We don’t collect a lot of souvenirs. Really just fridge magnets. I sometimes wonder what the total weight of our fridge magnets is, but we buy them because individually they are light and small. This is the long way around to saying that what we do collect is people — friends.

On our fraught trip to Kenya, we met a fellow traveler, Susan. She actually finished the walk that we dropped out of (cousin Robin did too!) and we stayed in touch. Susan is a retired scientist and she travels a lot, mostly to do volunteer scientific work or hike and take educational tours. She was in Greece for a volcano tour of Santorini (which sounds fabulous and is now on my bucket list; BTW, I think I need a bigger bucket) and then decided to hop over to Spain for more hiking and a stop in Valencia to see us.

We knew Susan would be an easy guest since she’s such an experienced traveler and lives alone so she’s used to making her own plans, but we enjoy having a friend around, so we didn’t really leave her to fend for herself very much. She arrived Monday late afternoon and was happy to chill and have our delicious salad (oxymoron!!!) for dinner. As I suspected, no moss would be growing under her feet and she quickly mentioned the free walking tours that many cities offer. (If you are traveling, we highly recommend one of these. We have done a couple and they lived up to expectations. At the end, you simply tip the guide as much as you see fit.)

If you guessed that we decided to do the tour with her, you’d be right. Tuesday morning, we set off for the edges of Ciutat Vella (Valencian), Ciudad Vieja (Spanish), or Old Town (English). Steven and I thought we were going to the Mercat Central (Valencian), Mercado Central (Spanish), or Central Market (English), because that is a popular tourist destination, but instead we got an interesting tour filled with facts about Valencian history and culture and some good humor as well. Some things we knew. For instance, the bat is the symbol of Valencia and paella is for lunch. Others, we didn’t. (Like there is a house that is just about 1 meter wide because they used to tax on the amount of frontage of the building, which Estonia did too. Or that the back of the towers that used to be part of the wall are open facing into the city so that if they were overrun the invaders would not be protected from defenders inside the city or…and this is my favorite: The Silk Exchange has pornographic gargoyles. I am sure he told us why, but my mind was wandering at that point).

Image descriptions: #1 The parrot on the weathervane atop the Central Market (photo above) has several myths associated with it, but our guide choosing to belief that it represents how quickly gossip travels throughout the market from one vendor to another.

#2 The top of Serranos Towers (Torres de Serranos in Spanish), or one of the remaining gates to enter Old Town. To expand the city, most of the original walls came tumbling down in 1865, but two gates remain. You can climb to the top.

#3 Under the plexiglas are ruins that are part of L’Almoina (Almshouse) Archeology Museum.

#4 Gargoyles and dragons protect the city and also channel water from the roof through their open mouths.

#5 I told you you could climb to the top of the Serranos Towers.

#6 Isn’t Valencian architecture pretty?

#7 I think cars drive on this street in Old Town.

We ended the two-hour tour at the Central Market. Perfect for us, because we wanted to pick up some fruit, veggies and snacks. Susan learned the hard way that the rule is “No tocar” or don’t touch. If you happen to go to a market in Spain, tell the vendors what you want, and let them do the grabbing. We also decided to get some Italian takeout at the market so we didn’t have to cook. Here’s a warning to all you veggies out there: Just because meat isn’t mentioned in the ingredients doesn’t mean there’s no meat! Unless I completely missed it (and Susan and Steven did too), there was meat in my spinach ravioli. Live and learn to ask every time. Luckily, I had some leftovers and we had also gotten a spelt salad that was delicious. Always be prepared for hidden meat or a lack of veggie options (which Steven will explain in the next blog).

Wednesday, Susan wanted to be sure she knew how to get to the Metro to get the train to the airport, so the two of us wandered over to the station and then went on a hunt for a book I could understand in Spanish. We first headed to a small, used bookstore right off City Hall Plaza. A good location because then Susan got to see the plaza, which is lovely. I didn’t find what I was looking for so we set a course for Librerías París-Valencia, which I originally thought was a French bookstore (who knows why), one of a chain. We spent some time trying to figure out the logic behind the bookshelf organization. The books seemed to be categorized somewhat correctly, but we’d get to authors beginning with the letter K and there wouldn’t be an LMNOP. Whatever. We found a lot of interesting reading, but not what I was looking for.

Luckily, there’s another Librerías París-Valencia closer to home and there I hit paydirt (lucky sighting because again, strange organization) and picked up a copy of Proyecto Hail Mary. I don’t think I have to translate that one for you. (I will: Project Hail Mary. Mom, it is a new film which is why Sue thought you would know it. You are welcome.) I’m about a fifth of the way in and I totally understand it. Thank goodness for simple, straightforward language (unless you count the scientific explanations).

We decided to show Susan a typical Valencian lunch, so we headed across the street to Brutus. (I don’t think it’s named after one of Popeye’s nemeses and yes, I looked it up, that is the plural of nemesis.) (For anyone who cares there were two nemeses, Brutus and Bluto, at some point the rights to the TV show were sold and the acquiring company was unsure if they had the rights to the name Bluto, so they created Brutus) at about 1 p.m. It’s Italian so we had the option of the price fixe pizza or pasta menus. We went for the pizza. We didn’t really need two types of pasta, an appetizer and choice of coffee or dessert. (Wait! We got the price fixe, just the small one. Only a starter, pizza, dessert or coffee) . Two hours later, Steven had to run back to our apartment because we were having terrace furniture delivered. Lunch here is a leisurely affair.

After lunch, we (Susan and Sue – I stayed home) managed to rouse ourselves from our siesta-time lethargy to go to the botanic gardens, a short 1.5 miles away. I am very sad to report that I received a senior citizens discount without having to show ID, because OF COURSE I would not have qualified, although Susan did. I saved a whopping €1.70 (about $2.00), which was half price. The 10-acre gardens are part of the University of Valencia and, as such, is a research center that also aims to preserve endemic or endangered species native to the city. While the signage could use some sprucing up (no pun intended) the trees were magnificent and I particularly liked the medicinal plant section and the mountainside flower exhibit. Several ponds contain the usual plant life and some very vocal frogs that sounded almost birdlike. After about an hour, we were overwhelmed and decided to head back. As we left the garden, we realized that the temperature outside was at least 5 degrees higher and much it was much louder.

Susan was leaving early (at least early for us at about 9:45) Thursday, so we walked back, ate another delicious salad (oxymoron again) and spent the rest of our time together chatting. I hope we’ll have another opportunity to meet up with her again.