Valencia

Rate How You Lock Up Your Bike

2012-02-22T01:45:00.004+01:00

Watch this video and let a real hippie grade the way you lock your bike. And who would know better than a hippie about stealing a bike? Answer: No one, because hippies will steal anything that isn't nailed down to buy dope. Bike theft in Valencia is a fact of life (I've had two bikes stolen). Watch and learn how to properly lock your two-wheeler.

Hal Grades Your Bike Locking from Streetfilms on Vimeo.

And More About Bikes...

2012-02-21T02:48:00.002+01:00

Is a bike a part of your lifestyle? See what you are missing in this video about the Dutch attitude about bikes.

A City Park in a Parking Space

2012-02-20T01:31:00.003+01:00

For my money there is nothing uglier on the city landscape than a parked car. Imagine your street with no parked cars. as John Lennon said, "It's easy if you try." Now imagine those parking spots filled with grass, trees, and park benches. That's the kind of city we deserve.

In New York:

And San Francisco:

Another Look at Bike Sharing

2012-02-19T10:47:00.003+01:00

This is old news for most Europeans cities. We've had it in Valencia for almost 2 years. The old saying "the greatest thing since sliced bread" will soon be replaced with "the greatest thing since bike sharing." It is what urban planners call "transformational" meaning it will change an entire city's attitude about public transportation. I have two bikes but I still use our system every day. I am shockingly lazy when it comes to walking and will avoid laughably short trips on foot in favor or taking one of these cool bikes. I pay 18€ per year.

That was Lyon. Here is Paris:

Bike Parking (continued)

2012-02-18T01:18:00.006+01:00

Adding bicycle parking will actually make neighborhoods more attractive and the cost is negligible. What are we waiting for, Valencia?

Bike Parking in Valencia?

2012-02-17T08:10:00.001+01:00

It's now illegal to chain your bike to a tree or a lamp post or any "mobiliario urbano" which basically means anything man-made. So where do we park our bikes. This film has a couple of good ideas.

Stoke City vs Valencia CF 21:05 (UEFA Europa League)

2012-02-16T01:28:00.002+01:00

Founded in 1863, Stoke City is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts County. They rank 13th right now in the Premier League. Valencia has really only one last opportunity to win a prize this season and that means getting through this round of 32 against Stoke City. Valencia CF is coming off a commanding 4-0 win over Sporting on Sunday and needs to get through this round with as little drama as possible.

Ruzafa expone cien obras de arte en sus balcones

2012-02-15T09:02:00.003+01:00

Las fachadas del barrio de Ruzafa de Valencia se han convertido en una improvisada galería de arte contemporáneo que expone un centenar de lienzos colgados de sus balcones y elaborados por artistas de más de veinte países.

La muestra, titulada "Art al vent", forma parte del proyecto Russafa CulturaViva, promovido por las asociaciones vecinales y sociales Jarit y Sariri, que desde hace dos años organizan un Carnaval con diferentes actividades para fomentar la convivencia y los derechos sociales.

Esta exposición de arte urbano está compuesta por cerca de cien obras hechas con diversos materiales y técnicas -bordados, acrílicos y fotografía impresa, entre otros- sin temática predeterminada.

Según ha explicado a EFE el portavoz de la asociación Jarit, Sergi Almiñana, la finalidad de esta muestra es hacer una "relectura" de una tradición artística del municipio alicantino de Gata de Gorgos, que se inició colgando colchas en las viviendas de las calles por las que transcurrían las procesiones.

El éxito de esta propuesta exportó esta iniciativa a numerosas ciudades españolas, y también a otros países como Francia, Brasil, Alemania o Suecia, entre otros.

La exposición, que cuenta con la colaboración de los vecinos que han aceptado colgar las obras de sus balcones, se distribuye por diferentes calles del barrio, aunque el mayor número de lienzos se concentra en las calles de Cádiz y del Literato Azorín.

Además de esta exposición, Russafa CulturaViva pondrá en marcha el próximo jueves la iniciativa "Tapa y Copa Solidaria", un circuito de treinta bares y restaurantes que ofrecerán propuestas gastronómicas especiales a un determinado importe se destinará a fines sociales.

Los actos, entre los que figuran diferentes conciertos y talleres artísticos, culminarán el próximo 25 de febrero con un desfile de disfraces en el que participarán 50 grupos de música y baile.

fuente: EFE | levante-emv.com

Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs FC Barcelona 20:45

2012-02-14T08:04:00.000+01:00

The Champions League round of 16 begins this evening with this game and Olimpique Lyonnaise taking on Apoel (from Cyprus if you didn't know already).

Arroz del Senyoret

2012-02-13T01:19:00.005+01:00

This dish is called Arroz del Senyoret (señorito in Spanish) because it can be eaten without picking through fish bones, shells, or any of the other skeletal features of seafood. It's yet another typical rice dish from Valencia and usually called a seafood paella anywhere else but people here practically have a heart attack when you call something a paella that isn't a genuine paella valenciana (with chicken and rabbit).

qwq

Side Trip to Granada

2012-02-11T07:41:00.001+01:00

Granada is about a seven hour train ride from Valencia, rather slow for Spanish train standards but the scenery along the way is beautiful. It's like sailing across an ocean of olive trees. Granada is something you don't want to miss if you are traveling to Spain.

Sunny and Cool

2012-02-09T10:24:00.001+01:00

Compared to the rest of Europe Valencia is practically a tropical paradise but it still feels very cold. It looks like the cold will be with us for at least another week so break out the blankets and fire up the electric heaters. With low temperatures just around freezing I suppose that we have nothing to complain about...but I will. Spring and Fallas are just around the corner but knowing that doesn't help much.

This is the time to enjoy all of that great heavy food. Arroz al horno is one of my favorites when the temperature drops. Just having the oven on in the house helps. I should probably update this video but I still think this is a great recipe for this dish.

British expats are happiest in Spain

2012-02-08T20:07:00.003+01:00

Great article on http://www.expatforum.com

British expats are happiest in Spain, followed by Canada and Germany, according to new research which also examined their cost of living and financial well being. New Zealand ranks highest on quality of life and tax free United Arab Emirates rated as the best destination for expats’ financial prospects.

The survey by Lloyds TSB International also found that overall British expats are far happier in their adopted countries than in the UK.

Overall, 68% of those asked said that they felt happier where they were than in the UK, although for certain countries this figure was much higher. Spain ranked number one for expat happiness, with over three quarters, 75.9%, of Brits living there saying they are happier than back at home. Germany also rates highly on the happiness scale with 71% saying they are happier than in the UK.

The Antipodes were highly rated for quality of life, with 77% in Australia and 79% in New Zealand feeling their living standards are better. However despite this, these two countries were not as highly ranked for happiness, with 64.7% of expats in Australia and only 50% in New Zealand saying they were happier than in the UK suggesting that other factors exert an influence on expats’ general happiness.

Both countries rated poorly when judged by cost of living, with only 35% of those in Australia and 29% in New Zealand saying their living costs are lower than in the UK.

Financial well being is an important consideration for expats, and the UAE exceeds all other countries with 95% of expats saying they feel financially better off in the tax free emirates than in the UK. However, many expats view it as an expensive place to live with just 22% saying they have a lower cost of living than in the UK.

‘Much has been made of the gloomy economic outlook in Spain and the government’s austerity programme, but despite this stream of bad news, British expats think their financial prospects are better there than in the UK. But more importantly, it seems a good quality of life, perhaps including the sunny weather and the laidback Mediterranean lifestyle, are contributing to Spain’s place as number one for general happiness,’ said Nicholas Boys Smith of Lloyds TSB International.
‘These findings show that there is a real variety of decisions to be made when choosing where to emigrate. Expats who choose a country solely based on financial prospects may find they compromise on quality of life, or vice versa. Happiness is influenced by many different factors which need to be considered together. For example New Zealand was thought to have the best quality of life, but actually ranked lowest for overall happiness,’ he added.

