La Playa

Just returned from the beach (la playa) and I seem to be only minimally sunburned-knock on wood. I am, however, entirely covered in a thin layer of sand and waiting for Michelle to get out of the shower so I can rinse off. This is an issue because it means that I can't sit on our remarkably comfortable memory foam bed. Also I think the sand might be grinding off several layers of skin whenever I move.

The beach here is really nice (at least I think so, I had my contacts out so I can't be sure). I do know that the water was pretty clear and not too cold and the beach was wide and not too terribly crowded considering it's a Saturday. I wasn't sure what to expect since I've never gone to a beach on the mediterranean but but it turns out the water is calm and the people are mostly topless. I have seriously never seen so many casually half-naked people but after the initial surprise I didn't notice too much, especially since I was half blind.  We swam a little, which was fun but did make me miss the big, powerful waves I'm used to from the beaches we usually go to along the Atlantic. Still, it was a beautiful day with a nice breeze and it was easy to nap in the sun listening to the waves and Spanish kids running around chattering in Spanish.

...Just took a break to shower and help Michelle fish her swimsuit bottoms off a hook that is several feet below the top or the balcony rail. She dropped them while trying to line dry them, demonstrating the main drawback of drying your clothes by hanging them off a balcony on the seventh floor. Luckily I was able to use my freakishly long arms and some spoons to pull them back up saving her from having to go back to the beach missing the wrong half of her suit.

We are currently taking a break in the apartment before heading back to the beach to try Valencia's famous paella and watch the fireworks. The fireworks are part of a fiesta that lasts the whole month of July and seems to consist of a lot of amazing things such as fireworks, jazz concerts, and Transformers. We are hoping to find the nightlife on the beach since last night our attempt to go out was a massive failure. Our plan was to stalk one of the local hostels and maybe join one of their events or at least make some friends. They had a lot of security though and no one seemed to be hanging out in the lobby so we left. From there we tried to head to one of the main historical buildings, which is supposed to be surrounded by bars and have some pub crawls but it was creepy and deserted so we went home, defeated by Valencian nightlife.

I'm going to try to take some pictures tonight so more on the beach tomorrow!

Adios!