Our First Adventure

A delicious dinner after an hour and a half of being lost.

So last night was our first true adventure in the dark city of Valencia. Although I have always thought that us American college kids went out pretty late, it's nothing compared to true Valenthians. After about 3 miles of walking through the college area of Valencia, having no idea where we were going and not a single English speaking person to talk to, we finally ran into some Americans from our program (sigh of relief). We sat down for dinner around 11:30, delicious flatbread pizzas and cold beer, then once tipsy enough to leave, we headed to the club around 2. From there, we went to a few different clubs (ranging from Espanol techno dance clubs to smoky local pubs) until we decided to hail a cab around 4 am. I actually surprised myself with my Spanish speaking, and was the sole reason we made it back to our homes that night. I was even able to hold a conversation with our driver, Gabriel, about how much it may cost to rent a scooter and how good the futbol game is going to be tonight. Despite spending 60 Euros on a ticket (they are normally around 40), we will be witnessing one of the biggest rivalries this season, Valencia vs. Real Madrid. We are headed to the stadium around 7 to began drinking and purchase some Valencia scarves and jerseys, which are necessary to blend in. Unfortunately, due to the game, I may be missing the only bull fight of the summer :( But I am excited to experience something so big with the locals. Our program directer, Ignacio, claims that futbol is more important than religion, and is to be taken very seriously. (He has season tickets.) As you can see, we are having an amazing time and I'm sure things will only get better. We have a few trips planned for the upcoming weekends including, Rome, Amsterdam, & Switzerland. We are also thinking about meeting Mr. DiPasqua in Barcelona for a long weekend! Gosh, this is amazing. Hope everything back home is great! Heard the Magic are up 2-1, I BELIEVE! Love you guys.