France, which is also a favourite expat destination, fared only middling. Just 65% said they were happy there and 66.7% said they has a better quality of life and only 38.3% said they had a lower cost of living while 56.7% thought they were better off financially.

The United States was also middling. Some 62.4% said they were happier, 66.1% said they had a better quality of live, 61.2% said they had a lower cost of living and 62.4% said they were better off financially.

Why Can't Valencia be More Like This City?

2012-02-07T02:09:00.007+01:00

Copenhagen is a thoroughly bike-friendly city in spite of the fact that the weather there is terrible. Valencia has much better conditions yet we lag way behind.

One Semester of Spanish Love Song

2012-02-06T08:41:00.000+01:00

Just because this is one of the funniest things I've ever found on the web:

Atlético de Madrid vs Valencia CF @ 21:30

2012-02-05T01:46:00.003+01:00

After not winning a game in La Liga in January Valencia CF is looking to add three points this afternoon in Madrid. They played a great game on Wednesday to secure a draw with Barça in the Copa del Rey semifinals with the return scheduled again for this Wednesday in Camp Nou.

Valencia Oranges

2012-02-03T02:56:00.009+01:00

We are up to our eyelids in oranges right now in Valencia and we need everyone to do their part to help local growers. Everyone must eat at least four oranges a day. The good news is that oranges are incredibly inexpensive right now with some as low as 1 Euro for three kilos of juice oranges.

These are the seasons for oranges here in Valencia:

CLEMENTINAS (Mandarinas)   A partir del 20 de octubre

CLEMENVILLAS (Mandarinas)   A partir de Enero

HERNANDINAS (Mandarinas)   A partir de Febrero

NAVELINAS (Naranjas)   A partir del 01 de Noviembre

NAVELS (Naranjas)   A partir de Febrero

NAVELATES (Naranjas)   A partir de Marzo

The Neighborhood Bar: A Spanish Institution

2012-02-02T08:36:00.000+01:00

To go along with my Sunday meal I made a recipe that I stole from my new favorite bar in the neighborhood, Bar Casa Morrut, Calle Maestro José Serrano 4. Pepe makes some great food in this place and it’s very inexpensive. One of my favorite tapas at his place is chicken livers fried in bay leaves and garlic. I hadn’t eaten liver of any sort for a long time as I am the only person that I know who actually eats the stuff. Most of my friends here can’t even stand the smell of it cooking which is a shame because my butcher has wonderful liver, both pork and beef. The chicken livers I bought at the supermarket, higaditos y menudillos (little livers and giblets). I had to look up the word “menudillos” and then I had to look up “giblets” in English. From the online Oxford dictionary:

plural noun

the liver, heart, gizzard, and neck of a chicken or other fowl, usually removed before the bird is cooked, and often used to make gravy, stuffing, or soup.

Origin

· Middle English (in the sense 'an inessential appendage', later 'garbage, offal'): from Old French gibelet 'game bird stew', probably from gibier 'birds or mammals hunted for sport'

I never knew. I thought "giblets" was something specific. In the case of the ones I bought from my supermarket they mean hearts. Now I know. "Mollejas" or gizzards are another item people cook with abundantly here in Spain. All this is generally something most people in America throw away, although it’s more likely they never see it in the first place as it is removed before their chicken is neatly packaged in plastic. I have always been rather old-school in my eating habits and to say that I don’t shy away from strange foods would be an understatement. But it goes way beyond me trying to be macho; I actually like offal, as it is sometimes called.

Bar Casa Morrut Chicken Livers and Giblets

Simply fry the livers in hot olive oil with bay leaves, garlic, ad a pinch of salt. I threw in a finely chopped onion just because I had one on hand. I made a sandwich with the liver on some amazing bread I buy at the local bakery, chapata con aceitunas y romero. If the French soup didn’t blow me away the simple sandwich certainly did the trick.

Rise and Shine!

2012-01-31T08:20:00.002+01:00

There must be a law in Spain that the more noise that you make in your job the earlier you have to begin work. I swear that the guys starting the remodeling job on the apartment across the back patio from me look at their watches and fire up their power saws the second the clock strikes 8 am. And there’s another law that says workers have to do all of the noisy shit the first thing in the morning, saving all of the quieter stuff for later. No one ever paints the first thing in the early morning; that’s for using power tools, insane hammering, and the time for making disgusting throat-clearing noises like they are trying to cough something up that is lodged in their lower intestines.

Cost of living

2012-01-30T14:02:00.000+01:00

EXPATISTAN. This is a great website where expats (and HR-departments) can compare the cost of living in different cities and countries. In case of Globexs the attention was drawn to the difference between Belgium and Spain, more specifically Antwerp and Valencia. The result was not very surprising, life in Antwerp is 27% more expensive than in Valencia.

Renting a house in Antwerp is 26% more expensive than in Valencia. However, real estate prices are not that far apart. Again a proof of the disproportion between buying a house and renting a house in Spain. However, real estate prices in Valencia are dropping fast because of the crisis.

The biggest difference between cost of living in both countries is shown when going to the local supermarket. Food in Belgium is so much more expensive than in Valencia.

I invite all expats in valencia to compare their current cost of living with their hometown: www.expatistan.com.

Valencia Community

2012-01-29T02:29:00.006+01:00

More beautiful photography from Valencia and the Valencia Community. Even Benidorm looks amazing. Music by Joan Manuel Serrat.

Soupe al L'Oignon (French Onion Soup, Sopa de Cebolla)

2012-01-28T08:16:00.001+01:00

You had better hurry and make this French winter classic while it is still a bit cold. By the feel of things here in Valencia it will be summer in a couple of weeks. Here you have a couple of recipes for this simple yet elegant and delicious soup. Bon appetit!

Levante UD vs Valencia CF 21:30

2012-01-26T02:28:00.009+01:00

The return match in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey. Valencia won the first match 4-1 so Levante is really on the ropes tonight. The bad news for Valencia is they will probably face Barça in the semi-finals.

UPDATE!

Valencia won 0-3. Great news! Now for the bad news: Valencia CF must face FC Barcelona in the semi-finals on February 2nd. The first match is in Mestalla.

Because You Have to Eat Every Day!

2012-01-25T01:57:00.011+01:00

A very simple dish I came up with after cooking a few pieces of chicken the other day and adding some white wine. I was thinking about adding the lemon juice to beaten eggs and add them to the sauce like with Avgolemono soup (remember to mix beaten eggs gradually with hot stock before adding to the pot or you will have a pot of scrambled eggs!). Maybe next time. I cut up the chicken as I do when making paella and freeze the parts that I leave out like the back, the wing tips, drumstick tips, and the breastbone. I de-bone the thighs as well as the breast as this just makes the dish a bit more elegant and easier to eat. I used my ginormous new pot for this dish even though it barely fits on my diminutive stove.

Lemon Chicken Pasta

Ingredients:

1 Whole Chicken
2 Zucchinis
3-4 Garlic cloves
1 Glass White Wine
1 Cup Chicken Stock
2 Lemons (juiced)
3 Tbsp. Butter
Flour
Penne Pasta
3 Bay Leaves
Parmesan Cheese
Salt, pepper

First slice the zucchini and sauté it in olive oi,l adding a bit of salt. Take it out of the pot and add more oil, the bay leaves, and turn up the heat.

Cut the chicken into small pieces and partially debone it. Cover chicken with flour. Fry the chicken pieces and brown well. Deglazed the pan with the wine. Next add the stock and check for seasoning. Add the lemon juice to taste. Then add the cooked zucchini. Simmer for a few minutes and then add the cooked penne but make sure it is VERY al dente as it will continue to cook in the sauce. Add Parmesan to individual servings.

