We even found a Casino but being Sunday, it wasn’t open.  We stopped for gelato and looked at the menus of various restaurants.  We may have to go back to that area.

Back home, we snacked on my homemade guacamole and chips and watched some TV.  I was feeling quite exhausted so headed up to bed early.  Jocelyn watched  a movie and Joey read.

During our time in Spain, we have noticed many differences between here and home. I’ve listed a few of the most noticeable ones below

1. No one pays attention to lights at the crosswalks.  Go at your own risk!
2. You can smoke anywhere!
3. You can buy a beer with your hamburger at Burger King.
4. If there is one shoe store on a street, you can bet there will be four more!  The same for optical places or shoe stores.
5. There are no codes for electrical wiring.  Cords dangle from everywhere or are bunched up under the eaves and tied together.
6. There are no sink stoppers in the bathrooms.
7. There are TV antennae atop almost every apartment.
8. Everyone dries their clothes outside on their balconies.
9. You can go topless on the beaches anywhere.
10. They do all of their garbage collection after midnight.
11. There is no tipping.
12. Olives are in abundance in dozens of different flavours kept in huge bowls at the markets to sell.
13. There are no food inspection controls.  Markets sell food with no refrigeration and sandwiches containing meat and cheese sit on glass covered counters but often in the sun.
14. People, young and old, drag small canvas carts on wheels to carry their goods from the markets.
15. In the city, there are no single family dwellings.  Everyone lives in apartments.
16. The city is not very wheelchair accessible.
17. They can park anywhere they want – double, half on the sidewalk, on the curve of a corner.

WE ARE LUCKY TO LIVE WHERE WE DO!

Today, Joey and I took in some of the sites at the marina while Jocelyn did some shopping on her own – mostly for shoes.  We walked some very unusual streets in a poorer area of the city but felt safe…just working people going about their business of living.  The sky clouded over and as we walked Joey noticed a huge funnel cloud forming that was quite ominous.  It started raining a bit so to take some cover we darted into a bus stop and while there I studied the bus routes again.  We figured a walk further to another part of the marina wouldn’t be fun so we got on the next bus which took us downtown.  So much fun not knowing where we’re going but it’s all part of the adventure.  We are recognizing so many things now, that we never feel completely lost anymore.  I never had the map out once today.

Below are some of the beautiful old doors that I saw today.  I love them.

We ended up within easy access of the metro so came home for snacks followed by a late dinner.  As I write this, Jocelyn is making us crepes filled with chocolate, bananas, and whipped cream.  Gotta go!