Visiting the Past

Valencia, Spain
March 2, 2015

This Monday morning, we were going to be all about business, getting up and making sure we could get all that we wanted to do, done in a quick and efficient way.  How quickly those plans can fail when you don't get to be the night before until after 1:30 AM.  So we woke up and had a late breakfast at the Adhoc Monumental Hotel, which we really do like.  A very good price at 75 Euro, and that includes breakfast!  We had the typical Spanish breakfast with the Zumo de Naranja - fresh squeezed Orange Juice that will satisfy you with pure oranges fresh from the huerta (grove).  Their coffee is also strong and energizing.

Bar Almudin - Charming inside
 and out, with loft inside

Refreshed and ready to go to the American Institute of Spanish Studies, we were welcomed by a warming sunshine and perfect clouds spotting the sky, providing the occasional quick shading to make sure you didn't get blinded by the light.  At the Institute we met with Isabel, the secretary who replaced Gwen in 1987.  She was very welcoming and passed on to the current Director Arturo Sanchez our best wishes.  He later responded via e-mail that they always love to welcome back former students - and especially ones as old as me!  It is their 65th year as an Institute and they have also been teaching English for 35 years.

Shortly after our visit we went across the street to Pan Pan where we had a coffee and some snacks with Maria Angeles and her mother Maria Angeles.  A friend of mine tutored English to their family when we were in College, and we have kept in touch over the years.  Their father/husband was a energetic welcoming man who was so enamored of the United States that he had US flags in his house and practically burst when he was able to visit New York City with his son Vinny.  We were invited back to their house for a Tortilla Espanola and were lucky enough to get a class in how to prepare a good one.  The key is to peel the potatoes and slice them fairly thin.  1 potato and 1 egg more than the number of people having the tortilla (4 people - 5 eggs and 5 potatoes).  Use olive oil and a little salt in a pan, and then add the potatoes and slowly allow them to cook in the olive oil, which should be covering them.  Go slow so they get mushy and translucent, not fried and crisp.  Then reserve the oil by pouring it off and using for something like cooking French Fries later.  Then add in the eggs and as they set, move them around slowly to make sure that the eggs are cooked in the center.  With a plate larger than the skillet, flip the eggs over and then slide it back into the pan to finish.  Let it cool down before serving - not cold, just warm.   A wonderful afternoon that left us full and tired from so much food.  It was also exhausting for Cathy, as she intently listened to Spanish and was quickly picking out words and making conversation.  Kudos to Duolingo for helping her get a great start in Spanish.

Juan de Juanes - Petit Verdot

We ended up crashing in the room to relax and caught up on writing and work plans.  We had conversation with a group that will help us on our legal aspects for the company we're starting back in the States.  It was very informative and productive.


We decided late that we would go out for dinner and found a Galician Restaurant Bar Almudin had some tapas and wine.  We both had large toast with toppings; mine with pork cutlets and caramelized onions, and Cathy's with Eggs and Smoked Salmon.  We had a Petit Verdot from Valencia, and it typically is a very strong wine with big flavors, like a Cabernet.  This one was, and it fell into the category of big Surprise for a Valencian Red.  Juan de Juanes - we like your style!

Calle Almudin 14, 46003 Valencia, España

Walking around Valencia, you'll find a lot of the bars and restaurants say "Tenemos WIFI" or "We have WIFI".   In Spanish, they pronouce it WEE+FEE.  So we liked this sign at the Bar Almudin that said they didn't have WIFI, but they did have Vermouth.  Never before had it straight, but it was good. Kind of a mixture of flavors of Coke, Iced Tea, and Honey.  It was a little sweet for our taste, but not so bad.