Taste of America

2012-01-23T01:33:00.025+01:00

The genuine American store in Valencia with American food products. OK, so mostly it has American junk food but there is a lot of fun stuff on sale here. Prices are surprisingly low for the mixed bag of American products due to the fact that the store has franchises in Madrid and Barcelona so it can order high volumes.

Taste of America

Avenida Reino de Valencia 6

Monday - Saturday 10:00 - 21:00

www.tasteofamerica.es

962 066 465

Infinity Comics

2012-01-21T01:59:00.014+01:00

Steer the comic collectors in your life to Infinity Comics, one of the most colorful stores in all of Valencia.

Infinity Comics

Reina Germana, 32

46005 Valencia

Tele: 963 956 140

www.infinitycomics.es

Valencia CF vs Levante UD 21:30

2012-01-19T03:50:00.013+01:00

The quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey have begun and we have a derby here in Valencia. #3 in La Liga Valencia meets #4 in La Liga Levante. The bad news is that the winner of this round must go on to play the winner of #1 in La Liga Real Madrid or #2 in La Liga Barcelona FC. The return game is the 26th of January at La Ciutat de Valencia.

How to Make Potato Pancakes

2012-01-17T01:31:00.006+01:00

This is, without a doubt, one of the best uses that I have found for the potato.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 pounds russet potato, peeled
1/2 yellow onion, peeled
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
pinch of cayenne
vegetable oil, as needed
3-4 ounces thinly sliced smoked salmon
4 tablespoon sour cream
1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped

The Best Things in Life (and most museums on Sunday) Are Free!

2012-01-15T08:25:00.001+01:00

Museo Nacional de Ceramica Gonzalez Marti
(Palacio Del Marques De Dos Aguas)

Rinconada García Sanchiz, 6

96 351 63 92

Even if you don’t even know what ceramics are this museum is well worth the visit. Housed in the insanely Rococo palace Marques de Dos Aguas. Originally built in the XV century (with a few Gothic rooms still intact), this palace kept growing and changing. The unbelievable marble entrance was done in 1740, and the rest of the outside finished in 1854.

Because You Have to Eat Every Day

2012-01-13T01:09:00.000+01:00

A mushroom paella but I wouldn't call it that in Spanish. Here in Valencia it's just rice with mushrooms as "paella" only means one thing: Paella Valenciana with chicken and rabbit. ¡Buen Provecho!

Sevilla FC vs Valencia CF 22:00

2012-01-11T01:10:00.010+01:00

It's another step towards the finals of La Copa del Rey as Valencia travels to Sevilla for the return game against a team that has always been difficult. Valencia won the first game 1-0 in Mestalla. Valencia also pulled off a very determined draw against Villarreal after being down 2-0 in the first half. The club seems determined to make the most of this season as they hang on to 3rd position in La Liga and wait for their match up with Stoke City in the Europa League.

Bike Paths in Valencia

2012-01-10T01:25:00.012+01:00

Valencia has a fairly adequate network of bike paths around town. You can find a map of the bike path here but as you will see in this video traveling by bike path in Valencia isn’t always easy. No one really respects the right of cyclists in Valencia yet the police have chosen to single out cyclists in a campaign of pacification, handing out outrageous fines to people on bikes while virtually ignoring brutish behavior on the part of drivers.

Feria de Valencia

2012-01-09T07:00:00.000+01:00

Valencia counts with one of the best exhibition center in Spain. The Feria de Valencia is massive, and organises nearly 60 events per year. A virtual tour can be donehere: http://recinto3d.feriavalencia.com/pabellones.html.

Recently Alberto Catalá has been reelected as president of the executive committee despite of doubts about the economical situation of the institution. He did not loose the trust of Rita Barbará en stays in his current position until 2016.

In 2012 he will be bringing the following events to Valencia:

The Death of Fast Food

2012-01-08T09:28:00.003+01:00

Cold War Era Food

Over the hurried, inexorable, and giddy gallop towards the modern era Americans were convinced by advertisers that cooking was just not worth the effort. We were too busy to cook. We had better things to do with our precious “free time.” We were given time-saving choices when it came to meals so there was no longer any reason to “slave over a hot stove” (I’m almost certain that expression was created by advertisers). I can’t remember what was supposed to be so thrilling in our lives that didn’t allow us to prepare our own food but it must have been something wonderful.

Things are changing in the mentality of modern Americans. Cooking shows air 24 hours a day. Chefs are celebrities. As I have often said, internet sites like YouTube have cooking video instructions coming out of their ears so the Italian grandmother you never had is available to walk you through even the most harrowingly complicated menus. If you have any doubt concerning this tectonic shift of attitudes I propose that you do a Google search of any sort of food that comes to mind. Ironically, in a search for chicken pot pie*—the former gold standard of crap, pre-prepared food—the first things to come up in the queue are home-made versions.

*The chicken pot pie was a fantastic idea on paper but its execution was nearly that—an execution—for millions of American children during the 1960’s. The chicken pot pie was an individual serving of chicken-related matter (mostly ears, feet, and chicken toe nails) that was wrapped in a pie crust and housed in an aluminum alloy pie pan.

The pies came frozen from the super market and took approximately one school term to defrost. To serve you simply placed the chicken pot pie in the oven at 1,900 degrees at the beginning of the Tom & Jerry cartoons around 3 in the afternoon and the pie would be done later that evening during Green Acres. Chicken pot pies were delicious, so I have been told. The problem was that they took so long to cook that you would be practically fainting from hunger by the time they were ready. I’m sure I’m not the only kid who completely scorched his entire digestive track eating a pot pie while it was bubbling hot. It was like eating chicken-flavored lava.

Ryanair Destinations

2012-01-07T15:28:00.001+01:00

That I am a Ryanair fan is not a secret, I already showed that in November (http://globexsvalencia.blogspot.com/2011/11/ryanair-rules.html). So obviously I will pick a Ryanair destination for my next citytrip.

These are the options from Valencia:

DOMESTIC: Fuerteventura, Santiago, Lanzarote, Gran Canaria, Seville, Ibiza, Malaga and Palma.
ITALY: Bari, Trapani, Bolonia, Cagliari, Trieste, Milan, Pisa, Rome and Venice-Treviso.
FRANCE: Paris and Marseille
UK: East Midlands, London, Manchester, Bristol and Dublin
BELGIUM: Brussels Charleroi
GERMANY: Dusseldorf, Munich and Frankfurt
MALTA: Valleta
NORWAY: Oslo
MORROCO: Marrakech
PORTUGAL: Porto

And on the way back you can of course enjoy the breathtaking views of Valencia. Check out this nice youtube video.

Valencia CF vs. Sevilla FC @ 22:00

2012-01-05T03:43:00.001+01:00

Valencia CF beat Cádiz CF rather convincingly 4-0 to go through to the next round of the Copa del Rey. It was the last game of the year and VCF went out in style at Mestalla.This game is the first of the new year and Valencia has their hands full with Sevilla, always a tough rival. Although eliminated from the Champions League, Valencia CF holds a solid position at third in La Liga and will be playing Stoke City in the Europa League.

Know Your Architect: Pere Balaguer & Torres de Serranos

2012-01-03T02:21:00.011+01:00

One of the most beautiful structures in Valencia and all of Spain is the old city gate Torres de Serranos. Started in 1392 it was one of the original twelve gates to Valencia when the city was enclosed by a defensive wall. The architect was Pere Balaguer from Valencia. The wall was ordered to be dismantled by the local governor, Cirilio Amorós, in 1865 and all that remains of it is this magnificent gate and the equally majestic Torres de Quart.

Torres de Quart (the other gate)

El Cocido de la Abuela

2012-01-01T03:23:00.015+01:00

For this recipe the grandmother will be YouTube, the Spanish grandmother I never had. Cocido Madrileño, or simply cocido, is probably one of Spain's most important national dishes. It is made almost everywhere in the peninsula with variations in ingredients and even in the name. Here in Valencia it’s known as puchero. As Juanry says in his video, cocido doesn't just differ from region to region, it changes from home to home.

