Paella was pretty darn good. We spoke with the hotel staff and were recommended to three different restaurants on the water. I had Paella Marisco (seafood), but there was also some delicious Conejo (rabbit) y Pollo (chicken) that I tried. As per tradition, it was served to us in two large dishes (we did have seven people, after all!) I paired it with Cava (Spanish champagne), but the waiter took forever so that by the time it arrived, most of us had finished our Paella. I was not impressed with the service at all. As we were paying the check there was a giant explosion outside of the restaurant. We peered out and there were hundreds of people. Then another explosion followed by bright light.
The fireworks were very cool. I have a sneaking sensation that there was a war motif, I had 1812 overture playing in my head. There were rapid fire fireworks that shot off side to side, and ones that sounded a bit much like bombs exploding overhead.
After dinner, and the show, some of us went to l’umbracle (spelling???) which is the most amazing and awesome club I have been to. It was in a beautiful architectural piece in the Ciudad de los Artes (City of Arts and Sciences) in Valencia. The open air club was a long corridor with a skeleton white roof. It was very relaxed at one end, but if you wanted to dance, you could walk down no more than 50 meters, and there were dancers, and music. Underneath that was a whole other club in case you wanted the whole bumping and grinding with other sweaty bodies experience that some seem to like (not really my type of thing). We hung out on a couchette (I think that is what you call it) and talked, it was just Emily, Kevin, Shiva and me. We finally found all the beautiful people in spain.
The nice part about Valencia is that there weren’t many tourists. Maybe with the oranges out of season, no one bothers, but for whatever reason, we didn’t see many people at all, let alone, American tourists. Nice change from Madrid.
The days are running together, but we did have quite a show in the Plaza del Virgen(s). It appeared from where we were sitting that one roaming beer capitalist encroached on another’s territory. Thus began the fight, which had many actors – including a guy who was either tripping on something, or absolutely nuts. Even the police arrived at one point after one chased the other around the square with a broken glass bottle. We think it was a staged diversion so that pickpockets could have easier access to people’s stuff. Unfortunately, no one went in the fountain which seemed to be the climatic ending that the events were heading towards given the proper amount of time.
On Sunday, we went to the sea, where I got burned on my back. I saw many beautiful women the night before at the club, who were clothes that didn’t leave much to imagine. This was the type of beach it seemed where I was able to fill in any of the holes in my imagination should I desire with concrete evidence.
The water was incredible. It was warm and once you got to the sand bar, there was nothing floating in the water (seaweed, jellyfish, etc.). We spent most of the day at the beach, and afterwards had a drink in a café in the cute town near El Sale, before catching the mysterious Amarillo (Yellow) bus back to our hotel. We arrived at the hotel, and I wanted to get off, but others insisted it would turn and get closer. They didn’t want to walk an extra 1 minute across the bridge. Nope. It went straight, and the next stop wasn’t for at least a kilometer. Last night Maureen, Emily, and Diogo left to return to Madrid. This morning, Jenn and Kevin set out for Madrid.
Shiva and I got up late. We packed, and eventually made it out in order to catch the 1:08 train to Barcelona. If I go to Majorca, it will be from Barcelona, and then from there to Marseille, most likely. The first train was full, and so we went for first class on the 2PM train. We used the hour to go find some food, at El Corte Ingles!
I actually wanted to pick up another linen shirt or two. They are amazing, I wear them, wash them on me (basically in the shower), hang them to dry over night, and they are as good as new. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any in my size. I am hoping that there are some remaining in Barcelona, which is what the computer said. If not, I can try a different brand, but I have been so happy with the ones I already have.
While I ran up to the men’s floor, Shiva grabbed some food for the train. We met back just in time to get on our train. Currently, we are on the way to Barcelona. Rachael will be there soon I think, and I need to talk to Kristin since my plans have changed. If I go to Majorca, it will be en route to Marseille, if I am flying. Otherwise, I am not sure. I recall my last train adventure from Bordeaux to Nice took quite a while, and a pretty penny.
I’ll post this upon arrival, and have another update hopefully later tonight.
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