We've been lucky.  We've been out four times over the past month and have had the opportunity to sample tapas in eight different restaurants in four areas of Valencia; Old Town, Mestalla, Cabanyal and Russafa. 

The word tapas comes from the verb tapar – to cover – and legend has it that they developed so the tiny plate placed upon your drink that would prevent the flies from flying in wouldn't look so empty.  Before Valencia, my experience in Spain has always been that if you ordered something at a bar, a tapa would accompany it. 

These days in Valencia, I don't go "bar-hopping" and I'm not accompanying my fellow students or office mates to a bar for an aperitif.  However, from what I understand, "ir de tapas" that is, going from bar to bar for a drink and a tapa – is not customary in Valencia.  Valencians instead like to stay at a single bar/restaurant and order several plates to share with friends.  Valencians also prefer to sit, hence there isn't a big crowd standing around the bar.  I used to determine a bar's "tapa worthiness" by looking at the crowd around the bar and the number of paper napkins thrown on the floor.   This is not the case in Valencia.

To help us out on our tapas excusrsions I found a book called De tapas por Valencia.  It's published by El Pais, Aguilar and I found it at Casa del Llibre for about $10.  The problem is it is six years old so not all of the information is current.  It is also in Spanish, however I still think it is a useful guide as all of the places recommended by the book so far have been worthwhile. 

One clarification I should make is about the word bar.  In the United States, a bar is where folks go primarily to drink as well as socialize.  You would never stop by a bar if all you wanted was a cup of coffee or a sandwich.   In Spain, a bar is entirely different.   Most bars open first thing in the morning and serve breakfast.  If you see someone drinking alcohol, chances are they have just come off the night shift.  Bars are where folks stop in for a coffee or a sandwich after shopping or where the local office workers come in for lunch.  Bars serve breakfast, lunch and dinner although of course, some specialize in one type of food or another.  Pubs are where folks go do drink (thus the equivalent of an American bar) and clubs are essentially the same thing as in the states.  However, clubs don't get going until 1 or 2am in the morning and are open til about 6am.  I won't be blogging about clubs.  That was my former life in Spain long long ago.  Our occasional babysitter however tells us that when she goes out, her friends don't get together until 12:30 or 1am.  Sigh.  It makes me tired just thinking about it. 

Mestalla is the area near the soccer stadium of the same name.  Erajoma is located in Mestalla on Plaza Reyes Prosper 7 on the corner with Amadeo de Saboya.  This restaurant was impressive both in terms of service, food quality and presentation.  We sat at the bar near the waiters area and loved the fact that we got to eye each and every dish that was served.  The waiters were also happy to describe each dish.  The waiters were also genuinely concerned with what we ordered and how much we like it. 

The restaurant is known for its seafood.  They had a large selection of typically Spanish seafood like navajas a la plancha (razor clams which I have never seen in the states)

Some of the seafood, like cigalas (a large shrimp – langostine or crayfish perhaps), is so expensive at this time of year, that they weigh them and consult with you about the price before throwing them on the grill.  (la plancha)  Speaking of "la plancha" which means the grill, or the iron depending on the context, so much of Spanish "bar" food is prepared that way. 

Our most memorable dish of the evening was our alcachofas (artichokes) a la plancha con ajo (with garlic)  This dish was essential small artichokes sliced thinly and served grilled with a sauce of olive oil and garlic.  One of those dishes that you can't wait to go back for and one that I attempted to replicate the very next day at home.  My dish was tasty but nothing compared to Erajoma's version.

Last week I stopped by a different supermarket - DIA%  and noticed they had a substantial selection of economical wines.   I decided to move even further downmarket and try a wine for .49 centavos (.65 cents).  Castillo de Velasco - Vino de Mesa.  Extremely light - almost watery - but a pleasant enough taste.  The writing on the label was in spanish, portuguese and cyrillic.  I guess they export it to Russia.  

We have also tried the Cepa Ineo, Vino tinto crianza 2001 for 2.10€.  Valdepenas Denominacion de Origen. 100% Tempranillo aged in American oak .

The Cepa Ineo was excellent.  Very dry, nice body, well rounded, mildly complex.  We had it with a very simple dinner of breaded chicken filets and a simple salad of cucumbers, tomatoes and red pepper.  For desert we had some sort of fried, breaded banana – a Columbian desert.  Yum.  We will most definitely by this wine again.  (and probably the desert too :))

Spain apparently has more vineyards than any other country in Europe but is number three in terms of production behind Italy and France, one and two respectively.  One of the big reasons for this is that many of the vineyards on small, hence they do not have the resources to produce in bulk. 

Although the Valencian region has been producing wine for years, it is only recently that it has begun to make advances in technology with a concerted effort to increase the quality of the wines produced.  Apparently, the wines of yesteryear in this region were known to be of very high alcohol content.  I'm not aware that I've tasted any (like 18%) however, now most of them are between 12 and 13%.  