Tradition rules that the ingredients of cocido must be served separately. Each serving is known as a vuelco (overturn), as the pot must be overturned to separate the ingredients.

The first vuelco is the soup: the stock of the cocido is drained and noodles are cooked in it. The second vuelco are the chickpeas and the vegetables. The third vuelco is the meat.

Valencia's Arroz al Horno is traditionally made with the stock from puchero.

Making the Impossible Not Happen is Easier than You Think

2011-12-30T01:41:00.000+01:00

New Year’s Resolutions: To Fail Big You Have to Dream Even Bigger!

How far into the New Year do you think it will be before you start forgetting about those optimistic resolutions: a month, a couple of days, or even less? Most of us start crushing them into dust before the January 1^st hangover begins to wane. Countless resolutions are probably killed off and buried in a shallow grave before passing out after the party. Let’s face it, most of us haven’t exactly been an inspiration in past years. Maybe we need to reread The Little Engine that Could? Can I get the video on my iPod?

If you continually fail in keeping your resolutions you shouldn’t worry; you’re a member of the world’s biggest club. Welcome! The smart play is not to make any in the first place. Some people will say that you lack goals but they’re probably sipping on hair-of-the-dog Bloody Marys during the Rose Bowl game after swearing off booze for the year only hours earlier. People continue making promises to themselves every year because, just like with bad Christmas gifts, it’s the thought that counts.

Instead of making a lot of small, stupid resolutions that you’ll forget faster than a fat chick’s phone number, you should make incredibly ambitious goals. If you don’t lose the five pounds you were going to shed you’ll look like a total loser, but no one will fault you for not winning the Nobel Prize in physics this year. Better luck next time! Not quitting smoking is just pathetic—not to mention life-threatening—but did anyone really think you would make the U.S. ski team? You were born in Florida, after all.

Resolutions are about 99% bullshit anyway so you may as well make yours 99% more interesting. By making grand resolutions people will respect you—at least for a while, and that’s better than never. Last year I told people that my resolution was to finally swim the English Channel. It’s cool when people come up to me at a party and ask, “So, I hear you’re going to swim the Channel. Bravo, dude.” OK, that only happens when I pay one of my friends to say it when I’m talking to someone I’m trying to impress, but still. My answer is always, “I’ve tried a couple of times but the conditions weren’t right. My trainer is a little too cautious.” No one will ever ask you, “So, I hear you’re trying to stop biting your nails this year.”

Property prices in Valencia

2011-12-29T10:36:00.001+01:00

PROPERTY SALES PRICES

Since 2007, the price of Valencia properties (euro/m2) has fallen by 27%, compared to 20% in Madrid, and 27% in Barcelona. In Valencia the prices have dropped the most in l'Olivereta, which is not a bad neighbourhood, relatively close to the the Ciudad de Artes y Ciencias. Ciutat Vella (El Carmen) has dropped 20% and Eixample, probably the best area to live 24%. What will 2012 bring?

PROPERTY RENTAL PRICES

Since 2008, the rental prices for Valencia properties (euro/m2) have fallen by 27%, compared to only 10% in Madrid, and 15% in Barcelona. It is remarkable that in Valencia the rental prices have dropped according to the sales prices, while it is not the case in Barcelona and Madrid. At the moment it is very cheap to rent a decent flat in Valencia, even for short stays. Click here for the best offers.

source: Idealista

Cochinillo (Suckling Pig)

2011-12-28T03:30:00.014+01:00

As the English name implies, cochinillo is a young pig that has been fed only milk, from its mother and artificially. The fatty outside is crisp and perfect for those who like pork rind, while its meat is tender and juicy. Segovia, Spain is famous for this dish but it is prepared all over the country.

This recipe by Julia Child will take you through the process, step by step.

Cyclists Not Welcome in Valencia

2011-12-26T01:27:00.003+01:00

The hostile campaign against cyclists continues in Valencia with police now targeting bikers for drunk “driving.” Once again you have to applaud the city government for trying to solve a problem that never existed. The truly sad thing about this is that many citizens—none of whom have ridden a bike in their adult lives—seem to be in agreement with the police as they single out people on bikes for infractions. Meanwhile, Valencia continues to allow car drivers to do pretty much whatever the hell they want. If you were to observe any traffic light in town you would see an almost infinite number of violations throughout the day.

One practice that I find particularly obnoxious is the completely accepted custom here in Valencia for drivers to begin to drive through the light before it has even changed to green. This is something that is as much a habit here as accelerating through yellow traffic lights. I have never seen the police ticket a driver for this potentially lethal practice yet cyclists are being handed 200€ fines for riding on sidewalks at pedestrian speeds. So police turn a blind eye to opposing vehicles racing through an intersection but are putting their foot down concerning cyclists sharing the sidewalk with pedestrians.

Valencia should take a look at cities in Europe that have adopted the bicycle as a legitimate means of transportation. All of those cities are better off than Valencia in so many obvious ways that it almost seems silly to list them. The city could provide a lot of other, more useful city services if they didn’t have to keep building more roads and parking facilities but instead local leaders have decided to all but stamp out the nascent bicycle culture in Valencia.

Fiestas in Spain 2012

2011-12-25T11:09:00.001+01:00

Spain erupts with fiestas and celebrations throughout the year. Here's a list of the most important events in Spain for 2011.

Jan 1 New Year's Day Spain

Jan 6 Epiphany (Día de los Reyes - parades, closures) Spain

Early Feb La Candelaria (religious festival) Madrid

Feb 25 - March 12 Festival de Jerez (flamenco and other dancing) Jerez

Feb 28 Day of Andalucía (some closures) Andalucía

March 14-19 Fallas Valencia

April 17-24 Holy Week (Semana Santa - parades, closures) Spain

April 24-25 Easter Sunday and Monday (closures) Spain

April 30-May 8 April Fair (Feria de Abril - party tents in huge fairgrounds, traditional costumes, bullfights) Sevilla

May San Isidro (religious festival on May 15; also bullfights and zarzuelas all month long) Madrid

May 1 Labor Day (closures) Spain

May 2 Community Day (closures, music, dancing in Plaza Mayor) Madrid

May 22-29 Feria del Caballo (horse pageantry) Jerez

June La Patum (Moorish battles) Barcelona

June 23 Corpus Christi Spain

June 23-24 St. John the Baptist Day (Día de San Juan - bonfires, fireworks) Barcelona

Late June-early July International Festival of Music and Dance Granada

July 6-14 Running of the Bulls (Fiesta de San Fermín) Pamplona

Aug Gràcia Festival (neighborhood festival) Barcelona

Mid-Aug Verbena de la Paloma (folk festival) Madrid

Aug 15 Assumption of Mary Spain

Sept Autumn Festival (flamenco, bullfights) Jerez

Sept 24 La Mercé (parade with huge papier-mache figures) Barcelona

Oct 12 Spanish National Day (Día de la Hispanidad - commemorates Columbus' arrival in the New World, parades, some closures) Spain

Late Oct-Nov International Jazz Festival Madrid

Nov 1 All Saints' Day (closures) Spain

Nov 9 Virgen de la Almudena Madrid

Dec 6 Constitution Day (closures) Spain

Dec 8 Feast of the Immaculate Conception Spain

Dec 13 Feast of Santa Lucía Spain

Dec 25 Christmas Spain

Dec 31 New Year's Eve Spain

Rick Steves / Rick Steves / Expatica

The War on Christmas

2011-12-24T01:32:00.002+01:00

Folks, we have terrible news. There is a war on Christmas. Instead of letting “them” take Christmas away from “us,” we decided to take action.

By trying to scientifically prove the existence of Christmas, we think we can coerce retailers into once again greeting shoppers with “Merry Christmas” instead of the politically correct “Happy Holidays.”

