Pastry is one thing in common in all three countries, yet each do it differently and with a different priority.
In Spain, pastries and pastry shops were everywhere and coffee was almost always available where you bought pastries. Sometimes they came in a breakfast format, ala empanadas, and sometimes they were glorified bread (toast) and some type of jam. The shops were prevalent and easy to find, and they were wonderful and incorporated fruit and other healthy ingredients. Still, carb city and coffee came second in importance to them.

Yum!

Italy also has pastries, or course, but they were second to their coffee. The teeniest weeniest cups of expresso you will ever find. The Italians would come into the coffee shop and many times not even sit. They would gulp their shot-sized dose of highly caffeinated coffee and off they would go. In most cases, no time for a pastry! Shame, because their pastries were also good, not as many “breakfast meals” as Spain, but I found certain ones that I liked and would sometimes go to a specific shop just to get those. Oh, we learned that cappuccinos after noon is a no-no, which is fine since I like my coffee WITH a pastry or breakfast.

Now we are in Croatia and of course, pastries are available here, too, but some shops ONLY have pastry and no coffee! And some have coffee and no pastry. It must be an unwritten rule (not that I could read it anyway!) that they stay out of each others’ turf and focus on that one offering. Weird. We did find an awesome pastry shop just minutes from here and these things are HUGE and the dough is a little less flaky than Spain or Italy. Even so, they are good and now that we understand their currency- the Kuna- one pastry is usually about 8 kunas, which is roughly $1.20 USD.

We heard reports from some that the food here in Croatia was not to their suiting, but so far that has not been the case. It is eminently affordable and very, very good. We are in a small village which is on the water and our sense is that many of these people have been here for decades or at least many years. We stand out one, as strangers because we don’t look like workers or residents (plus they know everyone) and two, because, well, I think they must sense that we are not Europeans. They don’t go out of their way to be friendly, but if we smile and say “hello” they will reciprocate. English is common here which we found out came from their exit to freedom from Soviet rule back in 1991.

You figure that for decades they were under the Iron Fist of Soviet communism and freedom did not exist. Their lives must have been horrible, but as they were delivered in freedom after a civil uprising or two, they concluded that they had to align somewhere, and that somewhere was the West, specifically the US. Many of the “young” understand and speak English and many of the shop keepers do as well, but the average resident here in our town, not so much. In America we have some understanding of Latin based languages, specifically Spanish (due to Mexican influence), but following suit, comes REAL Spanish and Italian. Slavic? Totally different and very hard even to remember hello, thank you, and good morning. We’ll see how much we pick up.

And so begins our 60 days or so in Croatia. Next week we will get a bike and explore, and since it’s not a large country we’ll hit as much as we can. We are outside the EU for visa purposes and must remain for a bit before we can return. Even so, we have Albania, Montenegro, Romania, and Bulgaria to visit, which we hear are beautiful as well. Since I am adjacent to Hungary, my Mother’s native country, I will go there and visit her hometown and try to obtain a copy of her birth certificate, which will be 100 years old in July. I may be eligible for a Hungarian passport. I truly wish I had honored her wish to visit with me when she was still alive, so anyone reading this, learn from me. Honor your parent’s wishes along these lines. Once they are gone, that door is forever closed.

#pastry, #spain, #italy, #croatia, #breakfast

1) Las Fallas, the Fires, probably the loudest, most irritating but fun event I’ve ever been to! It pushed our envelop of annoyance and patience, with firecrackers popping at our feet just walking through the streets. Very, very crowded streets. The ninotes (statutes) were breathtaking and seeing them burn was exciting and heartbreaking as well.

2) we used Valencia as a home base with several side trips, including Sevilla, which Kat and I both loved. Very pedestrian friendly, lots of good energy, very clean, plus amazing history. A place to return to, including

3) San Sebastian. Again, history by the water with amazing views, coastline, castles, towers, etc…Oh, and food! One of the gastronomical capitals of the entire world. It’s weird to think that you get cynical and tired of cathedrals and churches, but they all do look similar. Although still worth touring.

So now, Spain is behind us, and between this trip and the last, I think I know it better than any country outside the US. I have been to all four borders, used their rail system extensively and visited most of their major cities. I give high, high marks to Spain as a place to visit and possible move to if you are looking for a laid back, affordable lifestyle. Now: Italy.

We arrived in Rome and had just a few hours to do a quick walk before our train to Tivoli. Even so, in just that time we saw the Colosseum, which gave me pause and brought on amazing emotions, plus the Forum and lots of other history which I could not name. We will go back for a few days to explore more thoroughly and my general sense of Italy is the amazing history here, equaled maybe only by Greece, which will be coming up in a few months. When you walk the same ground Caesar and Nero and a host of different historic figures have walked, plus millions of people walking those SAME steps, well, it brings perspective of how long history is- and how short a time WE are here.

