Sunday, February 16, 2014

            We had two spring-like days on Friday and Saturday with temperatures in the mid-70’s.  After a stop at the Millennium Medical Center to get the results of the blood work for our annual checkup – everything checked out fine – we made our way to the City of Arts and Sciences.  One can buy a year pass that covers the entrance fees to the Aquarium, Science Museum and the Planetarium.  The Planetarium also has an IMAX theater.  It cost the two of us a little more than 100 Euros for the two passes  and we plan to make good use of these passes.

            We stopped at The Ginger Loft for lunch and enjoyed a vermicelli salad with Asian overtones and a Thai curry with chicken.  Mike and Santi’s plans for the future are still in the air.  They are exploring various alternatives, but at the moment everything is in a state of flux.  Stay tuned for further details.

            Jordi’s wife, Carol, had invited us to join her, Joana and another couple for lunch.  We made our way over to Carosel at 1:30 and we learned that the other couple would be unable to make it to lunch.  Joana’s Montessori teacher, Felicia, was having lunch with friends of hers from Toronto. We decided to join them and so we said hello to Adria and Eric and their daughter, Calla.  Adria is a producer who is currently working on a Civil War documentary detailing the role of women and Eric is an actor, as well as a scriptwriter.  It turns out that Felicia was Calla’s teacher in Toronto.

            Carol had prepared a salad of lettuces, cherry tomatoes, avocado and queso fresco that was absolutely delicious.  We sampled some of the paella that Adria and Eric had ordered and then we sampled Carol’s coq au vin.  We had a little wine, a little dessert and coffee and before we knew it, it was almost 5:00 o’clock.  We made our way home and rested up before we headed out again for a guitar concert at the Museo de Bellas Artes.

            The concert, sponsored by the Amigos de la Guitarra de Valencia was, as usual, outstanding.  The soloist was Dimitris Kotronakis from Crete.  You will find a copy of his program at the end of this entry.  When the concert ended we decided to walk back home because the weather was so nice.  There was not a great deal of activity on the streets and that was a bit surprising for a Saturday.  When we got home we raided the refrigerator and then read for a while.  We have no big plans for today since it is both cold and rainy.