Friday the 13th

First, I would like to begin this blog post about Paris.  It is a shame what happened in that city on Friday.  It is horrifying that someone can put so much thought into killing innocent people.  My heart is with those families.  But my heart isn't just with the people of Paris.  It is with the people in Japan who survived the earthquake, with the people who witnessed the funeral bombing, with the people who face misery in their countries everyday that the news doesn't report.  Innocent people shouldn't have to die.

That being said, I would like to talk about my weekend.  On Friday, I visited the Museum of Bellas Artes.  I was instructed to go for class but I also wanted to go because of my own interests.  I did not take any photos even though I saw other people using their phones to do it.  I do not want a repeat of the Picasso Museum in Barcelona.  (A link to the post from Barcelona is at the bottom of the page.) The museum was beautiful.  There were walls two stories high of religious paintings and little rooms with paintings by famous Spanish artists such as Francisco de Goya and Joaquin Sorrolla.  There was old pieces of furniture.   Above is a picture of the outside of the museum, courtesy of Google.  Just by seeing the outside, one can imagine the grandeur of the inside.  And it was free!

On Saturday we were supposed to go to a lagoon but we missed the bus so instead we walked around the city and had lunch in the park.  It was a very nice day to spend time with friends, especially Sarah and Naomi who are from Ireland.

On Sunday, we celebrated the birthday of my host father Jose.  All eight of the grandchildren, from age 3 to 12 were over.  We had paella, the traditional Spanish rice dish, and a cake of three chocolates.  It was absolutely delicious and I enjoyed spending time with my Valencian family.




On the way home from the museum I couldn't figure out the bus route so I walked and took some pictures of the city.  To the left is the Puente de las Flores.  This bridge goes over the old river and is covered with beautiful flowers all throughout the year.  To the right is a fountain near the museum.  It is part of a garden/park called the Jardin Real de Valencia.

To read about my adventure in Barcelona, read this post: http://saliciaabroad.blogspot.de/2015/10/barcelona.html