When we contemplated doing this Worldwide Adventure the question was “Can we REALLY do this?,” and the answer has been yes. Had we NOT made this leap I would be remorseful the rest of my life. Can’t have that! Yes, there are long days and inconveniences and delayed trains and planes and bad meals as well as good. But the reality of the places we’ve been in less that eight weeks leaves me wanting more.

Now we’re in Tivoli, a “medieval” town about 20km from Rome, just a 30 minutes train ride, for just 3 Euros. Yup, that’s it. This town has REAL history since it predates the city of Rome and the Roman Empire which ruled most of the known world. The town itself was founded in 1215 BC, 1000 years before Christ. What this place must have looked like back THEN, when statues and pillars were new and clean and not aged by 20 centuries and war and pollution. So far the Villa Gregoriana has wowed us the most and we have only seen it from the top. We’ll be walking down to the bottom of the falls in the next few days. There are several sights here that we will visit and we have six weeks to do it. (But I will be making a side trip to the US for 15 days of that time).

My goal with Travel Younger was to inspire people to travel more and travel like the Millennials who do it so well. Between AirBNBs, online apps for flights, planes and buses, travel has never been easier! Trust me. The experience and memories are worth the small price to pay.

#valenciaspain, #lasfallad, #sevilla, #sansebastian, #rome,

Sagunto is what it is called today, but the Romans called it “Saguntum” and, get this, the Iberians (those who lived there), called it “Arse.” Go ahead, I laughed, too. The castle is 2000 years old and as they usually do with castles, it’s waaaay up on top of a big hill. They appreciated views back then, too, plus it helped defend the castle. They have a theater built from the rock of the mountain which has been there since day one but it’s been modernized and can hold 6000 attendees. Very cool walking through hallways that were built in the 1st Century and wondering what it was like back then.

Hannibal the conqueror, the one with the elephants, conquered this town, too, and allowed Rome to be granted a favored status, so Sagunto has a long history behind it. The castle is divided into seven sections and is almost a km long. The views? Amazing, as you can see.

As cool as the castle and theater are, the city is, too. Walking into town for lunch we found a multi-block long street fair with lots of unique offerings, from shoes to clothing, and even bras for sale! I found some cool workout pants for 8E and Kat found a scarf for three. Prices are killer here in Spain, as is train fare. The town is about 30 minutes, 20 km. from Valencia and for two people, round trip, the price was $18.12.

#Sagunto, #Spain, #Valencia, #castle, #traintravel,

It’s interesting how you can “feel” the energy of a city. When we got to Valencia, neither Kathleen or I were wowed. It’s a nice town, has great restaurants and cathedrals and other attractions, but nothing that gave us the warm and fuzzies. Seville on the other hand- lots of energy; good Feng Shui. We were there for just two days but gave it very high marks to return again. San Sebastian is that and more. The more is the ocean, mountains and the amazing history in one of the food capitals of the world! This town, also called Donostia, which is the Basque name for San Sebastian, has a history that goes back over 25,000 years and the lineage and genetic makeup of the people is amazingly pure. There are families that can legitimately claim that they go back thousands of years.

Located on the Bay of Biscay, and just 20 km from the French border, this town is magical and we felt it as soon as we left the train station to walk to our AirBNB room. Which was in the heart of “Old Town” and within a 15 minute walk of more restaurants than you could eat at in several months! Crossing the bridge over the Urumea River and walking through the amazingly clean streets was a great welcome. The population is about 200,000 but from what we heard, it is not the place to be in summer, when the population increases exponentially.

OK, foodies, here’s news for you.

Tapas are a well known Spanish food style, which are small dishes, and usually very affordable. Here they call them pintxo and they include every exotic seafood that you could imagine, along with meats as well. They are usually served on a small piece of bread roll, some of the most tasty bread I ever ate. We hit the streets Thursday night, which is their local night out, and on the bar sits, 20, 30 different types of pintxos. OMG, and so tasty! Beers and wine are about $2.00, about the same for the pintxos, so you can get your fill for not a lot of money.

We took a funicular (built in 1912) to the top of the Mount Igueldo and from there you could see the entire bay and the city and beyond. Breathtaking views. At the top is a tower, La Farola, which was constructed before America was a country. Also at the top is an amusement park, closed while we were there, but in summer it must be spectacular.

San Sebastian: huge thumbs up and recommended place to visit. The train station is accessible from any major city in Spain.

#sansebastian, #pintxo, #spain, #basque, #donostia

My love of fireworks is officially over.

