El fin de semana segundo

After a few more days of adjusting, I feel much more at home here. I've learned to recognize my way home, even at night, which is definitely important! I'm becoming more of a city girl than I ever thought was possible. This is truly an exciting place to be.

Much has happened since my last update. This past Friday morning I went to the center of town with a group of friends. It was the day of the celebration of Saint Vicente Martir, and there was a procession throughout the city. Aromatic leaves were scattered over the ground, and it smelled wonderful. These were, we think, to line the way for the saints and the procession.
Musicians, priests, church members, falleras (ornately dressed women reminiscent of the Fallas festival in March where elaborate sculptures are burned in the streets), and floats proceeded through the streets of Valencia. While enjoying the festivities, I drank horchata! It tasted of yeast and wasn't as thick as I thought it would be. I'll have to try it another time before I come to a conclusion, but it was an interesting experience for sure. Number 1, CHECK!

The next night I joined some more friends for dinner at a local restaurant. I don't remember the name, but I will probably never forget how delicious the food...well, most of it...was that night. I decided to take part in the "menu del dia," the full course meal, to complete the experience. For my "primeros platos," I tried Paella Valenciana for the first time. Ohhhh my goodness, it was incredible. There were mussels, pieces of chicken, beans, and some sort of crustacean mixed in with the yellow rice. I was in heaven. For my second course, I decided to go with sepia, or cuttlefish. The texture was very strange...it was rubbery like calimari, but much tougher. The flavor was nice but it was so hard to cut that I just gave up. Most of the others who ordered the same thing had similar problems. But when dessert arrived, all was well. I tried coconut mousse, the perfect amount of sweetness to complement a delicious meal.

The weekend also consisted of a relaxing trip to the beach (too cold to swim, but I was still extremely excited to see the Mediterranean sea) and a stop at my new favorite dessert place for chocolate con churros. These are basically long fried doughnuts that come with a cup of creamy, steaming chocolate for dipping. Heavenly. I would post a picture but by the time I took one, there was only one lonely churro left. I was too excited to eat them, haha.

I'm crossing things off my list quickly...I'll have to think of some more to add. These last two have both been about food, which is a passion of mine. Mmmmm. I'll have to think of a way to incorporate that into my career. Food critic? I think that sounds perfect.

Hasta luego :)