Saturday was a very low key day with not a lot happening.  The big event of the day was lunch at Palace Fesol, a restaurant that is celebrating its 100^th anniversary.  We had a lovely meal.  We began by sharing several tapas – croquetas, buñuelos de bacalao, and a pisto that was wrapped in a filo dough purse.  For our main course we had an arroz al señorito, which is a sea food paella in which the shells have been removed from all the seafood.  After coffee and dessert, we made our way back home and spent the rest of the day reading and relaxing.

Sunday was as exciting as Saturday.  We visited with a friend of ours, Paquito, who was working that morning at a nearby café.  We spent a good half hour chatting with him before we headed back home.  Susan made lunch and it was an array of tapas.  The centerpiece was a shrimp and garlic dish (gambas al ajillo) and the rest of the plate was filled with slices of serrano ham, Idiazabal cheese, paté and some green beans that had been steamed and then warmed in a tomato and garlic sauce.  We were stuffed and, not surprisingly, we took a nap and later we treated ourselves to a gelato.

Monday we felt we needed a long walk to work of the excesses of the weekend, so we headed for the Turia Gardens, an enormous green space located about 20 minutes from downtown.  We walked through the park, through the aviary and the rose garden.  The temperature was in the 80’s, so we stopped to hydrate ourselves several times.  When we got back home, Susan once again made lunch and the serving plate included boquerones, steamed shrimp, cheese, paté and sliced tomatoes.  At 5:30 we decided a gelato was in order and after our sugary treat we took a little walk.  Once again the Kindles were fired up andwhile Susan read, I slipped out and attended a meeting of the magic club.

Today we were determined to pay a visit to the Almoina.  The original structure served to provide food for the poor.  In 1985 the nearby Basilica decided to purchase the land beside it to enlarge the overall structure.  In the process of digging the foundation an architectural treasure trove was found in that area.  The archeologists uncovered the ruins of the first Roman city that was built on that site and later destroyed by Pompey.  The city was later rebuilt by the Romans and those ruins were uncovered, remnants of the Visigothic and Moorish invasions and occupation were also uncovered.  It took some 20 years to uncover and reconstruct all of this.  A building was then constructed to house all the remains and the majority of the walkways are constructed of reinforced glass so that the visitor can see all the ruins without causing their further deterioration.  We had a one hour guided tour and it was an eye-opening experience.

Since Seu-Xerea was literally steps away, we decided to have lunch there and it was truly an amazing experience.  Their menu varies from week to week depending on what is available fresh at the market.  There are five small plates that constitute your first course and then you choose your entrée.  Chef Jordi came out to visit with us and suggested that we have the rice with octopus stew.  It was an excellent suggestion.  Dessert and coffee followed and we slowly made our way home at 4:30.  Susan is currently reading and I am finishing up this blog entry.  Tomorrow we head north and on Friday we fly back to LA.  It has been an amazing sis and half weeks.

Paquito

Monday lunch with boquerones, Idiazabal, paté, Manchego and gambas al ajillo

Monday's lunch table