If you order a menu del dia (menu of the day) at any restaurant, the meal comes with wine.  If you are travelling throughout Spain, this can be a great way to try different wine styles.  This past weekend we visited Teruel and Albarracin in Aragon (a few hours from Valencia) and noticed that the house wine was from Carinena.  Mitch enjoyed it and wants me to be on the lookout for wines from that region to try. 

La Plaza del Ayuntamiento, or City Hall Square, is right in the middle of downtown Valencia.  Many of the buses pass through there and that's how we noticed the long line outside of a brand new structure on the square with the words BELEM (translation - both nativity scene and Bethlehem).  Since Ben was home from school today, we decided we would try and visit it.  Our wait was only about 10 minutes, and it was well worth it. 

There is a mandatory, informative, nine minute movie at the beginning.  It talks about the development of the Belem from idea to creation.  One of the largest nativity scenes in the world (900 square meters), the Belen de Bancaja was inaugurated in Valencia in 1996 has just returned from its tour of other major Spanish cities.  Thanks to Bancaja - a leading Spanish bank and its sponsor-  it is free.  Represented inside are more than 1200 figures representing different scenes from the birth of Jesus.   

The show was the idea of several workers from Bancaja in 1990.  They commission three major Spanish artists who spent 3 years researching over 52 books about the historical context of the nativity and what life was like when Jessus was born.  From 1993-1996, they build the nativity scene.  In 1996 it was open to the public for the first time in the very same plaza where you can see it today. 

It's quite a display.  They recreated towns of Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Egypt.  The details are incredible.  Waterfalls, thousands of hand sculpted and painted individual leaves. Photos were not allowed, but this photographer on Flickr was able to capture some of the scenes.  The figures you see in the pictures are between  four and nine inches tall.  The detail is what is most amazing in this display.

You can see it between 10am and 10pm every day until January 7th.  I believe that you can also reserve timed entrances on the bancaja website.

Señorio de Monteviejo, Tempranillo 2002, Tudela de Duero – Valladolid, Purchased at Opencor- 2€ - $2.60. 

From now on, I think I will post only my husband's reviews of these wines.  They are completely to the point.  Plus, let's face it, who in the world do we think we are posting reviews of 1 and 2 euro wines???  Is there a market for "the working class guide to 1 and 2 euro wines in Spain"   If so, and you are a publisher, please leave a comment and we can initiate discussions about an advance! lol

Mitch's take: 

• It needs a really big glass – (wine talk – BOLD)
• It needs meat – (wine talk – BIG – POWERFUL)
• Definitely not complex (wine talk – this wasn't that expensive was it?)

To me, in both the nose and the taste, it reminds me of a traditional, or old style rioja.   It's older than most of the wines in this price range and the taste reflects that.  It's not so in your face with berry – it's mellowed some.  But yes, it is fairly strong, and as with most wines, but especially this one, it's better with some food.  And I actually think it is a little bit complex.  It also has a very nice finish. 

It's totally worth more than the 2 € we paid for it.  Hard to say what it would go for it the states, but I think at least $10. 

If you're near an OpenCor, give it a try!

No one brags about the zoo in Valencia.  The guide books all mention that it is small and many sites mention the small enclosures for animals.  We had very low expectations and were therefore pleasantly surprised. 

It is a very compact zoo, which can be useful with small children.  The enclosures are small but the animals did look relatively healthy. 

I should note that Valencia is in the process of building a much larger zoo on the other side of town where the enclosures which be much larger.  I actually met another American mother at the zoo who mentioned that she and her husband were both construction artists that were working on the new zoo.  She mentioned some sort of "soft opening" around February of 2007, although she didn't think the animals would be there yet. 

We really enjoyed the apes and the orangutan Boris who can put on quite a show.  Ben saw a camel and was smart enough to tell his papa that he knew they had those in Iraq.  The tiger was in a very small enclosure and let us know that he didn't like our presence so close to the glass.  That gave us a bit of a scare. 

We saw quite the elegant set up for a children's birthday party as well.  In addition to balloons and little chocolate shakes and cake for the children, we saw what looked like an elegant art opening set up for the adults with finger foods and wine.  I saw a sign that birthday parties were 7 euros a child ($10) but I doubt it included the display we witnessed.

This is not one of the world's finest zoos, however, our three year old had a great time.

My little boy no longer uses a diaper, a pacifier or a crib.  Se ha hecho muy mayor y es muy campeon.  Translation - He is very big now - a real champ - as they say here.  So, we gave him is very own fisher-price digital camera.  

