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Friday, April 26 – Valencia
Josep is up and zipping around early. He tells us he will be out all day until 10pm
so he leaves us his keys. The day is all mine as Mike is going his own way. We agree to meet at the Placa de la Virgen at 6pm. He leaves first, so he leaves me the keys. 
It's pure luxury not to have answer to anyone until then. I love the freedom. I stroll around the old city, through the gates of the walls and over the moats, which are bone dry in most places. It's a lovely city for walking, almost as nice as Alicante, but it extends many kilometres in all directions. 
The people here speak a dialect of Catalan, a Romance language not as closely related to Spanish as some other languages, such as Italian. I didn't know this previously, and it makes the city feel more exotic. Before this week the only thing I associated with Valencia was oranges. My guide book tells me that Valencia was the last stronghold of democracy to fall to Franco's Fascist forces in the Spanish Civil War. It suffered greatly for many years after it fell.
There is a gay sauna in Valencia that I check out, thinking that it might be quite popular in a much bigger city, but there are only three other patrons so I leave immediately. I meet Mike at 6 as planned but we return to Josep's to eat our groceries instead of going out. Josep returns home briefly in the early evening. He has tried to get us complimentary tickets to a dance performance he is recording but the director doesn't want extra bodies in the small space. So he's out the door again after a few minutes. I read Anna Karenin for the rest of the evening.
PHOTO 1: Placa de Virgin
PHOTO 2: Valencia Cathedral
PHOTO 3: lane in old town Valencia
PHOTO 4: walls of the old town
PHOTO 5: Place de Virgin
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