After listening to them non stop for weeks, culminated by the official end of Las Fallas in Valencia, it’s time for a change. The last night was pure bedlam with 340 or so ninotes burned around midnight. Crowds formed around all, the fire department was very visible and supportive as they watered down the street signs, lamp posts and anything in the line of fire. No cliché…

They strung up a long fuse of firecrackers and enveloped each statue. First they started with amazing fireworks at EACH one, then hit the detonator. They all exploded, then the fire took over… Whoosh, they all just fireballed, and in a few seconds the heat became oppressive as they watered down the ninotes as they continued to burn. Meanwhile, this same event was taking place throughout all the streets, still devoid of auto traffic. This went on until about 0200. About 340 of these celebrations.

Then, finally, the Sounds of Silence.

Not a good night for anyone with war PTSD since it was all very violent and chaotic. If you could imagine being in a war zone during an airstrike, that’s what it was like. Anyone with fear of crowds or chaos would not do well either. But the next morning, all was back to normal.

Streets we’re back open, vendor booths and tents were gone, and it business as usual.

We already planned a side trip and that’s where we are now. San Sebastian Donastia. Quiet, serene, beautiful beyond belief, which will be shared next.

#valencia, #valenciaspain, #lasfallas, #ninotes, #thefires

All the “ninots” which is what they are called, are now unveiled, and throughout the city of Valencia there are hundreds of these statues. They are made from polyurethane and are usually whimsical with bright coloring and creative design.

I went to the Fallas Museum and they have a sample from every year. And every year one ninot is offered a “pardon” and is not destroyed. Kind of like when the President pardons a turkey for Thanksgiving. Anyway, the museum offers the history, which goes back hundreds of years and shows how the designs have changed.

You only need to walk a few blocks and you can see their designs, both small and very, very large. They have small ones designed by kids, and they are amazing in their own right. But it’s the big ones that blow you away.

My page photo (also here) is probably the best and most creative one we saw. And then there’s the crowds…getting worse, as we reach March 18 when fireworks destroy all the ninots. Oh, BTW, that takes place at midnight, and they turn off the street lights. OMG. Did I mention it happens at midnight? Yes, all throughout the day, firecrackers set off everywhere, by kids from grade school on up.

Back to the crowds. Imagine the biggest, most dense crowd of partiers you’ve ever been in. Now double it. That’s what it was like today, after the 2:00 fireworks display. You cannot move against the crowd and you can’t even move with them hardly. What it’s like at midnight I’m not sure I want to experience! The roads are blocked off from most auto traffic and what it’s like driving must be a nightmare.

People visit for the annual Las Fallas from around the world, so it was our good fortune to be here at the Right Time. People, food, drinks, music, fireworks- everywhere.

03.20.19:

You can see the sight and you can hear the sound but you cannot smell the smell and you certainly cannot feel the heat! There are 340 or so of these statues all throughout the city of Valencia and they are all being incinerated tonight.

#valencia, #valenciaspain, #lasfallas, #ninotes, #thefires

Calling it a zoo would be an understatement,

but it is one of the best zoos I have ever been in. Mind you, I used to live just an hour and a half from San Diego zoo which is considered one of the best in the entire world. But imagine a zoo combined with a wild animal park that you walk through instead of drive-thru. That is Bioparc in Valencia.

This 25 acre facility is actually owned by the city of Valencia, and has several different areas to walk through. There are three main themes including the African savanna, the forest of equatorial Africa and Madagascar, and the African wetlands. Whoever designed the layout did an Oscar worthy job, and it is one of the most tranquil environments I have ever been through. Waterfalls, large artificial and real trees, natural style environment for the animals, they got it all right.

At the Bioparc are 250 species of animals including all the wild ones that you would want to see on a safari. Gorillas, hippos, monkeys, and we especially loved the giraffes, who were just inches from us. What is especially rewarding is that there is no cage anywhere. The distance between you and the animals can be as simple as a piece of wood or looking through tempered glass.

Along with the Oceanografic aquarium, the Bioparc gets high props as a tourist attraction, a term that I really hate! It’s a bit pricey to get in, about 25 EUR, but you enter and then walk over a beautiful bridge while underneath you lies a beautiful grassy parkland.

We are down to our last two weeks in Valencia, but there is still much to do. A side trip to San Sebastian, up near the French border, And we still need the rent the motorcycle! Stand by for those.

#valencia, #valenciaspain, #lasfallas, #ninotes, #thefires,#bioparc,

The other day I mentioned that coming up this weekend in Valencia is the Fallas festival. They’re celebrating in the streets and many of them are closed off to cars. Fireworks start early in the morning and continue into the evening, and every afternoon at 2 p.m. there is a giant firework display downtown. But there is one more attraction that we are now seeing close up.

Giant statues all over the streets.

And the word giant is not an exaggeration! Some of these things have got to be over 50 ft tall, and the workmanship and craftsmanship is spectacular. The whole town is in a festive mood and it reminds me of the City of Pasadena during the Rose bowl. There are signs hanging over the streets that are lit up at night.

Here are some pictures, and there will be many more to come as more are unveiled.

#valencia, #valenciaspain, #lasfallas, #ninotes, #thefires