We felt that we could provide more conclusive evidence than the 50,000 letters addressed to Santa Claus that vindicated Saint Nick in Miracle on 34th Street. We began with a list of Christmas truisms and exposed them to the cruel scrutiny of scientific investigation.

Does the holiday season promote peace on earth and goodwill?

Sure, why the hell not, just as long as you aren’t standing between me and the sale items at Wal-Mart. I, myself, am not normally a violent man, but they had Hanes men’s briefs on sale, three for $7. The National Guard should have fired off warning shots to direct the crowd. I was just protecting what was mine.

Can reindeer fly?

The popular ballads telling of the exploits of Santa’s sleigh drivers are all the proof we need, but we wanted to establish this fact scientifically. We traveled to the Lapland region of Finland to find a herd of reindeer. We transported 15 of the sturdiest examples of the breed to our testing center at the Space Needle in Seattle.

Working closely with a team of aerodynamic engineers from Boeing Aircraft, we joyfully launched the reindeer, one by one, from the top of this Seattle icon. Results indicated that reindeer cannot fly. However, as a side note, reindeer meat is quite flavorful and tender, although the tenderness may have been the result of dropping the animals from 605 feet in the air.

Can Santa Claus slide down a chimney?

For our next experiment, we enlisted the help of 65-year-old Armando Escovedo. We lowered the retired Seattle fireman on top of a chimney and waited to see how long it would take him to make it into the living room.

Although paramedics pronounced Mr. Escovedo dead at the scene after spending nearly three hours extracting him from his sooty grave, we feel that our test subject may have had other health issues that contributed to his demise and, thus, to the failure of our experiment.

We are having some difficulty in finding another (willing) old, gray-haired and overweight volunteer for further investigation into this matter.

Can Santa’s elves make toys for every child on the planet?

Although they refused to allow us to call them elves, we employed a group of midgets to work under harsh arctic conditions. The result was a rather resounding, “Yes!” We proved, without a doubt, that by working a small group of “elves” 20 hours a day, seven days a week, our team was able to make a hell of a lot of toys.

Granted, the toys were kind of crappy, and thanks to an Amnesty International report, we may be facing a human rights violation tribunal in The Hague, but there can be no denying that it is possible to make a prodigious amount of toys using height-challenged workers.

The trick is to keep them, how shall we say, motivated. Techniques that we found to be successful were constant threats of physical violence, holding workers’ family members hostage and always supplying an open bar at company functions (you might think that little people don’t drink much but you would be very wrong).

Holiday Spending Guide

2011-12-23T01:42:00.003+01:00

Each holiday season we are confronted by a daunting issue: how much money should we spend on gifts? How do you know if you’re spending enough? A hint that you are spending too much is when you get slapped around by a fat guy in a bowling shirt sent over by the collection agency. We have developed an effective and simple formula that will insure that you don’t come out looking like a cheapskate while stimulating this rather sluggish world economy. There are many levels of guilt working against you during the Christmas holidays, all of them barking at you to spend a staggering amount of money, most of which you don’t have. Fiscal prudence may be a nice campaign slogan for the conservative crowd but on an individual level it goes against everything we hold true as human beings We have worked in conjunction with two of the world’s leading economic research facilities to arrive at a simple, sensible, and economically viable blueprint for gift shopping.

We start with a universal starting point for all households. For this figure simply take your annual income and double it. I told you that it was simple—at least at first. If you have a roommate, empty out his/her wallet/pocketbook every time they come home too-drunk-to-notice during the month of December. Get them something but don’t go overboard or you’ll defeat the purpose of stealing from them for a month straight. If you don’t have a roommate to steal from you’ll have to find some other victimless crime to get more cash. I suppose this goes without saying but under no circumstances should your holiday shopping cut into your holiday drinking budget.

If you are in the doghouse in your relationship you’ll need to double that figure again. If your girlfriend has ever asked you, “Do I look fat in this dress?” and it has taken you more than 0.87 seconds to reply “No, you look great,” add another $80 to the total. Tack on another $75 if you forgot her birthday or your anniversary (And yes, it’s your anniversary, too, even though you don’t care). Women, please add $100 if you think about Brad Pitt every time you do the deed with the anti-Brad Pitt your friends call your other half.

If you have children add an extra $50 for every time you promised to take them to the water park but didn’t because you were too busy sitting around in a filthy t-shirt watching a fishing show. Add an extra $100 if you decided you were too drunk to drive them at 09:00 on a Saturday morning (Don’t forget to get something for your AA sponsor this year!). I realize that you don’t think it’s a big deal if you forget one of their names but it may be important to them. Add $20 every time you referred to one of your offspring as “what’s-his-name” in their presence. And remember that even if you’ve spent more time this year picking your kid up from the emergency room or the police station than proudly standing by while they receive some honor, you still need to buy a bunch of crap for them—gift buying has a lot more to do with stimulating the economy than personal merit.

You know what people say; you can’t put a price tag on human happiness. Or do they say that you can’t get a refund on human happiness without a receipt? Or is it something about the price of happiness and how it’s more expensive these days? It’s probably made in China. Anyway, you need to suck it up, get more checks printed, get another credit card, and get out there and start spending.

Asociacion Belga Valencia actividades

2011-12-22T20:55:00.000+01:00

Hola Amigos del ABV,

Antes de celebrarel año nuevo, nos gustaría informaros de las próximas actividades de laAsociación Belga de Valencia.... Por favor, apuntad todos estas fechas envuestros nuevos calendarios!

1. ACTIVIDADSENDERISMO EN ENERO - DOMINGO 22/01/2012
Como cada año, descubriremos una ruta de senderimso por lasmontañas cercanas de Valencia. Saldremos a media mañana para poder disfrutardel día.
Actividad gratuita. (más información en breve)

2. ACTIVIDAD CASA RURAL FIN DE SEMANA EN FEBRERO -DEL 17 AL 19/02/2012
Este año, os proponemos irnos de fin de semana enuna casa rural cerca de Valdelinares para aprovechar al mismo tiempo de laspistas de esquí.
Precio para el fin de semana completo: 75 Eurospara los miembros del ABV - 95 Euros para los no miembros. (más información enbreve)

3. ACTIVIDAD DE LA PRIMERA FALLA BELGA EN MARZO -SÁBADO 10/03/2012
Volveremos en la Alquería de Alboraya donde hicimosuna primera actividad el año pasado pero esta vez para organizar la primeraFalla belga! (más información en breve)

Aprovechamos la ocasión para desearos a todos unasfelices fiestas y nuestros mejores deseos para el año nuevo!

Un saludo,
La Junta del ABV

Happy Winter Solstice! It's All Downhill to Summer!

2011-12-22T02:58:00.009+01:00

Valencia, Spain

Date--...........Sunrise / Sunset -Daylight

22 Dec 08:19 - 17:41- 9h 22m 48s

23 Dec 08:19 - 17:42- 9h 22m 51s + 03s

24 Dec 08:20 - 17:42- 9h 22m 58s + 06s

25 Dec 08:20 - 17:43- 9h 23m 09s + 10s

26 Dec 08:20 - 17:44- 9h 23m 23s + 14s

27 Dec 08:21 - 17:44- 9h 23m 42s + 18s

Hours of daylight for cities around the world today:

Miami………10h 31m 44s

New York….. 9h 15m 15 s

Seattle……….8h 25m 23s

London………7h 49m 43s

Paris…………8h 14m 50s

Moscow........7h 14s

The December solstice occurs when the sun reaches its most southerly declination of -23.5 degrees. In other words, it is when the North Pole is tilted 23.5 degrees away from the sun. Depending on the Gregorian calendar, the December solstice occurs annually on a day between December 20 and December 23. On this date, all places above a latitude of 66.5 degrees north are now in darkness, while locations below a latitude of 66.5 degrees south receive 24 hours of daylight.

