Monday 5 December 2011
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| One of the many many many traditional dress stores in Valencia |
Up at 10 AM, Dian walked to the market to get flowers for the house and enjoyed looking at antique stores full of old Valencian furniture, paintings and artifacts along the way. Nicole and Dian joined Claire on a visit to her friends Amparo and Ajfan (both English teachers).
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| Amparo, Ajfan and Claire |
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| Colorfully tiled houses were a common sight |
They had tuna and Spanish tortillas (very different from Mexican tortillas), and gave their "good vibes"
to the new flat overlooking the Mediterranean that Ajfan had just moved into. After lunch they walked with Amparo to the beach, took off their shoes and socks and walked in the powdery sand. Afterwards they took the bus close to home, and walked part of the way back.
Back in downtown Valencia, the three of us visited Pilar, whose home we had stayed in. She greeted us at the door looking elegant in pearls, a dress and low heels. We chatted over lemonade and when we asked if our clean up job had been satisfactory her eyes widened and she exclaimed, "Wow!" She told us it looked better than when she left it. Dian was especially touched that the painting she had done of what turned out to be Pilar's mother was placed right next to the original photo on her shelf.
We were about a block and a half away from Bill and Claire's when Nicole stopped in her tracks -- "Isn't that Heino?" she asked. Sure enough, it was. He was sharing a drink outside a cafe with a friend. We thought it was amazing that of all the people we don't know in Valencia we should see someone we knew!
Back at Claire and Bill's we had four delicious homemade pizzas, followed by a chapter of
Don Quixote read aloud by Charles. We called Dian's parents Marie and Joe, who said they wanted to treat us to a bus tour in Barcelona in honor of Nicole's patron saint, Saint Nicholas (December 6). We said
gracias and sure thing!
Back in downtown Valencia, the three of us visited Pilar, whose home we had stayed in. She greeted us at the door looking elegant in pearls, a dress and low heels. We chatted over lemonade and when we asked if our clean up job had been satisfactory her eyes widened and she exclaimed, "Wow!" She told us it looked better than when she left it. Dian was especially touched that the painting she had done of what turned out to be Pilar's mother was placed right next to the original photo on her shelf.
We were about a block and a half away from Bill and Claire's when Nicole stopped in her tracks -- "Isn't that Heino?" she asked. Sure enough, it was. He was sharing a drink outside a cafe with a friend. We thought it was amazing that of all the people we don't know in Valencia we should see someone we knew!
Back at Claire and Bill's we had four delicious homemade pizzas, followed by a chapter of Don Quixote read aloud by Charles. We called Dian's parents Marie and Joe, who said they wanted to treat us to a bus tour in Barcelona in honor of Nicole's patron saint, Saint Nicholas (December 6). We said gracias and sure thing!
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