Friends are One of the Greatest Gifts of All

Yesterday, it was Yana and Matthew's birthday. Usually, I make something or give coupons to the kids for their birthday. The saga of stuff was still hanging in the air. Yana forgave me for my tirade; I forgave her for her make-up sponges. I wanted Yana and Matthew to have a nice birthday. A nice birthday doesn't necessarily mean more nice stuff.

Again, I started thinking about the stuff that we have accumulated in Spain. Then I thought about what else we have "accumulated" or gained in Spain ... friends. We have met some really great friends in Spain.

I decided to have a (surprise) party for Matthew and Yana with friends that we have met in Spain. I sent out invitations by email. We couldn't clean before the party because that would give away the surprise (good excuse). Maria did give Matthew a coupon to have a "clean house" for his birthday. She swept, vacuumed, and organized a bit.

The plan was for Matthew to go and pick up Yana from Rafa and Isabel's house where Yana was helping with the children. He kept dilly-dallying around past the time I thought he would leave. He didn't know that people were to arrive within a few minutes. Finally, he left.

Apparently, they dilly-dallied at Rafa and Isabel's house too. Rafa and Isabel acted non-chalant. Isabel and the kids in their swimming suits and Rafa casually chatting with Matthew. Isabel called me the moment that Matthew and Yana left on their bikes.

Matthew and Yana arrived home to one of the greatest gifts of all ... friends.

What are make-up sponges?

We have been struggling with *stuff* for the past few weeks.

Last year, we moved to Spain with 600 pounds of luggage (two 50 lb suitcases each) plus our carry-ons. That might seem like a lot in pounds - but I challenge you to try to pack your life for 2 years into 100 lbs plus a carry-on.

Even so, I felt like we had accumulated so much MORE in just over a year in Spain. More stuff to clean, more stuff to organize, more stuff to wash, more stuff to move around in order to find a place for more stuff. After returning home from the camino for 40 days with under 5 kg (11 lbs), I felt even more burdened by the stuff around me. I tried not to impose this - too heavily - on everyone else when I returned. I thought maybe the feeling would dissipate.

Then, innocently, Yana made a list of things that she wanted for her birthday ... so that we would not inadvertently get her something that she did not need. Needs versus wants ... we are forgetting the difference. I blew my stack. [Is there any way that I can blame it on pre-menopause?]

I let Yana pick out a few outfits and then I took everything else away including her make-up and jewelry. That was pretty radical. I knew it. Maybe it was too radical. I decided to give it a week and then we'd talk.

In the meantime, we ran across this link to a video about "stuff." I'm not pushing the video as 100% true but I am 100% certain that it is not 100% false. (Did you follow that?) We had the kids watch the video and write a summary.

http://storyofstuff.com/


At the end of the week, I gave Yana all her stuff back. She took an inventory and identified everything as either a Need or a Want. I did not necesarily agree with all her classifications. She needs eleven make-up sponges. That's okay. I don't know what make-up sponges are. Some people might argue that I need them too.

VROOOOM!!!! Bllluuurrrrr! Car Racing in Valencia

In August, there are going to be Formula 1 Grand Prix Races in Valencia!!

We don't have much experience with car racing. Matthew went to a few races in his life and vaguely remembers there being cars. I went to one Indianapolis 500 race with Matthew. I remember thinking that Matthew typically drives that fast in Chicago. Back home, we have NASCAR video game. I get seasick when I watch the video while the kids are driving.

We thought, "Hey, there are going to be Formula 1 races in Valencia around the port!! That's cool! Let's go!" We don't know anything about it but, then again, we didn't know anything about America's Cup before we saw it here in Valencia last year. (Psst. It is SAILING, not soccer like we thought.)

A few weeks ago, we rode our bikes along a stretch of the race track. It isn't a circle; there are lots of sharp turns. We marked the dates on the calendar (August 22-24) and then looked on the internet to see where we go to see the race.

Cough Cough Tickets started at over 200 euros per person. Cough Choke So, needless to say, we figured we would just get as close as we could, listen to the VVVRROOOOOOOMMMM!, and then just watch it on TV or read about it in the papers.

Then Matthew found information about a Formula 3 race in July to test the new track AND whew the tickets started at around 20 euros! The difference between Formula 1 and Formula 3 is just 2 but the difference between the ticket prices was 180 euros! We liked that math. So, Matthew decided to go with Bronson to the races.

Even better, Sara called and said that they could watch the races from her mother's balcony right above the track and in view of the starting line. Matthew and Bronson were "off to the races."

Bronson, as the only boy, was morally obligated to go with his father. As it turns out, he was a little intimited by the deafening, bone rattling noise. There isn't a font big enough to show in capital letters how loud it really was. But, let's be honest. Bronson was just a prop. Matthew loved it!! I mean, he hasn't driven that fast in over a year since he left Chicago. He misses it.

I even snuck over there to watch, listen, and feel a few laps. I picked out my favorite car and cheered it on! Shortly thereafter, it got in a crash and was hauled off the track. Just my luck.

Sorry. I don't many good photos of the cars during the race. They were pretty much just a blluuurrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/abrownell/sets/72157606747626743/




UPDATE - AUGUST 24th:

Matthew, Bronson, and I came home from the Formula 3 races (above) with a lot of exciting stories. Besides that, you could feel the energy building in Valencia with people and signs and concerts and other events leading up to the Formula 1 Grand Prix. By the weekend of the race, everyone in the house wanted to see it.


Sara called again. Pilar, Sara's mom, could have rented out her condo to Formula 1 enthusiasts. She didn't. Instead, she opened her home to friends (and a couple of strangers - see below).

I think the view from Pilar's living room was better than we could have gotten from the grandstands. We could see the starting line, a pit stop exit, and two curves. Plus, we were out of the sun, we had great company, great food and real bathrooms. (You know, I have a thing for real bathrooms.) We could also watch race extras on Pilar's TV.

We brought what I thought was a lot of food ... until I saw what Sara's family put on the table. Pilar prepared mussels and other appetizers, Sara whipped up some gourmet dishes (with her eyes closed), and Beatrice (Sara's sister) brought drinks and a cake for Eva's birthday.

Interesting cultural difference here: In the United States, you typically bring something (food and/or drinks) when you are invited over to someone else's house ... especially when "you" are 11 people. But, Pilar was insulted that we brought food and that we wanted to help serve and clean-up. She expected us to sit and talk and watch the race while she, Sara, and Beatrice prepared the food, served and cleaned up after their guests. (My brother, Robert, would LOVE it here. Hee hee.)

We consumed the food and company and we were consumed by the energy and noise of the cars zooming by. We were so consumed, it took us a while to notice the two strangers on the balcony. Apparently, two young men from Austria simply rang the doorbell and then asked Pilar if they could come in to watch the race. "Of course," she said. Why not? My mom would have done the same.

Pool + Slides = Water Park

Our friend, Julia (Mama Noël), is always looking out for us. Knowing that children love anything that includes swimming, she told us about a community pool with slides that is not too far from Valencia.

We have resisted the urge to go to a big, commercial water park partly because of the high-cost (exaggerated with the exchange rate) but also because they aren't necessarily Spanish. There are big, commercial water parks all over the US.

This was a mini-water park at community pool prices. And *BONUS* ... they let you bring food inside!!

We put on our suits, packed a lunch, took the train to Torrent, and met Julia, Juan, Livia, and Livia's friend at the pool. The kids swam all day. The adults swam a little, read a little, and napped a lot.

We had a picnic lunch and then celebrated Julia's birthday with ice cream sandwiches (that Julia brought in her cooler).

Jérica & Navajas

We told our friends, Rafa and Isabel, how much fun we had on our bike ride to El Saler and Albufera. They proposed another biking/camping trip a little bit further away.

Rafa brought all the food and supplies in his car. We brought our bikes on the cercanía train to Jérica. [Cercanía trains go farther than the local metros but generally within the same region or province in Spain.]

From Jérica, we rode our bikes along the Via Verde (Green Way), an old train route converted to a walking and biking path. It was beautiful! And *bonus* for us amateur bike riders ... because it was an old railroad, there were not any hills. Yeah!!! After riding through tunnels, under bridges, through forests, and overlooking great views, Rafa and Isabel met us in Navajas and pointed the way to a camping ground.

Once we got off the Via Verde, there were a few hills that kept going up and up and up. With the hills, there were a few tears of frustration and exhaustion. Matthew and I faked our sheer enjoyment to save face in front of the kids but, we too, discovered a few of our lost and abandoned muscles. The biking effort at the end made our prize of swimming and camping really worth it.

We had a perfect campsite next to the Embalse del Regajo, a big lake created by a dam of the Palancia river outside Navajas. I had psyched up myself (and my shy bladder) for "real" camping. "Real" camping, for me, means going to the bathroom outside. Actually, I didn't eat or drink for two days so I wouldn't have to go to the bathroom. I can comfortably go days without combing my hair, taking a shower, or changing my clothing (though not so comfortably for those around me). But, I prefer to have a toilet.

Anyway, when we arrived at the campsite, the first thing I noticed was a building with toilets! YAAAAHOOO!!!!! I was so overjoyed that I almost peed my pants (just kidding). It was perfect. Real camping. Real toilets. (Sorry. No photo of the toilets.)

Rafa and Isabel borrowed tents and sleeping bags from their friends for us to use. We brought a couple of hammocks that provided hours of fun for the kids, a few minutes of relaxation for the adults, and an alternative to sleeping next to (i.e. UNDER) Elena.

Not surprisingly, camping isn't very different in Spain than in the US.
- The ground is just as hard when you are trying to sleep. Except for Elena. Elena doesn't sleep on the ground; she sleeps on top of us.

- We cooked over a wood fire ... in a paella fire house. Open air campfires are not permitted.

- We made S'mores using European ingredients ... squishy, strawberry, sugary candy, biscuits, and Swiss chocolate.

- We sang camp songs ... in English. I don't know any Spanish camp songs. If I had the words, I wouldn't know the melodies. True, I can't sing the melodies in English either ... so Yana helped while Isabel laughed hysterically at my feeble efforts.

On Sunday before catching the train back to Valencia, we rode our bikes into Navajas and swam in a beautiful river reservoir under a high waterfall (Salto de la Novia ... Jump of the Girlfriend).

All the photos: (You can click Slideshow in upper right if you would like.)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/abrownell/sets/72157606287780086/

Bike Ride to El Saler and Albufera

Before coming to Spain, we sold our big red van (the Engel lounge) and our car. In Spain, everywhere we go, we must use public transportation, walk, or bike. Sometimes friends find space in their cars for some of us (legally) or all of us (not legally). Fortunately, public transportation in Spain is reasonably priced and widely available.

Not having a car is very liberating. At the same time, it is limiting. We have to be a little more creative and a little more flexible when we plan our outings.

One day, we decided to go to El Saler and Albufera ... a beach and fresh water nature reserve south of Valencia. We rented a few bikes to supplement the ones we have. We were able to follow dedicated bike lanes almost all the way - stopping on the way at a tree covered park for lunch.

After swimming for a few hours, we rode home. It was great day of fun (AND exercise - shhh, don't tell the kids)!

All the photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/abrownell/sets/72157606733305005/

Same photos as a slideshow:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/abrownell/sets/72157606733305005/show/