Last week was a very busy, if not particularly productive week. We joined a gym on Monday, and Sue has been pressganging me into going every morning. If death marches weren’t enough for the weekends, now I have to do them on a treadmill (and other forms of torture) every day!

On Wednesday we found out that it was Constitution Day, by going to the Mercat Central and finding it closed. Luckily for me, Sue checked and found that everything would be closed on Friday, too, because it was the feast of the Immaculate Reception – Here is video of the play (I don’t really understand why the Spanish are celebrating a Pittsburgh Steelers’ win, but life abounds with mysteries).

Thursday (after another brutal day of torture at the gym) we walked over to the Mercat, which was open, and mobbed. We bought bread, cheese, fruit, vegetables, some snacks and some orange vinegar. The place where we bought the vinegar also sold absinthe, but I couldn’t convince Sue to get any. We have been putting the vinegar on our salads, and it is quite good.

Friday, I was granted parole from the gym, because Sue was planning a death march for Saturday. We walked over to the area that has Asian grocery stores. Most places were closed, but luckily, we found a large one that was open. We wandered up and down the aisles and bought udon noodles, bao, spring rolls, pad Thai sauce and some Asian juices.

I don’t know if I consider 10 miles a death march anymore, but if Steven wants to think it is, I will let him. Saturday we marched about 10 miles. Since we like to have a destination, we chose a point to the west where we could walk through Turia Park and keep going. As we left the city, we found ourselves walking amid artichokes, lettuce, parsley and, of course, oranges. We couldn’t decide whether these acres of farmland surrounded by development were a deliberate land use policy or just some owners who didn’t want to sell.

We crossed the commuter line train tracks and were in Paterna, an old town that is now a suburb of the city of Valencia. We were aiming for El Calvario, a clock tower next to the town hall that sits high enough to have a nice view of the city. Once there, we realized there was another exciting landmark we couldn’t miss just a few minutes walk away. We walked around it a few times, until we found a stairway between two buildings and made our way up to the Torre de Paterna, or Paterna Tower, which is thought to have been built by the Moors as a defense. Later, earth houses (earth houses? They are caves!) were excavated around the tower and people still live in them today.

We couldn’t go to the top of the tower (well, Steven didn’t want to), but I was able to climb a staircase about half the way up the outside. It was a bit windy there, so I didn’t spend too much time pressing myself against the brick to take pictures before I came down and we headed for lunch.

Steven is excellent at choosing restaurants that have food I will eat, and he didn’t disappoint this time. I had a veggie (pronounced here with a hard G) burger and Steven had something resembling a burrito as we sat outside in the sun at A La Bona Vida. On the way back, we stopped at the mall to buy me a sweatshirt for loungewear (it is a bit chilly in the evenings especially with the tile floor). With just a few weeks to go before Christmas, we expected a crowd, but the mall as sleepy. What’s wrong with these people? Don’t they know it’s the season of buying stuff? Maybe malls just aren’t popular here or haven’t come roaring back from Covid. Last time we were in a mall in the U.S., it was uncomfortably crowded on a beautiful summer day. Different lifestyles.

Sunday we had plans with friends who live near the beach. I blame the fact that my brain is constantly processing new information and in a foreign language for our death march to the beach that had us arriving 3 hours early (or maybe she is just losing it – I will keep you all updated). Oops. Luckily, I texted my friend, she set me straight and we took the train home, showered, and decided not to repeat the one-hour, 40-minute walk again instead taking a cab. We had a lovely time celebrating Hanukkah with them and another couple and eating latkes we didn’t have to make. We also learned about the Barenaked Ladies Hanukkah song, which we did not know and got some tips about Valencia. (Don’t wear your shoes in people’s houses and bring socks if you’re wearing sandals.)

When we got home, we watched a bit of football and called it a weekend. We had to rest up for the gym on Monday.