Thursday, July 5, 2012

Yesterday was the second 4^th of July that we have celebrated here in Valencia.  Our morning and afternoon were rather uneventful.  I had to do a few errands and Susan stopped by the Central market to pick up fruits and vegetables.  We had lunch at home and later that afternoon they delivered and assembled Susan’s desk.  They had told us it would take fifteen days to deliver it because it had to be assembled before it was delivered.  Interestingly enough they delivered four days later and they assembled it here.

Brian came by at 7:30 and the five of us – Ofelia, Olivia, Brian, Susan and I – headed out to Rocafort for a 4^th of July party at the home of Linda Casanova and her husband Vicente.  Rocafort is a bedroom community of Valencia and it is some twenty minutes away from the city center by car.  Their house was designed by Vicente and it is bright and airy with high ceilings.  It has a goodly amount of green space and an ample patio.  The party was a potluck and everyone was asked to bring their favorite beverage and a dish to share with all the guests.

Although I did not do a nose count, I would guess that there were at least two dozen people in attendance.  Most of the women were Americans who were married to Spaniards.  A number of them had come to Valencia on a Junior Year Abroad program and met their future husbands.  I had the chance to chat with a number of people and it was interesting to hear their stories.

There was more than enough food and it ranged from stuffed mushrooms, to tabouleh, to chicken wings to broccoli salad and to empanadas.  There was also an ample supply of beer and wine.  There were cupcakes for dessert as well as a delightful treat that was called a seven-layer cookie.  We lit sparklers and there were a number of ground fireworks set off.  The fire danger is high here in Valencia and surroundings and for that reason aerial fireworks were a no-no.

Around 11:00 we headed back to Valencia.  As we passed by the Central Market we discovered that the police had set up a roadblock and we slowly made our way through it without having to stop.  When we took a left past the market and headed sown Barón de Cárcer there was a roadblock there, also.  I have no idea of what or whom they were looking for.  When I checked at 1:00 AM the street was free of police vehicles.  There was no mention of anything untoward in this morning’s paper.