The sun is directly overhead on the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere during the December solstice. It also marks the longest day of the year in terms of daylight hours for those living south of the Tropic of Capricorn. Those living or travelling south from the Antarctic Circle towards the South Pole will see the midnight sun during this time of the year.

On the contrary, for an observer in the northern hemisphere, the December solstice marks the day of the year with the least hours of daylight for those living north of the Tropic of Cancer. Those living or traveling north of the Arctic Circle towards the North Pole will not be able to see the sun during this time of the year.

Amsterdam Loves Bikes and so Should Valencia!

2011-12-20T01:20:00.002+01:00

Amsterdam is a great city and a major reason for that is because it is a civil place for pedestrians. Most traffic in the historic district is effected either on foot, bicycle, or public transportation. Cars have been marginalized and tamed. Instead of fining people riding bikes the city of Valencia should be doing everything in its power to encourage more people to cycle. Fewer cars means less pollution, less traffic, and less problems with parking.

It's a Beautiful Day

2011-12-19T08:25:00.000+01:00

This cute video is from the Office of Bikes of Murcia:

Hace un día maravilloso.
El sol brilla en lo alto.

La sombra de los árboles refresca el ambiente.
Los pájaros revolotean alegres, y su canto me pone contento.
¡Qué bueno es sentir la brisa fresca en el rostro!
Despierta mis sentidos y me hace vivir intensamente.

Una pedalada, y otra más.
Adiós, hasta luego, en el barrio todos nos conocemos.

Es la hora, el atasco de siempre y sus malos humos.
Malas vibraciones, y yo... paaaso de largo.

El perro del quiosco, cada mañana me acompaña un rato.
Aquí está, ¡hey bonito, vamos!
Los niños salen del cole, ¡qué suerte! Ahora, a jugar.

Hace un día maravilloso.
El sol brilla en lo alto.
Lo presiento, hoy va a ser un gran día.

The shade of the trees cools the air.
The birds fly around happily and their song makes me content.
It’s nice to feel the fresh breeze in my face.
It awakens my senses and makes me live to the fullest.
A pedal stroke and another.
Goodbye, see you, in the neighborhood we all know each other.
It’s time and the usual traffic jam and the noxious fumes
Bad vibes and me…I go by without stopping.
The dog from the kiosk, each morning accompanies me for a while.
Here he is, hey cutie, let’s go.
Kids leave school, what luck! Off to play.
It’s a marvelous day.
The sun is shining.
I’ve got a feeling it’s going to be a great day.

My Invention Ideas

2011-12-18T10:46:00.003+01:00

Acme Hangover Detector

Besides being a crappy writer, a half-assed cook, a mediocre athlete, and a fantastic figure skater I'm also something of an inventor. Granted, most of my ideas never get past the "scribbled on a cocktail napkin" phase but this is only because I put so many cocktails on the napkins that they disintegrate. Back to the drawing board for me!

Remote Control Retriever

We all know that people are too lazy and spoiled to actually walk over to the TV to change channels. The problem is that sometimes the remote is out of your reach and you have to walk a few steps to pick it up off the coffee table. The Remote Control Retrieve® instantly puts the remote into the palm of your hand so that you don’t have to spill the 70 oz. soda you have precariously balanced on your gut. I don’t have the details worked out yet but I’m thinking about having a chip surgically implanted in the body that allows you to change channels, record, and vote for American Idol without moving an inch.

Cigarette Butt Detector

This device will allow you to scan your can of beer at a big party to let you know if someone used it for an ashtray while you were gone taking a leak. I can’t count how many times I’ve taken a big gulp of Bud mixed with someone’s finished Marlboro. One a side note, many people feel that cigarette ash improves the taste of most light beers.

Microwave Toast

For on-the-go people who don’t have time to make real toast. Simply microwave the frozen slices for 26 seconds on high. Finally, someone has saved us from the drudgery of using a toaster.

Hangover Detector

This device monitors your blood-alcohol in real-time. When you have reached the point where you will feel the effects of tonight’s bash tomorrow (probably during your after-work happy hour), the device will set off a 120 decibel air raid siren next to your ear to remind you that you are entering dangerous territory. Of course there is a simple on/off switch for those who choose to ignore the warning or a “snooze alarm” for people who don’t mind a little hangover.

Fake iPhone Case

Put your budget, piece-of-shit phone inside this case to make everyone think you are on the cutting edge of cell phone technology. Think of it as a wig for your phone.

Valencia in 3D

2011-12-17T15:53:00.001+01:00

Just in case you needed another reason to think that Google is absolutely amazing. How did people live without it back in the old days (5 years ago). It's hard to imagine finding an address in the city without using Google maps and then looking at actual photos of the location.

Bicifestacion en Valencia

2011-12-15T08:20:00.003+01:00

The city should be thanking cyclists for riding bikes, not giving out tickets and taking away bikes that are chained to lamp posts and trees.

How to Survive and Prosper during a Summer/Semester/Year in Europe

2011-12-14T08:24:00.000+01:00

Travel Light
I’m not talking about losing ten pounds before you leave, although this isn’t a bad idea considering how much more you will be eating and drinking while away. I mean travel with just a backpack, preferably one that fits in the overhead. Here is a simple rule of travel: carry only the amount of baggage that you can carry while outrunning a cop. I won’t say how I came up with this observation but let’s just say that it’s based on a true story. Your sense of adventure will be directly proportional to how light you are. Dragging two clunky suitcases may give you more clothing options but you’ll be too tired to go anywhere.

Keep it Simple
Call it quits with the boyfriend/girlfriend before leaving, that way you won’t have to explain anything when the pictures start making the rounds on Facebook of you lying face down in the gutter in the Amsterdam red light district or giving a lap dance to a Greek goat herder. They always say to keep your story simple and nothing is simpler than saying, “I’m single.”

Se Habla Español
You studied Spanish, French, German, or Italian for a semester or two, now it’s time to start using it. Foreign languages aren’t just a general education requirement, people actually speak them. You probably speak one of these languages better than most Europeans speak English. A simple Buenos Días or Bonjour when entering a bar or shop will go a long way in how people perceive you. Just remember that when you’re talking to someone about how much you like their little country don’t use the word “little.”

When in Rome Eat What the Romans Eat
The late-night, cheap food of choice for drunks almost everywhere in Europe is döner kebab or gyros or shawarma or whatever the hell name they use for a sandwich of pita and meat—either lamb or chicken. Döner kebab is actually Turkish for “It’s not cat, goddammit!”

Adhering to a vegetarian diet while in Europe is more of a hassle than traveling in an iron lung. Take your pick: spend the day in Paris searching for a vegan restaurant or actually see the place. Finding anything to eat in Spain that doesn’t contain pork is all but impossible; even the deserts have bacon bits. If you have religious proscriptions against certain foods I’m pretty sure that Yahweh, God, and Allah will forgive you for trying some jagerschnitzel, they probably won’t even mind if you go back for seconds.

Be Moderate with the Alcohol
Just kidding. For many American university students this is the first time they have been able go to a bar legally. The problem is that the service is so slow in many cafés that getting drunk is logistically impossible. You’ll sit down and wait 15 minutes for a waiter to take your order; 15 minutes after that he’ll deliver the drinks…maybe. It’s possible that the slow service will mean you’re more sober when you get back to the hotel than when you left (wasn’t that an episode of Star Trek?). I’ll shut up now because I’m sure that nobody reading this needs any help from me as far as drinking is concerned.

The New Americans
Believe it or not, people in Europe like Americans, so give them a reason to like you, too. They even respect the U.S. soccer team. Leave your University of Nobody Gives a Shit t-shirts at home and try to comport yourself like you would in a police line-up. And if you do something really bad just say you’re Canadian.