Review were very mixed about the camera which retails for about $60, but we decided to go ahead with it anyway.  What we really wanted to do was to spark his creativity and to teach him that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  Plus, by introducing him to photography at a young age, we hope to discover some interesting perspectives from the eyes of a three year old. 

Most of the pictures are blurry since he is three and hasn't yet learned to hold the camera steady.  Some however are quite clear.  I will upload his shots in a special Ben's album in the photo section.  In the meantime, here are some of his pictures from today.  Since it is so easy to edit these photos with photoshop, I will share the unedited and edited versions.

Unedited                                                 Edited

He really wanted to take pictures in this fruit store near the IVAM (museum of modern art) and I had the most fun editing these.

Uva de Mesa unedited                                  Uva de Mesa edited

General fruit picture edited to mosaic

Finally, the bus ride home.  These shots make me smile

 Daniel Belda 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon – 3.95 - This wine is a winner!

First I will admit that I was surprised to see that someone had come to my blog from google by typing in the search terms wine Daniel Belda .  So tonight, as I selected a bottle to open with dinner this caught my eye.  Hmm.  Someone actually searched this wine.   Let's give it a try.  It's Saturday night, so we can enjoy the good bottle, assuming that this was our 7.45 euro bottle.  

As we tasted and compared notes, I came to the conclusion that yes, it was certainly worth the 7.45 euros, even though we can not afford to drink that sort of wine too often during our simple life here in Valencia!  This was clearly the best wine of the lot that we purchased – even though I see we have the two nicer ones to try.  

Amazing nose.  Nice complexity although I can't exactly say why.  It has a lovely finish – the tannins have softened nicely.  There is the slightest hint of earthiness which I really like.   

What?  I am shocked to discover when writing down my notes that this wine was only 3.95 euros.    A fantastic buy! 

And my husband's review?

"It's a hearty wine.  It makes me want to throw a steak on the grill.  That would definitely be a $12 bottle of wine in the states.  How much was it?" 

Me -  "3.95 euros"

Him – "Oh, so it was expensive."

Excuse me.  Who's getting way too spoiled here? 

Sonsierra Crianza 2003– 5.95 € - Rioja - Produced and bottled by Bodegas Sonsierra Coop, San Vicente de la Sonsierra, Espana, 13.5% alcohol.

I'll start with I had higher expectations.  This is perhaps one of the highest price wines we cheapos have been drinking lately.   It's definitely a nice wine.  The more I drink it the more I like it, but let's be honest, I'm not sure it's that a valid wine critique.   

Let's see.  My husband admits he seems to enjoy cheaper wine more but he's not quite sure if that's because it's young and fruity or because he feel like he's saving money by not drinking the water – that honestly – can be more expensive than the wine.

He thought this wine tasted "light."  I'm not sure I agree.  The thing is – it's a rioja – and so by nature – I sort of expected something a bit strong and possibly over-powering.   Not so this wine.  I find it to be incredibly balanced.  The clerk that helped me tried to suggest wines that were a bit more complex.  I don't think I would classify this wine as complex, but incredibly balanced should imply that it has a few different tastes mixed in there.  I'm not sure my palate is sophisticated enough to define exactly what those tastes are though.  I've used the words cherry, berry and oak plenty enough.  (You can trust that I won't make up imaginary descriptors just to sound like a wine snob.  If I say it, I truly taste it!)

My suggestion.  Open it at least an hour earlier.  It tastes best to me after 2 hours, but again, we're not sure if that is because I just poured glass number 3.  Enjoy! :)

Today, the tables turned, and my actions as a dog owner infuriated a couple passing by.   

First of all, if you are not a fellow dog owner, please do not feel obliged to read this portion of this blog.  I know it's not particularly appealing to most people and I do not want to offend anyone. I do however own a much loved, dear old dog that has been most accommodating in changing her world to join us here in Valencia.   And, we take her out several times a day to take care of her bodily needs.

Now, if you've read my former posts, you know how I feel about cleaning up after my dog.  But today, as I was walking the dog, and she had just tinkled, I overheard a couple pushing a stroller in front of me say, "What a pig – she didn't even clean it up!"

What?  I needed to clarify.  "She just peed," I said. 

"It doesn't matter.  It's disgusting." They wanted to move on.  At least the husband did. 

"Wait a minute – I can't stand it when people don't clean up after their dogs.  But my dog just made pee pee."  

The husband continued with the stroller.  He wanted nothing to do with the lowly likes of someone like me who lets their dog pee in the street.   But I needed to understand and communicate with this woman.  I too am a mother who is infuriated with the mess.  But this was "piss" as it is called is Spanish.  What was I supposed to have done? 

"I push my baby stroller over that mess and then I have to bring that stroller into my apartment. "

Hmm.  Good point.

"My baby picks things up from the ground and puts his mouth there. "

 Yikes I thought.  If we have a baby here, he or she will not be touching this sidewalk.     

