Observation #1- I do not have the self-discipline it takes to do a blog entry every day.  It is too much like having to write a composition for school every day.  Besides, I am retired. To me that means having less “have tos” than I used to.

Observation # 2 – In Valencia it doesn’t matter if it is hot or cold out, as long as it is not raining, people are sitting happily at sidewalk cafes having a coffee or some other liquid refreshment.

Observation #3 – A 3-hours shopping and walking extravaganza yesterday did not require a turtle neck sweater, a scarf and leather jacket.  By the time I got home I thought I was going to melt.

Observation # 4 – Ready-made curtains and drapes all seem to come in one length 270 cm.  If you want something different, they need to be custom made.  Part of my shopping event was to find room-darkening drapes for the bedroom.

Our Monday had been a day to get a few things done.  First task at hand was to get 2 photos printed.  That was easily done at the photo shop 2 doors down from ours.  Next, on to the frame shop.  I’d had several pictures framed last year and they did a wonderful job.  I can hardly wait to pick up the new ones but that will be in 2 weeks.  Marty saw an adorable framed picture of an elephant that he couldn’t live without.  It now lives on our “office” wall.

Marty's Elephant

From there I headed to el Centro Deportivo Petxina to sign up for a Pilates class and a water aerobics class.  Vicente helped me select a couple of the available classes.  Most were already full so I had to settle for late afternoon classes.  Maybe in January something will open up earlier in the day. I paid my 24 euros for the month and got my  “bono” cards.

El Centro Deportivo Petxina

We then headed to a shop nearby where they sell drapes and such.  Unfortunately everything there is custom made and I really didn’t want to go to that expense.  So, I decided to give Habitat a try later in the day as I had seen ready-made drapes there.

We settled on a new place for lunch, La Pitanza.  We’d walked by it many times but never walked in as it didn’t look like much.  When we entered we discovered that the dining room was on the second floor.  It was a beautifully decorated room.  We were presented with the menu of the day.  Like many other restaurants, the first course is predetermined.  It is usually a selection of items.  In this case it was a meatball soup and then a canelón de rabo de toro ( bulls tail cannelloni).  Rabo de toro is quite common here. It was delicious. For our main dish we selected the specialty of the house, a lovely combination of garbanzo, langostine and other seafood.  The stock was rich and flavorful and the seafood abundant.  Dessert was a very decadent tarta de chocolate con helado de turrón (almond and honey flavored ice cream).  The tarta was less cake and more like two frosted chunks of fudge.  A couple of cortados (short coffee with hot milk)  and chupitos of Mistela and we were on our way.

A little something to nibble

Caldo de Inverno con Pelota

Canelón de Rabo de Toro

Garbanzos Marineros con Langostino

Pure Decadence

Chupitos de Mistela

After a meal like that a walk was very much in order so we set off for FNAC for yet another bit of electronics.  After Marty made his purchase we parted ways.  He headed home and I went on the hunt for the drapes.  I passed Zara Home and decided to go in.  They had a wide range of drape styles and some were even room darkening.  But, of course,  I needed to make sure that Habitat didn’t have something better.  Habitat was a bit further than I had remembered but at last I arrived.  I soon discovered that I really preferred the ones at Zara Home and headed back.  I purchased some attractive sea foam blue drapes.  I do  see some hemming in my future. The distance from the rod to the floor in our bedroom is certainly less than 270 cm.   I also picked up 3 throw pillows.

At 7:00 PM, I found myself schlepping home two enormous bags.  The sky was darkening but I couldn’t resist stopping and taking  a shot of the church next to the Mercado.

Dusk

At 7:30, Marty headed out for a meeting of CIVAC.  I, very contentedly, curled up on the couch with a cup of tea and 1Q84, which is a wonderful but strange book.

