Valencia

M* and I had a great long weekend in Valencia visiting with family, getting out on the water and seeing a little bit of the town. We were a little under the weather, so we didn't pack in as much as we could have. Luckily you can get any medication over the counter in Spain, so we were able to self-medicate and remain active. We didn't get a chance to partake of the special Valencian paella with chicken, rabbit and snails, but we did have sushi—the first time since leaving the States in September.

View from our cousin's apartment—Santiago Calatrava's City of Arts & Sciences (Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias)

M* on the tender boat with the Alinghi B boat in the background.We were able to get very close to the Alinghi boats.

I get a computerized sailing lesson from an expert at the Alinghi base club, and...

M* has the various teams' boats pointed out to him.

View from our cousin's apartment—Calatrava's Valencia Opera House (el Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía)

Orange trees in Valencia—how surprising.

One of the many food counters in the Mercado Central. This one displayed an entire pig's head.

Valencia is known for horchata—made from tigernuts versus the Latin American rice version we were used to. We found the tigernut version sweeter and quite easy to imbibe.Statues in the Iglesia de San Juan Del Hospital—Valencia's oldest church. A joint baptism and first communion were just finishing as we happened upon the church. Nice to know that this 12th century church is still in use.

The Valencian film industry—a wheel chair in place of a dolly.