Valencia, Spain

I haven´t been to Valencia since 1982, and I have to say it´s changed for the better. After spending the fall semester in cosmopolitan Madrid, I thought Valencia needed quite a bit of sprucing up when I saw it the following spring. It´s spruced.

The architect Santiago Calatrava, a Valencia native, designed a City of Arts and Sciences (1991-2004) that´s amazing to see and walk through. It houses a world-class aquarium and opera house. Located on the edge of the Mar Mediterraneo, it looks like a giant fish about to jump back into the water. Casey, my mother´s novio said, ¨It´s a female fish.¨ I took the bait and asked him how he knew. He said, ¨Her mouth is open.¨

We then stopped in front of the city´s bullring before heading out to tour the town. Our first destination was the Cathedral, home of the Holy Grail, the chalice that Jesus Christ used at the Last Supper. Scenes from Monty Python´s ¨Search for the Holy Grail¨ flashed through my mind as we neared the Cathedral. (¨She turned me into a newt! Well, I got better.¨ and ¨Why else do you think I have this ridiculous accent?¨) However, the Cathedral´s quiet beauty removed any strains of silliness. For 3 Euros, you are able to enter and enjoy a well done audio tour. I was impressed by the main altar. The ceiling frescoes of stunning angels painted on a royal blue background had recently been restored. Behind the altar, you´ll find St. Vincent the Martyr´s arm. His whole arm. I´ve seen relics before, but I don´t think I´ve ever seen a relic that big. St. Vincent is the patron saint of Valencia.

We then walked to the special chapel that houses the Holy Grail. It gave me chills to think that Christ could have held that cup. The chapel itself is fairly plain, unlike the many side chapels that are very ornate. (One of the chapels even showcased two of Goya´s paintings.) The chalice, or grail, is also very austere. No diamonds and rubies here. Simple, but beautiful.

After touring the Cathedral, we decided to walk over to the market to buy a piece of fruit. By the time we got there, it was closed for the lunch hour and wouldn´t open again until 6 p.m. It was nice to see the building, though, which is covered in blue and yellow tile.

Now Mariana and I are sitting in a nice ¨Centro de Internet¨called Ono on the corner of Maria Cristina and San Vicente Martir. We´re paying 3 Euros an hour to use their computers, but it´s worth every centimo. We only paid 1.20 Euros per hour in Barcelona, but it was pure hell. The person to the side of me, whose elbows I became well acquainted, with smoked non-stop. Four teenage boys who were playing the online game World of Warcraft cussed and smoked non-stop for an hour and a half. (I knew they were playing WOW, because one of my reporters--Miguel Serna--from last semester wrote about it. He´s an avid player.) One of the kids held forth with a running commentary the entire session and two out of his three words should not have been uttered in public. I finally had enough. I was trying to concentrate and type as fast as I could. I said, ¨Oye. Por favor. Bajalo!¨(Listen. Please. Turn it down.¨) He said, ¨Si. Bueno.¨ (Yes. Fine.) I was feeling pretty pleased with myself, but 15 seconds later, he was back at it, even louder if possible. (Perhaps I should have asked him to talk louder and curse more? Reverse psychology. I haven´t entered the teenage parenting years yet, so I wasn´t prepared.) Meanwhile, a French girl, also a smoker, sat down next to me. She proceeded to let out the biggest burp I´ve ever heard. (Reminded me of Amy Stubblefield´s childhood dog, Ming, who was quite a burper. The Stubblefield family would always reply, ¨Ming, did you get any on you?¨) I felt like asking the French girl if she got any on her, but I didn´t think she´d get it. Instead, I just looked at her, and she said with a very cute, not ridiculous, French accent, ¨I´m so embarrassed.¨ We both laughed. I told her it was okay, and I also told her I couldn´t believe the kid in the room could talk non-stop for an hour and a half. Mercifully, our time ran out. As we descended the narrow staircase, the kid was still talking.

We´ve got to leave to meet up with our group. I hope paella is on tonight´s menu. Valencia is famous for it. Alba, we´re thinking of you! Mañana, Granada. Stay tuned!