Friday, April 13, 2012

Today is my brother’s birthday.  Happy Birthday, brother dear!  The sun has returned to Valencia in celebration of your birthday.  Last night it started to rain around 6:30 and the rain lasted most of the night.  Susan went to her PhotoShop class around then and I stayed home with my foot elevated applying ice packs every other hour.  The good news is that the knee is feeling significantly better than it did on Tuesday morning.

I was able to walk to the metro station yesterday and that certainly lifted my spirits.  On the way back I got off the metro at Colón and did a bit of shopping at El Corte Inglés and then made my way to the Ginger Loft.  It was a little after 1:00 and they were in the process of setting the room up for lunch.  I took a seat and ordered a beer.  I then called Susan and invited her to join me for lunch.  While I waited for her I chatted with Mike and did a bit of reading.

Lunch, as usual, was quite enjoyable.  We started with a bit of hummus and from there enjoyed a garbanzo and apple soup.  Mike served us what he called a Japanese version of ceviche, which was not quite as sharp as the Peruvian version.  It was marinated in Clementine juice, which is not as astringent as lime juice.  It was quite tasty.  Next came a dish of Vietnamese pork, followed by a dish of green curry.  Both dishes had the right amount of heat and both were served over rice.  For dessert we split a slice of a chocolate and banana cake that was served with a small scoop of ice cream.  We finished the meal with a coffee.

Before we left Susan asked Mike if she could photograph and interview him for her food project.  Mike graciously said that it was fine with him.  On our way back home I stopped off at Carusel to set up a time with Jordi to discuss his proposal of having me do magic on Sundays at lunch time.  That will happen when we return from Madrid at the end of the month.

I was running late this morning, so I took a cab to the hospital.  I did take the metro back home and my route took me past a restaurant that we have been meaning to try for a while.  It appears to be open only four nights a week and we never seem to walk by when it is open.  The restaurant is called La Mar Salada.  Ironically, I walked home via a different route today and as I walked by the restaurant the door was open and they were cleaning the place.  I walked in and made a reservation for 10:00 tonight.  I will let you know how it is in a later post.

Susan will be heading out in a short while to catch up with Zahava for some coffee and a movie.  She should be home in plenty of time for us to honor our reservation this evening. By the way, Monday is yet another holiday so my pt will not resume until Tuesday.  I also have a doctor’s appointment Tuesday evening with the head of physical therapy who will decide how many more sessions he thinks I may need.

Ceviche with a Japanese touch