That may be a bit of an exaggeration, since we haven’t had much time to catch our breath for a very good reason: The Monday after we arrived, so did our friends Amy and Adam. They are scouting potential locations for longer stays and we did our best to convince them that Valencia would be great!

Unfortunately, they got their taste of the Spanish train system early on and instead of coming straight from Granada, they had to detour through Madrid. Because of that, we didn’t get to see them until Tuesday. We used Monday to buy a few more things for our apartment and to take the old-lady cart out for a first run to the market. When we realized that we were pretty far from the Mercado Central and that the Mercado Colon is really a glorified fancy food court, we were a little disappointed, but our spirits lifted when we figured out that the Mercado de Ruzafa is only a 12-minute walk from our apartment. Yay!

Last time we were here, we went to the Mercado Central, which is busy even on days that it isn’t really busy. It’s a big stop for walking tours of the city and, in general, is a tourist hot spot. The one in Ruzafa is much smaller and calmer (at least on a Monday), but has pretty much all the food we need except for a few packaged items and soft drinks. We’ll have to find a few favored vendors and go back until they recognize our bad Spanish. Apparently, last week was the end of the dragon fruit season (either that or the stalls randomly got a big shipment, because we grabbed one to try. You simply slice it in half and eat the flesh out with a spoon. We got one with white flesh, which was a bit tangy and very delicious. This week when we went back because we wanted to try the red-fruited ones which are supposed to be sweeter, they were nowhere to be found.

Tuesday, we met Amy and Adam after their morning tourist activity. Finding food for our disparate needs and likes can be tough, but we ended up in Old Town eating perfectly serviceable Italian while we caught up and extolled the virtues of Valencian life. Poor Steven has to work (someone has to keep me in the lifestyle to which I would like to become accustomed), so after lunch (except Steven), we walked in Turia Park and attempted to get a drink at Amy and Adam’s hotel rooftop bar, only to realize it didn’t open until 5 p.m. I really have to get used to siesta time closings.

Wednesday, Amy and Adam went on a the walking tour (can you say Mercado Central?) while Steven and I did errands. The first couple of weeks in a new place, there are a lot of startup costs. Then, I met Amy and Adam for dinner at Restaurant Copenhagen, a vegetarian spot in Ruzafa, which was about halfway between their hotel and our apartment. I know Steven was very sad that he had to miss it(I was weeping into my chicken dinner).

Can you guess what we did Thursday? If you said meet up with Amy and Adam, you’d be right! This time they came to us so they could see our apartment. Of course, they were very impressed and decided on the spot to move to Valencia (in my dreams, but still). Another walkabout ensued. We spend a lot of time just wandering the city with no firm destination.

Amy also decided she wanted to look for some shopportunities, so Adam asked Gemini. Not sure it came up with anything great, but we met them near the train station and did our usual wander. Here’s another tip about Valencia: Often lunch spots don’t open until 1 or 1:30. We picked a place, but on the way passed Beirut, which I’m sure you have already realized is not the city but a Middle Eastern restaurant , so we walked over to the mercado and grabbed some fruit before heading back to lunch. While we were there, a couple of guys were collecting for the anti-war effort (not sure which one but I can guess) and while they didn’t speak much English, they certainly knew how to say, “F*ck Trump,” a sentiment I hope all you readers can get behind.

In the morning on Friday, I got curious and strolled over to the opening day of Ruzafa Fashion Week Secret Market (not really a secret since the posters are everywhere and not really in Ruzafa since it is down the block from us, but who’s quibbling). It is an annual (or maybe semi-annual looking at the website) event. When I arrived, it was fairly sedate. I grabbed some placemats and a couple, three tops (phrasing for you Chicagoans—there were three) and by the time I was leaving, it was a madhouse with the line for the dressing room and to pay growing by the minute. Some people bought A LOT of clothes. Waiting in line makes everyone friendly, so I got to practice my Spanish and my eye-rolling a bit.

We met Amy and Adam again for a wander and the had lunch at Saigon Delice, which you have probably used your powers of deduction to figure out is a Vietnamese restaurant. The food was yummy. This was their last day in town and I wanted to go out to dinner, but I was pretty wiped out, so we said see you in Chicago and parted for now.