First week of the new year! WooHoo! I’m going to renumber the days and the weeks staring on January 1st 2026. Hopefully won’t be confusing.

I’m writing on Monday morning in Valencia Spain. Our second flight has now been cancelled, there’s a Code Orange alert in the Netherlands and travel is difficult to say the least.

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Now writing on our second train leaving Barcelona on our way to Madrid. Our itinerary over the next two days is: Valencia → Barcelona → Marseille / Marseille → Paris → Rotterdam → Utrecht. It’s looking very unlikely that we will leave Paris. I’m ever hopeful, but realistically doubtful…

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I cannot believe it - now writing on our fourth train - this one from Paris to Rotterdam with only a 30 minute delay. Amazing. Not sure if we get to sleep in our own beds this evening as there are no trains from Rotterdam - but we are very very close - ‘just no cigar’.

December 29 – Day 415

I started the morning off early by visiting the Public Hospital to get some antibiotics. After a not too terribly long of a wait at “urgencias” I was seen by a Dr and then after got a prescription - of a powder to mix with water and drink for two nights.

In the late morning we wanted to get prepared for New Year’s celebrations so went to a nearby Argentine butcher to buy meat in time to prepare Vitel Tone a traditional dish that is served at Christmas Eve or New Year’s. It’s eaten cold so it’s a bit strange to eat in the wintertime, but Santi was determined and he did a great job.

That evening we went out to dinner at a sushi restaurant that had food on circulating treadmills and you just take what looks appetizing.

I loved this scene of my guys walking back to our apartment and stopped behind to snap this up.

December 30 – Day 416

Tuesday Santi and I got a rare date afternoon/evening and it was glorious. We walked to the beach and looked out at the Mediterranean ocean but didn’t dip our toes in.

At nightfall we took the metro to the old part of the city went for drinks in a fun bar and had a small jar of Agua Valencia which much like Pimms or Pisco Sour is too easily drunk. 🤣 Glad we shared a small jar and some tapas.

December 31 – Day 417

We spent the early afternoon at the Science Museum and among a host of different exhibits saw the Leonardo da Vinci exhibition where at the end you could pose as La Gioconda which both David and I did. Pretty funny. Walking through the museum Santi remarked how much he loved the light coming through the building. His ideal architecture.

That late afternoon, I went back to the hospital to get some more antibiotics as I wasn’t feeling 100% but it took much longer than before but it all worked out and I arrived at José’s just in time for New Year’s dinner celebration complete with Vitel Tone and Pionono and lots of Turrón. Santi was in heaven. And of course we ate 12 grapes at the stroke of midnight which is actually more difficult than it sounds, your mouth gets quite full quite quickly.

January 1 – Day 1

The next day was a very late start and a quiet day and we once again gathered at José’s to eat leftovers and play Settlers of Catan. Always a fun game - been playing for 25 years now! Crazy.

January 2 – Day 2

That afternoon we visited the Oceanografico to look at the various aquatic animals.

We went to dinner for our “goodbye” dinner at a very nice Argentine Steakhouse and on the way there saw this beautiful statue dedicated to the architect of Valencia’s 19th Century infrastructure.

We went home to pack up and get as much rest as possible. Our flight was at 06:50 so we had arranged for a taxi at 04:30 to arrive at the airport on time.

January 3 – Day 3

We woke up at 03:00 and Santi read the email that our flight had been cancelled due to ‘inclement weather’. Luckily he was able cancel the taxi, extend our stay at the apartment and get us rebooked on a flight for Monday afternoon. He tried to go back to sleep, but unfortunately sleep didn’t come easily. But, we weren’t stuck at the airport, it could have been so much worse.

I realized that I didn’t pack enough medication so I went back to the public hospital but it packed and decided to go the next morning instead. On my walk I saw this hearty street cat - such a Tom Cat if there ever was one - complete with a clipped ear from street fights.

I spent a couple of hours alone at Cafe Malbec - an Argentine cafe - and wrote while waiting for everyone to meet me there.

That evening we went to the Hemesferico (imagine a spherical IMAX) to see a screening of the projection and explanation of the celestial stars.

January 4 – Day 4

Sunday morning, I went back once again in the early morning to the public hospital to get my beta blockers and ended up waiting three hours to be seen. As there is a triage system and my case wasn’t urgent I kept on getting pushed further and further up the line to be seen. My Dr was a nice Argentine man who had lived in Spain for the past 16 years. Even though I had told the receptionist and the nurses upon arrival what I needed, they never told me I didn’t need a scrip. But, the Dr did. I could have just gone straight to the pharmacy and bought what I needed. They control antibiotics so people don’t abuse them, but beta blockers, not so much… Lesson learned.

That afternoon we walked across town to a Japanese restaurant for lunch.

I have been re-listening to my music collection on my computer - this one is pretty cool: