Monday’s Meanderings

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Inma came to clean this morning and she arrived at eight, as advertised. We decided the we would go out for breakfast to get out of her way while she began her every other week cleaning of our place. We went to the Mercado Central and took a seat at the Central Bar. It was a rather cool morning and it looked like half of Valencia had taken their scarves out of the drawer. Granted it was in the high 50’s, but it wasn’t that cool. Be that as it may, Susan had coffee and a croissant and I ordered a café cortado and a pincho de tortilla. After we finished, we took a brief stroll through the market and said hello to Cristina who had been ill the last week or so. It was good to see her smiling face again.

I walked by Amparo’s stand yesterday and it was shuttered and it was shuttered again this morning. I am hoping that there is no problem that is keeping her and her family away. I will definitely stop by tomorrow to see if I can find out what is what. We made a brief return home after out visit to the market and made our way from the house to the Banco Popular to get an official statement of our bank account for the last twelve months. It is one of the documents that we will need to bring with us when we have our visa renewal appointment next week. Our go to guy at the bank is Carlos and he is just truly amazing. He has solved every issue with which we have presented him and he has done it both efficiently and courteously.

Yesterday, when Susan came back after her Pilates session and coffee with the girls, we decided that it was high time to pay a visit to La Fórcola. It was nice to see Antón, Juan and Leo and it felt right to take a seat at our usual table. Antón opened a fresh bottle of wine for us and we savored it while we studied the menu. Susan ordered some anchoas en salsa verde and I began my meal with a salad. Susan’s entrée was an oven-baked dish of cod, onions and potatoes. I chose a pizza. Dessert was some chocolate banana ice ream and for old times sake we finished our meal with a coffee and a chupito of limoncello. It made the walk home much more pleasant.

In the evening Susan went to a talk about photography and I stopped by the CIVAC. There was a flea market going on with several members putting up a number of their magic items for sale. I restrained myself and the only thing that I bought was a small deck of cards that I need to try out an effect I am working on. I finally saw Pepe who was back in town after ten days in Ibiza. He looked tan and well rested. He is on a diet and his dietician is making him keep a blog of his progress. He invited Susan and me to join him for paella on Saturday afternoon and, as always we are looking forward to that. He also mentioned the possibility of starting up our Thursday sessions of the veteranos now that fall is here.

There were a number of people at last night’s meeting that I have not seen in a while. Of course, the possibility of picking up some magic at bargain prices is an event that will always bring magicians out of the woodwork. It was nice to see Sofi, Paquito and Gioco again and I was pleased to see both Gurrea and Juan Luis whom I had not seen since we returned from LA. I stayed for about an hour and then made my way home. When Susan returned we had a very light supper and afterwards Susan read for a while and I headed off to bed.

Anchoas en salsa verde

On the left a traditional balsamic vinegar made from grape must and vinegar. The bottle on the right is a balsamic condiment. It is made from pure grape must that has been aged for a given period of time. It is quite sweet.