Day 11: A Vacation-y 3-Part Day
I started my day with very little planned. We were scheduled to meet up with another FB connection in the early evening and with that exception (and work for Bill) our calendars were empty.
We started out with our daily visit to Dream Coffee. As a bonus to our visit my Cafe Americano came with a little packet of candies instead of the usual cookie. Bill may not have been as thrilled (since he’s been getting to have TWO cookies each morning) but I was touched by the acknowledgement of my food-challenges. “Our” waiter and I had discussed how soy alergica the last time we’d chatted and, even though he wasn’t there, his mate (the waitress who smiles knowingly as we limp through our standard order) clearly had gotten the memo. It was a very sweet thing and I just might be brave enough to ask their names today.
Since Bill had to work we both headed back to the Hobbit House. As I was finishing up yesterday’s post, WhatsApp started asking for my attention and, before I knew it, I was off on an unplanned adventure to El Mercado Central — the Valencian market — to meet up with Graham, Melissa, and her daughters. Getting there meant following the MoveIt beacon through the ultimate desire path. Literally, the directions take you THROUGH A CRACK IN A WALL. And it’s not just MoveIt — Google directs you through it, too. The locals walk on through without a blink but I, of course, decided to film it for posterity.
See the desire path here: https://youtube.com/shorts/gPEnOh3n4c0?feature=share
While waiting for the bus in the sweltering heat (it reached 39 yesterday which Bill happily informed me is body temp, 98.6, due to a misstep by Mr. Celcius. Ask Bill to tell you the story next time you see him) I HAD A WHOLE CONVERSATION WITH A WOMAN EN ESPAÑOL! She was, wisely, waiting in the shade across the street and wanted to know when the bus was due. All the bus stops have screens that announce the lines due and how many minutes away they are at that moment. I understood enough to know what she was asking, gave her the information, understood when she asked if I was waiting on the same bus as her, gave her the answer incorrectly but correctly enough that she knew to question and correct. I felt like I’d leveled up something fierce! I kept up my winning streak when I had ANOTHER mini conversation with a woman on the bus. I offered her my more stable standing spot, she turned down the offer because she only had two stops to go, and I finished the conversation with “vale, vale,” repeating it twice as is the local custom. I’m getting the hang of this, y’all!
The market (and the company) did not disappoint. The building was beautiful, the food and other stalls were overwhelmingly awesome, I managed to buy strawberries todos en español including paying in cash, and we caught some awesome street music just outside. Oh, and the Silk Exchange building is just sitting there minding its medieval majestic business.
Catch a glimpse of the street performers here: https://youtube.com/shorts/-wirFBMxA9w?feature=share
We decided to wander towards the old center of the city and stopped for refreshments on the way (did I mention how hot it was?). I really love how regular things are interspersed between these historic structures. I have much less love for how Starbucks has infiltrated (we didn’t go to Starbucks. We went to Cafetería Aremar.). After a quick shop at Flying Tiger Copenhagen (cotton candy, canvases, and tea lights — it made sense in the moment) I bussed my way back home.
It was a brief visit as Bill’s work day was wrapping up and we had plans to meet Larry and Christian for drinks. Back on the busses! We headed to Campañar, a neighborhood we’d only breezed through on our quest for yoga gear, and found them at 100 Montaditos, a local chain restaurant/bar that specializes in serving up good cerveza and Tinto de Verano. Sitting outside and getting to know another couple who made the leap from the US to Spain was lovely. I’m reasonably sure we’ll be visiting both 100 Montaditos and Larry & Christian many more times on this adventure.
A couple more trams and we were back home. After all the activity it was lovely to sit with Bill on the couch having American dinner (it was only 9 pm, after all) and winding down from the day. I’d say that last night I had the best, deepest sleep since we arrived, and that felt amazing.
Now, I don’t have much planned for today, either. Let’s see how that goes. :)
OH! And I neglected to share the photo of the parrots in yesterday’s post, so here they are (look closely) in their natural habitat here in España:
