Valencia: A New Year's Trip

So towards the end of 2015, I was feeling really restless. Joaquín and I hadn't traveled anywhere in a while, mostly because of financial reasons, but we had also just begun fostering Clio. It took us a couple of weeks, but we finally decided to go to Valencia for two days, just to get out of Madrid and experience something new. It was such a good thing, too. I really needed a break from the monotony that was Madrid. Thankfully, my friend and coworker Victor could take care of Clio while we were gone. It was around that first hour we were driving that we decided to adopt her, because as we were leaving the city and the cat behind, I felt a pit in my stomach that I knew was my guilt about leaving her. Once you feel that, you know she's your cat, so we decided to adopt her.
But we continued on to Valencia. We listened to Serial and I read Harry Potter in Spanish as we drove. We got there around 9 on December 30th. That night, we decided to go to a bar Joaquín's friend recommended to us called Radio City. They were having a reggae night, so we listened to live reggae music while drinking "Agua de Valencia," (basically a mimosa with a little more kick).

The next morning, we had breakfast at a cafe outside of the Mercat Central, visited the Mercat and bought some groceries for our lunch, then went to the Silk Exchange. The Silk Exchange is this big old building that was used as a market or government building or whatever else it needed to be at the time for centuries. Now, it's a UNESCO world heritage site. It's still really beautiful.

After that, we walked around the city, passed by the cathedral and a big Neptune fountain, and went to the Serrano Tower. There are a few towers surrounding the old city, where the walls used to connect, but now the towers are all that's left.

 

That evening, we went to the beach. It was obviously too cold to swim, but it was still full of people walking along the shore. We watched the sunset and I drew our names in the sand, because everyone else was doing it so why not!

 That night, we were invited to a party that our airbnb host was having with his friends. We didn't know anyone, but they were all really nice, and everyone brought great food and lots of drinks, so it ended up being really fun. The apartment we stayed in had a beautiful rooftop view, too.

We went to the main plaza and ate our twelve grapes at midnight (a very important Spanish tradition for good luck!) Then we partied a little more!

 

In all honesty, I was definitely drunk when we took this picture. 

The next day, January 1st, we went to the Oceanographic. Valencia is famous for its "City of Arts and Sciences," and the Oceanographic is basically this giant aquarium complex where you can visit all the different oceans of the world. It was really cool. 

 This is us in a tunnel in the aquarium (I think we were in the Mediterranean then), and next are some jellyfish!

 

After that, there was only one thing left to do: we had to go to Gulliver park! There's a park in Valencia that is a giant playground shaped like a giant man, and it's supposed to be Gulliver. We climbed on that (with lots of kids weaving around us) and nearly killed ourselves a couple of times, then headed back to Madrid.  

Begin Again

With a new year comes new year's resolutions! It has been MONTHS since I've posted anything. I kept saying "I'll post something about this!" and never really got around to doing it. So much has happened in my life.
In the last year, I've gone from being an assistant teacher in an elementary school to being a teacher in an academy for adults. I loved my work as an Auxiliar, but I also really enjoy my job now. Teaching adults is very different from teaching children, but it can be really fun, and thankfully the academy I'm working with actually makes learning fun.
Joaquín and I have been living together for a year and a month, now. We have also just moved into a new apartment a little more than a month ago, and we love it. It's more spacious, warmer, and brighter than our old apartment, plus, we can have pets! And we do! We have adopted a little black kitten and named her Clio.
Instead of posting about each individual event from the last year that I skipped, I'm just going to do a quick summary.
In May, my friends and I went to Avila. Hannah, Julie, Lucia, Joaquín and I drove to the little mountain town and spent the day there. It has an intact roman wall around the old city, as well as some lovely mountain views.

Later that month, my friend M.K. came to visit for a few days. She was on a tour of several places in Europe. We had a great time hanging out in Madrid together.
Then, Steve, Joaquin and I visited "El Escorial," and we celebrated San Isidro, both at my school, and with my friends at the Madrid festival.
At the end of the school year, in June, Jen came to visit for two weeks. We had a ton of fun together, and I loved seeing her. We not only toured Madrid, but we also visited Segovia, Seville, and Cordoba, and made wonderful memories along the way!

In July, I took a month long CELTA (Cambridge English Language Teaching for Adults) course, which I knew would help me secure a job in the fall. In August, Joaquín and I visited the US. It was his first time! We went to Chicago, Kansas City, and Saint Louis.

We had a great time, but he had to leave after two weeks to go back to work. I stayed another two weeks. In September, I got my job at the academy and started working. We celebrated Halloween and Thanksgiving.

 In December, we decided to travel to Valencia for New Year's Eve. That's where I'll leave it off, so I can make a full post about Valencia.
A lot has happened in a year. More than I realized! Sometimes it takes reflection like this to make you appreciate how far you've come...