València, Spain

We landed in València, Spain around midnight and in the taxi to our AirBnB, Mira quickly surmised, “It’s like Paris but they speak Spanish!”

We had a beautiful apartment and everybody had their own room which was a nice break. We spent the first day exploring the neighborhood and taking care of errands, especially buying some new clothes for the kids who apparently keep growing. And have you noticed our hair getting long in our photos? Well, thankfully we finally found hair cutting scissors and Mira, our resident hairstylist, saved the day by cutting everyone’s hair. We ended the day with educational videos like the Jose Andres show where he takes his daughters all over Spain teaching them about the local foods. 

The next day we visited the old city, making sure to stop at the amazing La Lonja de la Seda (silk exchange) where the kids discovered individualized audio guides that enabled them to explore independently. The building was also amazing. And, of course, we stopped at the obligatory Central Market where we accidentally spent 27 euros on a very small amount of fruit. After that, we focused on meals. We waiting on a very long line to have “cocas” from the place Jose Andres recommends (they were disappointing) and then headed to the Horchateria Santa Catalina for horchata and fartons (also just fine but at least we got to say the word fartons and the place was beautiful). 

We spent our last day in Valencia — Christmas — visiting the La Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias (the city of arts and sciences) which was amazing. It’s a complex of modern buildings and museums, many designed by Santiago Calatrava (who did the Oculus in Manhattan). While most things were closed, we spent hours at the Oceanogràfic and particularly loved watching beluga whales play together. 

For the first night of Chanukah the kids made impromptu menorahs with aluminum foil (thanks internet!); we Zoomed with Marla and Lisa to light the candles; and we gifted the kids comfort foods from the nearby “Taste of America” grocery store (thanks for the tip, Raha!). I’ve never seen the kids so happy to see Honey Nut Cheerios and Annie’s Mac’n cheese. We also introduced the kids to the movie A Christmas Story in honor of Chrismukkah.  

Wishing everyone health, safety, and more peace during this holiday season, and extra love to those for whom the holidays are a difficult time. 

Tomorrow we take the train to Barcelona where the highlight is most definitely a visit from Mira’s friend, Maya!