Thursday, September 5, 2013

The Jewish New Year began at sundown yesterday and Susan went to services that were being held in a nearby hotel for lack of a synagogue here in Valencia.  I left at 5:00 yesterday afternoon for a trip to a magic store in nearby Burriana.

            Burriana is some 35 miles north of Valencia in the province of Castellón.  Gurrea picked up Pepe, Paquito and me at the corner of San Vicente and Linterna and in a few short minutes we entered the A-7 and we were headed to Burriana.  We were going to visit with Perete who is the owner of the Close-Up Magic Store.  He had paid a visit to the CIVAC last year and he brought a number of things with him for the purposed of demonstration.  However, this time around, we would have the chance to see his entire inventory.

            We found a parking space near the shop and we walked through the door a little before 6:00.  The store is relatively small, but it is stocked from floor to ceiling with decks, books, DVD’s and effects.  Perete only sells quality items and consciously keeps away from all the crap magic that is being produce in India, as well as the Chinese knock-offs of quality magic effects.  The Chinese knock-offs look the same, but they do not work the same and easily break after a use or two.

            We spent a good two hours in the store and everyone ended up buying something.  I picked up several accessories, but I did not purchase any new effects.  We left the store a little after 8:00 and sat down at an outdoor café for a quick beer.  We then piled into the car and headed for the small town of Nules and a highly recommended pizzeria there.  When we arrived we discovered that it was closed.  That being the case we found a nearby bar and we all has sandwiches.

            We returned to Valencia a little after 11:00 and Susan and I read for a while.  We shut off the lights a little before midnight.