"I understand that caca is disgusting and I pick that up and put it in a trash can, not the tree box or the corner like other people.  But urine, well, isn't that different?"

"It's all dirty and disgusting," she said.

 "Listen," I explained, "I really want to understand how you feel about this.  I mean, I am ready to start a campaign about this, but as a foreigner, I tread on delicate ground."

"Well, I too am a foreigner and I get mad about this.  People here keep their shoes on in a house here and I think that is disgusting."

 Hmm.  No accent.  We also take our shoes off.  The husband was calling.  He really didn't want this conversation to continue.  I'll admit it was awkward but I needed to face up to this.  I am the last person who wants to offend someone with my dog.   

She explained that my dog should tinkle in the tree box.  I didn't dare share that I didn't want my doggy's feet touching that tree box filled with poop because then that might come into my house.   

I excused myself.  I needed to pick Ben up from school.   She needed to do the same. 

I have some doggie daily constitution issues to think about. 

You know I have time when the paper process wait isn't bothering me in the least.  The luxury of not working and having the time to deal with this.  But goodness, you must have a sense of humor about it. 
I speak Spanish relatively well.  Not to brag, but the average Spaniard tells me I speak it perfectly.   I might give myself a 9 out of 10 – but the point is – this process is darn confusing – even for someone that can speak the language.  I am also relatively internet savvy and like to think of myself as a search expert – at least when it comes to finding things online.   But I tell you – figuring out how to maneuver the Valencian bureaucracy to legalize residence here has been a challenge!

I love this next picture because it actually shares a lot of information that should be on government websites.  A Spaniard passed by me as I was taking this picture and asked his wife - what is so interesting there that she is taking a picture of?  I answered that the entire process and the difficulty in getting a straight answer on where and when to process papers had me amused. 

Here is what I have learned.

Non-European union (i.e. Americans) need to process their paper work on Calle de Maestres – in the old town.  Please don't confuse that tiny street with another street that you may find in the city street directory named Calle de Maestret near the beach.  That street isn't paved and you will just find some stray cats and hanging laundry.   I did however discover a public library on that trip so it wasn't totally futile.  (By the way, you need four photos to get a library card and you can take out a maximum of three books )

 Be sure to read the signs posted outside the Ministry.  I found them to be informative and necessary albeit a bit amusing.  Why was all of this not so clear on the website?

European Union members or Comunitarios as they are called here have all the rights in the world.  Still however, you must line up at Calle Joaquin de Ballester 37, near Nuevo Centro at 8:30 in the morning.  Since I am also a "comunitaria" this is where I needed to process my paperwork.  They open at 9:00 am but I got into the line at exactly that time today and was given number 109.  (They started in the 50s – so that's more or less number 60 in line) 

Luckily, someone in broken Spanish/English of apparent Indian descent asked to switch numbers with me.  From what I understand, they were waiting for a friend to appear.  They had number 80.  I lucked out but hmm – it looks like their friend is here. 

Should I switch back?  Ok – I feel better.  I offered but it was a different friend.  The good karma continues.  Ah. 

Updated to say that as I was about to go in, the friend arrived and they asked for the number back.  I agreed but didn't feel so great about it.  I called my wonderful husband to complain about it and he told me I should rejoice at the fact that I helped someone else.  What a guy he is.  If you know him, you'll agree that he has a great heart.

Back to the paper process…

I was actually here for a good 4.5 hours last Friday.  A long wait without stuff to read or write but it was informative.  I made good use of my time talking with folks and found all of the necessary forms I needed, photocopied them, filled them out and was able to process at least my "NIE" (similar to social security number) and I also met some interesting folks.  I met a couple who had moved here from Holland because although they were both comunitarios (Dutch and Slovak) the Slovak could not work in Holland because of special provisions prohibiting Slovaks, Poles etc from working.  Another couple consisted of a Nigerian man and a Polish woman.  She spoke very little Spanish so the Nigerian was helping here maneuver the system.  It looks like she came for love and might be having a hard time integrating.  She was a Jehovah Witness – as was he – and they had met on a bus somewhere in Europe.  There are lots of Latin Americans in this office as well.  In Spain, they are also granted certain rights, making it easier for them to emigrate.  Today I met a Spanish woman who was helping a Pakistani friend.  The Spaniard's husband was Pakistani and mentioned that it was taking a long time to process his paperwork as well. 

Well, my number 109 was called around 12:30pm and the paperwork I was missing last Friday was processed, or should I say, accepted, quickly.  (I was missing my Enpadronamiento – a document from city hall confirming that I am who I say I am and that I am really living here with a copy of my lease to prove it) 

Now all I have to do is wait to receive something in the mail with further instructions.   Sounds like a message from the CIA :)