Ah, Valencia

Last Friday, I left Barcelona for Valencia, the third largest city in Spain, for a much better climate. I finally found blue skies and sun again.

Upon arrival, I took a taxi to my Airbnb. Imagine my horror when I arrived at the door of a narrow building and saw steps. Lots of steps. Steps which became increasingly narrow after each floor. I’d forgotten to ask about an elevator when booking. In most of the four websites I use to secure accommodations when traveling, only AirBnB does not include information about elevators, and the apartment looked so modern and cute that I didn’t even think about it.

So, using my left arm only, I dragged my bag up six flights of stairs. The stairs got so narrow that by the time I got to the third floor, the bag and I could not fit on the same stair. I had to clutch the railing with my right (post-operative) arm and drag the bag up with my left (also post-operative but stronger). More than once, I considered going back downstairs and booking a hotel. But I persevered and ultimately arrived in the apartment. When I saw that the bedroom was in fact a loft, I sat down and closed my eyes. I then decided to keep all of my belongings downstairs and take only what was absolutely necessary up to the bedroom. However,

At least I have a cute balcony with a nice view of a very European street.

My little place here has a Krups coffeemaker, as do many European apartments. Each Krups coffeemaker I’ve had has been of a different design; and, without instructions, the method of operation is completely inscrutable. This is now the third place I’ve lived where making coffee has turned into an exercise in spatial-conceptual intelligence and critical thinking. I finally ascertained that the little pod goes in lying on its side, and one removes these pods after use by pulling out the grill in front. I can only assume and hope that every child born in Europe is gifted with a Krups how-to gene.

In most European cities, they have tour buses which travel around the entire city. One can buy a pass for one or two days and enter and exit the bus as many times as one wants. Since I wanted to get the lay of the land, I chose this rather traditional approach to sightseeing, and I had a very good introduction to the entire city. When I boarded the bus the first time, I was given a set of ear plugs which plugged into the seat in front of me. The control panel was a series of flags representing the languages spoken. As there was no American flag, I selected the British flag, only to hear the narration in Spanish. Go figure. After about 15 minutes I decided to amuse myself by listening in French; when I selected the French flag, everything was in English. Again, go figure.

The German tourists in front of me were dutifully listening to their headsets and making occasional comments to one another. The group of Italians behind me, whom I later realized numbered only three, were screaming back and forth at each other and preventing the rest of us from hearing the history. After several minutes of this, I turned around and made a hand gesture, not the middle finger, and they quieted down a bit. When they finally got off the bus, I said, in Italian, thank God.

Yay – the French!  Boo – the Italians!

I’ve had, as I’ve come to expect in Spain, great food, coffee, and wine. I’m staying in the most charming area, called Ruzafa, full of narrow streets and charming buildings. Once a not-so-great-area, this has become the new place to live. Unfortunately, the rents are not cheap, and most of the buildings are so old and narrow that they don’t have elevators. But my search continues.

There are several amazing and unexpectedly creative buildings and monuments in Valencia. When I first rode through, I saw buildings that one might expect in Sydney Australia. It’s a very large city land-wise, and it’s not as densely built and populated as Barcelona. Though massive, it feels less urban than Barcelona. I suppose I could compare it to Boston and New York. But the weather is wonderful.

So, back to BCN on Tuesday. I may spend the rest of the day riding up and down in the elevator.