Adventures with Annie in Valencia

On Saturday (August 22...I know it was awhile ago but I've been waiting to get pictures from Annie) one of my best friends and past roommates Annie arrived to Valencia. She currently lives and works in LA and was traveling in Europe and was able to stop in Spain for a few days. It was so great to see her because we haven’t gotten to spend any significant time together in a year and a half. It is interesting how quickly you can fall into the same old pattern of friendship. From the instant we saw each other it was like we were the 19 year-old, date-party duo, bathroom musical performing roommates living in the tri-delta house all over again. But this time we were a temporary roommate duo ready to take on the adventures of Spain! Since it was pretty late when she arrived we just went back to Susana’s house, ate one of her masterpiece salads, and attempted to go to bed early (although in reality Annie and I stayed up talking for hours).

We woke up early Sunday morning to join Susana her family and about 12 other people in a river hiking, rock and waterfall climbing excursion. The place we went to was about a 2 hour drive from Sagunto (the town Susana lives in) but the drive was a great time for Annie and I to catch up. We then spent about 3.5 hours hiking up a river (through the water, over rocks, up waterfalls, diving in natural pools) to reach the mouth. It was amazing, exhilarating, exhausting, and just so much fun!! I really love any type of outdoor activity and adventure so this was my ideal way to spend a day.

Sus, me, and Annie in one of the natural pools we came across.

We then spent a couple more hours coming back down the river and drove back to Sagunto. We arrived around 9 and Annie and I showered and packed at lightening speed in order to catch the last train into Valencia to meet up with my other friends.

We arrived around midnight in Valencia and Jordan and Koke picked us up and then we went to a plaza where the rest of our friends were waiting. Dini and Koke both live in Valencia but two guys from our group of friends at OU had come in for the weekend: William from France and Jacek from Germany. We drank and danced and Annie and I later went to my good friend Gloria’s house where we were staying (Gloria sadly couldn’t join in the festivities because she is studying for some big exams).

On Monday we went over to Dini’s house for an amazing home-made Paella (the typical dish from Valencia) and lots of tapas. Words can’t even begin to describe how incredibly nice and hospitable Dini’s family is and how DELICIOUS all of the food was.

Here I am pretending to be the one making the delicious Paella.

Later that night Koke, Dini, Jacek, William, Jordan, Annie and I toured some of the sights of Valencia and then we were joined by Susana and Gloria (who both took a break from studying) and Miguel, Alejandro and Xamu for an amazing OU reunion dinner to say goodbye to Miguel who got a job in Brussels. That night we went to several bars and clubs and danced a lot. I love Spain.

Here we are in front of La Cuidad de Las Artes y Sciencias - a really cool area in Valencia where there are several museums and an aquarium.

Annie and I in front of the cool modern buildings of this area.

On Tuesday Annie and I went to Valencia acquarium to fulfill her life-long dream of meeting her favorite animal – the Beluga whale. It was quite a magical moment. I thought she might cry. We met up with a friend of hers from LA and then went to the beach in attempt to find a restaurant that I had eaten at last year. That never happened but we did walk approximately 10 miles on the beach looking for it. Not the ideal situation but also not a bad way to get some exercise and see sights while walking along the Mediterranean shores.

Annie and I at the Beluga Whale exhibit :) She is extremely happy/giddy.

Annie and I then went back to Sagunto and had a wonderful dinner of calamari, patatas bravas, horchata, and a killer ice cream sundae on the beach.

We woke up early Thursday morning and took Annie to the airport. I was sad to say goodbye but so happy she came to Spain. We had a great time and finally fulfilled our dream of traveling in Spain together.

On Friday I went with Sus and her family to another river. It was really beautiful (as everything in this region has been) and it was fun to hang out with her aunt and uncle and precious 2 year old cousin. Later that night we went to the Castle of Sagunto and had an amazing tapas dinner in an open plaza. We were looking up at the centuries old castle, listening to live music, and eating incredible food. It was a great ending to my vacation in Sagunto and Valencia.

On Saturday, Jordan and I took a bus back to Madrid. It was really nice to be back in our apartment and no longer living out of a suitcase. It is amazing how quickly a place can become home. I feel so comfortable in my room now and I still really love our building and area just as much as before. I have finally finished decorating and arranging my room (at least with everything I have for now) and I love it!! It feels very much like me. Jordan describes it as being very Kayla: girly, sparkly, bright, and full of Shakira. The best part is that I have lots of photos of all of you guys all around the room so I see you always! Another exciting thing is that I received my first letter and I was so excited!!! I have always really loved getting mail but I’m telling you when you are thousands of miles from home it is even more fun and exciting than I could have ever imagined.

On Sunday we went the the Rostro, a huge open air market that has anything and everything you might ever want to buy. Later we went to check out an Egyptian temple that is in a park near us. It is from the 2 BC and was given to Spain because Spanish engineers helped save it when the Aswan dam was flooding. Pretty cool and interesting…it was weird to be looking at something Egyptian in the middle of Madrid.