Gazpacho Manchego

2011-12-12T10:09:00.002+01:00

Gazpacho Manchego is nothing like the more famous gazpacho Andaluz which is the cold tomato soup. This Spanish classic is a very hearty stew with rabbit and chicken. It was originally a hunters' dish using hare and partridge so naturally those ingredients can be used. A better dish on a cold, wet day would be hard to find.

Here is my humble version:

El Clasico: It's Not Life and Death but Close - 22.00 La Sexta

2011-12-10T00:50:00.001+01:00

Real Madrid beat Barça last season to raise the Spanish Copa del Rey here in Valencia although the team has failed to repeat their victory over the Azulgrana in four subsequent Clásicos in both the Champions League and the Spanish Superpcopa.

During the seven previous La Liga, Copa del Rey, Champions League and Supercopa matches since Mourinho and Guardiola faced off, there have been 21 goals, 52 bookings and nine red cards. Barca have won three, Madrid one and there have been three draws. The balance of trophies in that fevered series has been three to Barça and one to Mourinho's club.

The losses have been a thorn in Mourinho's side not only because his team was beaten. What has made matters worse is how much he wanted Pep Guardiola’s job and how much he wanted to show the Catalan club what it missed by not signing him to replace Frank Rijkaard in 2008.

Inmaculada Concepcion

2011-12-08T10:20:00.002+01:00

"No man ever said on his deathbed, ‘I wish I had spent more time in the office.’"*

This may be true with the exception of people lucky enough to live in Spain who benefit from a vast and ever-growing avalanche of holidays, fiestas, ferias, and “bridges” as they are called here (long weekends). This comes just two days after Constitution Day and only a couple weeks before the very long Christmas holidays. And then there is the holiday for Reyes Magos the first week I January. It’s like we are running some sort of holiday marathon. See you at the finish line and have a happy Inmaculada Concepción.

*by Senator Paul Tsongas as told by Anna Quindlen in her commencement speech at Villanova

Chelsea vs Valencia CF at 20:45

2011-12-06T05:18:00.007+01:00

So it has come down to the final game of the group stage in this year's Champions League and Valencia CF is up against the nemesis from 2007. Let's hope that Valencia repays Chelsea for that loss and moves o to the next stage. Valencia is coming off a great win against Espanyol on Saturday night.

Reason #4,213 Why I Do not Look Like One of those Hunks in the Magazines

2011-12-06T05:16:00.000+01:00

My Sandwichera: A Love Story

Folks, all that I have to say is that if you don’t know what a sandwichera is already, continue reading at your peril. This is a small kitchen appliance (my goal is to collect them all!) that lets you toast a sandwich. Sure, lots of people have toasters but you have to toast the bread BEFORE you make the damn sandwich. That’s like nailing the board before you put it next to the thing you want to nail it to which is just crazy. Try living in that house or whatever the hell you were trying to build. This is just like using a toaster if you are making a colossal sandwich. With a sandwichera you put the whole damn sandwich into the thing after you build it. Then you just sit back and wait for the sandwich items to fuse together. While you are waiting you can write a song about your sandwichera like I did.

Instead of worrying about my overall lack of hunkage I would rather spend my time trying to match various pork products with cheeses, mayonnaise, pesto, and bread.

Valencia Police Ticket 530 Cyclists in Three Days

2011-12-04T12:50:00.002+01:00

It seems that the municipality of Valencia has begun to solve a thorny problem that never really existed in the first place: the fact that a few brave souls have decided to ride bikes in this city. Instead of thanking these people profusely for their effort to make the city cleaner, healthier, and less of a traffic nightmare the city’s leaders have decided to punish cyclists by handing out over 530 heavy fines against bikers for such heinous acts as riding on the sidewalk and chaining their dormant bikes to trees or lamp posts.

This recent police action here in Valencia is wrong on so many different levels that I hardly know where to start. Let me begin with this: Two Hundred Euros! Why not just shoot violators on sight? Are they out of their minds? 200€? How much is the fine for driving on the sidewalk? It’s probably less, assuming that it’s even against the law here to drive on the sidewalk. Police rarely ticket motorists here, for anything no matter how life-threatening it may be. 200€ seems such a horribly disproportionate fine for riding a bicycle on the sidewalk on in a public garden, some of which—like Viveros Gardens—have paths wide enough for two lanes of traffic. People have been cycling in this beautiful park for probably over 100 years yet now that activity is illegal and subject to a 200€ fine.

This reign of terror by local police seems like it has as its objective to stamp out cycling in Valencia once and for all. Cyclist are forbidden from locking their bikes to trees, lamp posts or any mobiliario urbano which means just about anything that isn’t specified for bike parking of which the city has graciously provided 4,000 around this city of over 800,000 inhabitants (as one civic leader pointed out in an interview). Once again I ask what was the original problem they are hoping to solve by forbidding cyclists to chain their bikes to lamp posts? Does it somehow hinder their effectiveness? Do they shine less brightly with a bike locked to their bases?

Just think about the police man-hours spent writing 532 tickets. I would imagine that every one took at least 10 minutes from start to finish. Perhaps a lot more considering that most of the people being fined had no idea they were doing anything wrong and thus the police need to explain it to those sorry souls.

skyscanner

2011-12-01T18:46:00.001+01:00

Via cheap flights specialists - Skyscanner.net

Charity Auction to Buy Multi-Function Patient Monitor

2011-12-01T14:56:00.002+01:00

Congenital Heart Defects UK is sponsoring an

Online Auction via Ebay
in aid of
Wallace & Gromit's Grand Appeal (Charity Registration No. 1043603)
to buy a Multi-Function Patient Monitor* for Bristol Children's Hospital.

The auction will end this Saturday (December 3). Buy some cool stuff and help out a great cause.

*A multi-function patient monitor is able to monitor heart and respiratory rate, blood pressure and oxygen saturation levels.

There is currently ONE multi-function patient monitor per FOUR patients; we aim to reduce to this with your help.

One multi-function patient monitor costs £5,000.00.

A Moment of Absolute Brilliance from the 2010 World Cup Final

2011-11-30T21:27:00.002+01:00

I will never get tired of watching this brilliant goal that won the World Cup in 2010 for Spain. Enjoy this video while you can because it will probably be take down soon because if copyright issues. The quality is as superb as the play on the pitch. A great moment in Spanish football and something I will ever forget. OK, it would be difficult for me to forget it because I lived in Spain during the Cup and watched every game. I also have this video on my desktop and I watch it almost every day.

Here is the same video on Vimeo:

Gol de Iniesta en final del Mundial 2010 from leftbanker on Vimeo.

Ryanair Rules

2011-11-29T17:34:00.001+01:00

Yes thatis right! They do exist, Ryanair fans, and I am one of them. It is true thatthey have taken away all glamour of flying, and I also agree with people whocompare Ryanair to Tequila (it brings out the worst in people), but the pointis that Ryanair does a great job at rule number 1 in flying: bringing peoplefrom point A to point B cheap and fast.

My jobforces me to travel a lot, and I estimate that I have taken about 200 ryanairflights over the last 10 years. And I agreewith the stats: 88% of all Ryanairflights land on time. It does not necessarilymean that they leave on time (the exaggerate flight times), and we only haveRyanair’s word on their punctuality (they are not a member or IATA), but allthat does not bother me, I only care about rule number 1 in flying: gettingfast and cheap from point A to point B.

Valenciaairport, Thursday 17^th of November: Ryanairflight 1919 betweenValencia and Brussels Charleroi. We are queuing to board the plane and thestewardesses escort us to the stairs of the plane. At the very last moment,just before entering the plane the captain stops the boarding process becauseof a problem with the interior lightning of the plane, and after 15 minutes hedecides that the plane was not in conditions to fly. What happened then wassurreal… With any other airline this would have been the end of the trip, butnot with Ryanair. The crew simply brought us to a different plane, we boarded,took off, and arrived in Brussels Charleroi with only 10 minutes delay!!

