Mi penúltima semana

I will be home in a week and a half.  This is both sad and exciting.  I wish I could spend more time in Valencia, but I'm also ready to see friends and family at home.  With time dwindling down, and since I'll be in Granada this weekend, I'm trying to finish off my checklist!

The first check on my list came on Monday (June 10).  I wanted to go to the beach again and Jordan did too, so after classes we went out to soak up the sun (and get some sand blown our way, too).  The water was a bit colder today, but the sun was definitely brighter!  And we basically just napped the entire time.  The real adventure came in getting home.  We hopped on the same bus as last time, only to go one stop and hear the bus driver say "última parada" (last stop) and watch him walk into a cafe.  Well, we decided to head a few blocks towards the city to find another stop.  And we did, but not with any bus that we wanted.  Luckily we looked at the map and found a bus that would work.  We get to that stop, and after being passed by quite a few taxis (some of which seemed to be laughing at us), someone came up and told us that the bus we needed wasn't running (well, I guess really he asked us if it was, but it seemed more like he knew

Compromises are so hard...

 it wasn't).  Luckily, we were in the main bus stop area, so we walked to the next stop (right behind us) and climbed on.  It took us to the train station/plaza de toros where Jordan, Anna and I usually meet up.

But that wasn't the end of the struggles, oh no!  An hour and a half after leaving the beach, we had finally made it to a familiar area.  But before we had left, we decided we wanted to stop at a pastelería (pastry shop).  Now, normally there are pastry shops everywhere!!  You can't walk a block without finding one!  That is until you want to find one.  Try as we might, Jordan and I couldn't find a pastry shop.  We ended up getting ice cream instead, which was refreshing on a 90 degree day!

The Mercadona

Tuesday was Tuesday.  I took a nap after classes and then had homework to do.  For my art class, I had to draw four different pictures in the four styles of cubism - synthetic, analytic, orphic, and synchromism.  This ended up being a fun art project and didn't really seem like homework.  Plus I finished relatively quickly and got to play with Pablo!  Oh I also got mini Nutella filled croissants (to make up for Monday) and went to the grocery store!


This morning (June 12), Jordan and I went to cross something else off our lists - go to el Mercado Central.  This is Valencia's huge market place.  For you Lancaster folks, it's actually a lot like Central Market, only maybe a bit bigger (or at least the aisles are bigger to walk down).  We wandered around market for awhile, getting juice (I got Strawberry Orange juice), pastries, and saffron!  We both wanted to get saffron while in Spain, so we have also checked that off our lists!

We then had to head to class, and after Monday's bus catastrophe decided to give ourselves 45 minutes to figure it out.  We ended up stopping at a tourist shop on our way to the bus stop (where I got a recipe book of Tapas, for the next time Hannah or a sibling needs food for a fiesta!), but we still got to school by 10:20.  This time the bus adventure was quite the success, definitely making up for Monday.

Who's gonna get what... ;)

After classes, I did a bit more wandering (and actually got a little lost too!).  I was up by the Cathedral again and stopped in little boutiques and shops all around that area.  After today, my pile of souvenirs for people is growing, almost as fast as the pile of presents I bought for myself!  I still have a few more to get, but I have ideas and will be in Granada this weekend!

My days in Spain are starting to be numbered.  I think my Spanish has improved while I've been here (I know my English has gotten worse... that will be the challenge to tackle when I'm at home!).  Anyway, time to live up the last week and a half!  I'll let you know what happens!

Also, here's a peak at my art homework in case anyone wanted to see it!