My dad has this habit of suggesting things. If I’m visiting a certain city, he’ll mention a show I should go see or a person I should meet up with. Never mind that I don’t know the person — it’s his cousin’s best friend from fourth grade — or have any interest in the show — but it’s about birds! everyone likes birds! — he will insist that I check it out. Over the years, I have learned to smile and nod and say, “Sure thing, Dad. I’ll definitely look into it,” with no intention of doing so at all.

When I studied abroad in Spain two years ago, I thought I would be free of my dad’s suggestions. He doesn’t speak Spanish. Who could he know in Spain? So imagine my surprise when right before I left, he called to tell me there was something I just HAD to check out.

“Bridges.”
“Bridges?”
“Yes, bridges. By a man named… Calatrava.”
“Uh, okay…”
“Did you write that down?”
No.“Of course.”
“They’re in Valencia.”
“Dad, I’m in Madrid.”
“You can’t go to Valencia?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, try to see them.”
“Sure thing, Dad. I’ll definitely look into it.”

When I booked my trips — to Seville to see Marci, to Barcelona, to Paris — I thought nothing of my conversation with my dad. But the program I was in, IES, arranged a couple weekend trips for us, including one to Valencia.

I was actually late to the Valencia trip because I was coming on my own from Seville, where I had spent Marci’s birthday with her, refusing to drink sangria. (Sorry!! I probably should have had some…) So when I did finally meet up with my classmates, I was exhausted. I was half-asleep as we rode on the tour bus with our guide narrating the history of each sight as we passed.

I woke up when I saw this:

This is the entrance to L’Oceanografic, Valencia’s amazing zoo/aquarium, and part of their Ciutat de les Arts i de les Ciencies, most of which is designed by — you guessed it — Santiago Calatrava. I rolled my eyes when I heard our tour guide intone his name through her microphone. My dad was never going to let me hear the end of this.

But as I saw more of Calatrava’s architecture, I fell in love, with his work and the city that embraced it, and I decided that maybe I should listen to my father more often.

Alright, I know I said I would do a Foto Friday of Santiago Calatrava’s amazing architecture in Valencia, but I’m guessing that no one here really cares but me, haha. So I’m delaying it one more week and introducing Gatsby instead.

Note Riley off to the side trying to remind Momma that just because she has a new toy doesn’t mean she should love her puppy any less. Don’t worry, sweetie, I haven’t forgotten you. But get out of the way. This is Gatsby’s time to shine.

Andy took my camera to Ireland this week — yeah, my camera, but NOT ME! — so I figured, what better excuse for a throwback Foto Friday? I also decided to go all the way back to Spain 2006, because (a) Spain is the shit, and (b) it’s a lot closer to Ireland than I am right now.

I took a ton of photos of Valencia, a city I unexpectedly fell in love with, but for the sake of brevity, I’ll present the city to you in just four snapshots:

A niña (young girl) plays with the palomas (pigeons) in the Plaza del Mercado (Market Square).

Flamencos (flamingos) in the L’Oceanogràfic (fantastic city zoo/aquarium). You can see a hint of Santiago Calatrava’s amazing architecture through the windows in the back. More on that next week.

Puente del Mar (Bridge of the Sea) in the Jardines del Turio (beautiful parks that wind through the city).

Yo (me) at the playa (beach).

A heartbreaking find:

A recent report by the National Endowment for the Arts found that 53 percent of Americans surveyed hadn’t read a book in the previous year.

… I’m sorry, WHAT?

For someone like me, that’s like saying, “Hmm, I think I saw the sun twelve months ago.” I mean, I may not have as much time to read as I used to, but I don’t think a single year of my life has gone by without my reading at least 1 book.

Seriously, people?

[sigh]

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