Friday, we began our day with a 7:00 AM departure to the Comisaría de Policía.  This was followed by a 5-hour wait in line to finish the Spanish Visa process.  Having lived in Alaska, Buffalo and Boston, you’d think that standing outside in the morning chill for 5 hours would be no big deal.  I guess after 28 years in Los Angeles, I’ve become a wimp.   It was quite a scene, people from around the world, young and old, grand parents and babies and of course, The Kaplans.  There were moments that I felt like we had walked into the middle of a film shoot.   However, it was worth it and I am pleased to say that we are now legally residing in Spain.

After that experience we returned home to drop off all of our papers.  I honestly couldn’t get up the energy to do anything with the Thanksgiving leftovers and decided they should spend another day in the refrigerator.  We headed out to one of our favorite restaurants, The Ginger Loft.  We decided to make a detour to the Caja Madrid (a bank) to pick up the tickets for the concert we’d be going to that evening.  Unfortunately the machine would not spit out the tickets for Marty.  We tried my card, but no luck, so we went on out way and figured we’d solve the problem some other way.

At The Ginger Loft, we were warmly greeted by Mike who was pleased to see that we were going to stay and have lunch this time instead of just visit.  As always the meal was tasty, and perfectly seasoned.  I started with a copa de tinto and Marty had a beer.  We shared the rest of the meal.  First came an appetizer of caponata and melba toast.  This was followed by a chicken tandoori wrap, then an amazing yellow lentil, apple and parsnip soup.  When we asked Mike if he used a chicken stock, he explained that it was made with apple juice and soymilk.  It was smooth, creamy tasting and vegetarian.  It appears that Mike has a number of clients who are vegetarian and he tries to accommodate them.  The 2 main dishes were a Moroccan meatball dish and Chinese beef with beans and rice.  Quite satisfied, we passed up dessert and headed home.

Moroccan Meatballs and Cous Cous

Lentil, Apple and Parsnip Soup

For the first time in years, I collapsed on the bed in the middle of the day and took a nice long nap.  At 6:00, I woke  up and got ready to go to the symphony.  At that point I wasn’t so sure that I’d be able to stay awake.  As it turned out, that was not a problem.  The Palau de Música is a lovely and somewhat intimate symphony hall.  We were in the center of the 5^th row of the balcony.

Our seats were 30 € each.  Not bad when I think of what we pay per seat at the Disney Concert Hall.  As I looked over the program it appeared that half the program was upside down.  A closer look showed that one half is in Valenciano (left) and when you flip it over the other is in Castellano (right).

November 25 was the “International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.”   Prior to the start of the concert we were all invited to stand in silence for a minute.  I have never felt such silence before.   Then the concert began and filled the hall with wonderful music.   The program was terrific, Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite and Concert for Piano in A Minor, op.16.  The soloist for the Concerto was pianist, Tzimon Barto.  He received 5 well-deserved curtain calls and then played a short Chopin piece as an encore.  The second half of the program was Falla’s El Amor Brujo and Ginesteras’ Estancia.

A quick cab ride home and I was ready for a cup of herbal tea and bed.

After Sunday’s eating extravaganza, I decided that Monday would be a good day to take it easy.  I think my internal clock is finally on Spain time and I actually woke up at 8:00 am instead of my usual 5:00.  It was yet another rainy day, which I understand is very typical for November.  Seemed like a good time to do a little ironing and make a shopping list for Thanksgiving.    It is always interesting to discover what is readily available and what is not.  I have always just reached for one of those packages of stuffing mix for the bird.  Not this year.  A quick search on the Internet and I had a “from scratch” recipe.

As Marty passed la Fórcola earlier in the day he checked out the menu del día and it looked good.  Around 2 o’clock we decided to give it a try. Marty started with a “sin”(without), a bottle of non-alcoholic beer, and I opted for una copa de tinto.

As our primero we both ordered a delicious carpaccio of beef with thinly slice mushrooms and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Marty then selected the Pasta Carbonara. 

I went for a simple pollo al limón.   The chicken was infused with lemon that was just right – tangy but not overpowering.  Both of us couldn’t resist the homemade “fruit of the forest” ice cream.

The service, as always, was friendly and attentive.  What is interesting is that in spite of “la crisis, “ the restaurant was packed.  I guess people need to eat no matter what the economic situation.  And, you might as well eat well.

Marty took his usual afternoon nap.  Try as I might, I just can’t nap, so I went to Mercadona and picked up bread for stuffing and a few other things I needed.  How wonderful to be able to walk to the market in no more than 5 minutes.  The added benefit is I am developing some upper body strength schlepping all the bags home.  I guess I need to buy one of those carts I see everyone bringing to the market.    Perhaps tomorrow.

The rest of the day seemed to slip away.   At one point I was watching a cooking show and José Andres was making huevos revueltos con cebollas caramelizada.  (scrambled eggs with caramelized onions.)  It looked so good I decided to try my hand at caramelizing some onions.  It took a bit of time but, wow, the result was worth it. 

A little before 8:00, Marty headed out to a meeting of CIVAC, the local magic group, and I had the evening to myself.  People keep asking how I feel about his going out to meetings and leaving me home.  I love doing things with Marty, but treasure my alone time.   I had the perfect dinner of huevos revueltos for one and a good book. It has been a hectic first week in Valencia, so I really enjoyed my quiet evening.

A rainy Sunday morning made it easy to hang around the house.  My first task of the day was to prepare my favorite Baked Cranberry Relish for Thanksgiving dinner, which I will be hosting.  The most difficult part of the recipe was finding fresh cranberries. I had read they weren’t available in Valencia, but as one who doesn’t like to be told, “It can’t be done,” I went on a search.  I managed to find two little boxes in the Mercado Central on Saturday.  The gentleman behind me was none to happy to see them disappear.  For those of you who like to cook, here is the recipe.  I have used it for so many years, I have no idea where it came from but it’s a keeper.

Baked Cranberry Relish

By 2:00 the rain had stopped and we headed off to Pepe’s house for lunch.  On the way we stopped at Le Parisien, one of our favorite bakeries.  We picked up a fruit tart and in a few more minutes we arrived at our destination.

Before I had even crossed the threshold to his apartment, Pepe had placed a glass of Via Mágica in my hand and planted a kiss on my cheek. Via Mágica is a wine produced at the bodega of Pepe’s friend Benjamin Gomez.  It was first produced for the national magic convention in Valencia in 2008.

Then hugs and kisses from Sara and Gioco.  I must say, this is the “kissiest” place I have ever been.

The table was set with a bowl of olives, a plate of pulpo (octopus), another of tomato, onion and pieces of a regional fish much like bacalao (salt cod) all drizzled with a bit of olive oil. I nibbled for a while and then went to the kitchen to watch Pepe finish preparing the arroz meloso de bogavante (rice with lobster).  Arroz meloso is rice that is not as dry as paella, nor as liquid as soup. The dish is made with a rich fish stock that Pepe had prepared the day before.  In addition to lobster there was squid and pieces of absolutely succulent fish.  Pepe shared a few secrets with me but I am sworn to secrecy.  Needless to say, el arroz was amazing, as is everything that Pepe prepares.

Pepe

Arroz con Bogavante - in preparation

Arroz con Bogavante - ready to eat

Gioco's approval

All gone!

The fruit tart was a perfect end for the meal.  Then on to coffee and a little shot of rum.

La Tarta de Frutas del Bosque

At that point Gioco wanted to share the DVD of La Venganza de Don Mendo, the play he has been performing in.  Try as he might it would not project.  Never one to deterred, he then left to get his laptop and the other 20 copies to see if at least one of them would work.  At last he gave up and resorted to his laptop rather than Pepe’s big screen.  We watch for a little while and Sara gave a running commentary of the technical aspects of the DVD.  We all had a good laugh.

After a Skype chat with Jaime, Pepe’s son who is at the University in Liverpool, we headed out for a gin and tonic.  We strolled to la Plaza de la Reina and found an outdoor table.  How delightful to be sitting at an outdoor café in late November.  We chatted for a while longer and lunch was officially over at 7:30 PM.

Cathedral in La Plaza de La Reina

Marty

Sara and Pepe