It wasthe most bizarre travel experience! And it raised a few questions such as “whywas nobody using the other plane?”, “did the pilot have the keys?”, “they didnot forget to load the luggages (and fuel) did they?”, etc. but it displayedagain the no-nonsense approach of Ryanair. And… all the passengers were extremelysatisfied. Ryanair scored twice that night: first they showed that a planewhich is not 100% perfect does not fly, (even if the problem is only theinterior lightning), and secondly they came up with an instant solution,ensuring even an almost on time landing.

Welldone Ryanair! And the best moment of the evening occurred when we were walkingfrom one plane to the other: We could hear a public announcement for the Iberiaflight to Madrid: “Due to technical reasons the flight is delayed, moreinformation in 50 minutes”. Eat this Iberia, and Spanair, and Brussels Airlines,and Air France, and all you other almost bankrupt airline monsters.

That isright folks, I love ryanair! And yes I know that I am challenging Murphy's law right now and that my next ryanair flight will probably crash into the Mediterranean.

But just followthe basic guidelines for taking a Ryanair flight (see below), and I am sure thatyou will slowly change your mind about O’Leary and his unique Irish crew aswell.

Cheers,

Lodewijk

Guidelinesfor taking a Ryanair flight.

1. Ifyou have the choice book the earliest flight of the day. The earlier the flightthe more probable an on time departure.

2. Avoidluggage, and I mean, doing an extreme effort to avoid bringing more than 10kgto the airport, the maximum allowed as cabin luggage. Travelling withoutluggage is not only cheaper but it saves you the frustration of queuing atcheck-in. You print out the boarding pass at home, show up 45m before theflight and walk straight on the plane.

3. Ifyou do bring luggage to the airport, come early. Ryanair personnel open thecheck in counters pretty late so by that time a large queue of angry passengerswill be there.

4. Buypriority boarding. For only 5 euro you feel like a business class passenger andyou save yourself the humiliating endless queue for the “other row” passengers.

5. Switchoff your brain. People tend to act nervous and strange when they have to fly,especially when they have to queue for a long time at check-in and boarding.And iPod does miracles in terms of not getting annoyed by other passengers.

El programa que se mofa de la gente de Benidorm gana un Emmy

2011-11-29T17:15:00.001+01:00

'BenidormBastards', que el ayuntamiento quiso denunciar, se lleva el premio de mejorcomedia

La adaptacióntelevisiva de la popular trilogía literaria Millennium del sueco Stieg Larsson,se alzó ayer en Nueva York con un premio Emmy internacional en una de lascategorías más codiciadas, la de mejor miniserie o película para televisión.

Los ganadores de la noche televisiva más internacional, presentada por JasonPrestley, fueron a parar a Chile, Bélgica, Canadá, Portugal, Suecia y ReinoUnido.

Curiosamente, el premio a mejor comedia fue para el programa belga de cámaraoculta Benidorm Bastards, que motivó en 2010 las quejas del ayuntamiento deeste municipio valenciano.

El programa, tal como publicó Levante-EMV, emplea la cámara oculta para «dejaren evidencia» a habitantes y visitantes del turístico municipio, a los quesomete a situaciones ridículas sin aviso. Sus víctimas más habituales son laspersonas mayores.

El consistorio expresó su protesta y amenazó con acciones legales, en especial,por el título del espacio, al considerar que tiene una proyección negativa dela ciudad por incluir el término «bastardos».

Por otra parte, España se fue de vacío de los premios, en los que por primeravez aparecía como candidata con el programa dehumor El hormiguero, que presenta el valenciano Pablo Motos.

El productor del espacio, Jorge Salvador, señaló ayer que «sólo el hecho deestar en Nueva York es un sueño hecho realidad». The world's strictest parentsde Twenty Television le arrebató el título de mejor programa sin guión a Elhormiguero.
Como en anteriores ocasiones, las producciones de Reino Unido fueron lasverdaderas triunfadoras de los premios.

EFE/LEVANTE-EMV

Know Your Architect: #2 Santiago Calatrava

2011-11-29T01:13:00.056+01:00

Santiago Calatrava is Valencia's and one of the world's most famous architects. He was born in 1951 in Benimàmet, an old municipality now integrated as an urban part of Valencia. He studied for his undergraduate architecture degree at the Polytechnic University of Valencia. Valencia is positively littered with his work and around the world his structures are probably the most easily-recognizable of any modern designer.

This video gives a good overview of his work around the world. Amazing and inspirational are a couple of adjectives that come quickly to mind.

If I had to pick my favorite among his vast body of architectural work I must lean towards his rail stations. Throughout history railway stations have been the doorway to municipalities and thus have sought to inspire a sense of awe in passengers. They are like a very powerful announcement to visitors that they are entering a grand and important city. Santiago Calatrava's stations practically knock the air out of your lungs.

A train arriving at Calatrava TGV station in Liege, Belgium.

The Chinese Community in Spain

2011-11-27T01:09:00.009+01:00

There’s a corner café near my house staffed by an older Chinese couple who work every day, all day, from about seven in the morning until ten or eleven at night. I have lived in this neighborhood for four years and they have never had a vacation unless their vacation coincided with one of my many holidays. I doubt this is the case because I have never been by this place when they weren’t working. The woman—who appears to be somewhere between 40 and 60—is about half bat-shit crazy from spending so much time locked up in her concentration camp disguised as a corner café with a pleasant terrace. This couple isn’t any sort of an exception as the absolute minimum work week for Chinese people here is six days a week. My question is this: who is forcing these people to literally work themselves to death (the woman doesn’t look good at all)?

There is no way that any person would work this much of their own volition. I just don’t fucking believe that. What I believe is that the Chinese hierarchy here in Valencia is making these people work. It is impossible not to notice the enormous wave of Chinese immigrants here in Spain, even in some of the smallest villages. They generally work in little variety stores that sell products manufactured in China. In the last couple of years, at least here in Valencia, the Chinese community has been buying up bars and restaurants at an alarming pace which certainly isn’t news to anyone who lives here. The Chinese community seems to be completely apart from the rest of Spanish society. Labor, health, security, and other laws don’t seem to affect them in the least.

I have said this before and I stand firmly behind this statement: the Chinese in Spain are not immigrants at all; they are economic colonists sent here by the Chinese government to sell Chinese manufactured goods and to earn hard currency for the Chinese mainland. Think about it. If you are Chinese you can’t go to your local government and say, “You know, I think that I’d like to leave this shithole of a country and go live in Spain. Is that OK with you guys?” I doubt if an average slob can even get a passport in Spain let alone emigrate on his own accord. Therefore these “immigrants” are sent to Spain and that begs the question “Why?” I think that I answered that question in the first sentence of this paragraph.

Most of the Spanish people that I have talked to have very ambivalent feelings about the Chinese. On the one hand the Chinese cause no trouble and keep to themselves. And of course they work hard, not the most admirable trait as far as the holiday-loving Spanish are concerned. On the other hand the Chinese do not participate in any way in the quotidian life of this country other than performing their assigned tasks within their own community. Last year I was with a group of friends downtown for a fireworks display during Fallas, Valencia’s biggest and most important festival (in a country where it is impossible to exaggerate the importance of festivals). There were perhaps 120,000 people crowded into the main square. I challenged my friends to point out a single Chinese person in the crowd. Not one. Every other immigrant group was represented that day, South Americans of every stripe, black Africans, and even a few Pakistanis, but no Chinese. I have never seen a Chinese family at the beach. It’s rare to even see a Chinese person sitting in a café.

In my years here in Spain I have read only one or two articles about the Chinese community in the newspapers—and I read at least two Spanish papers every day(OK, I admit that perhaps I spent too much time in cafés). No one seems to know anything about them or how their community functions. I should point out that anything I put forth in this essay is purely speculation and strictly anecdotal. From what people have told me there are very few Chinese students enrolled in the local universities and the few that you do see may very well be adopted children of Spanish families (about 100% of whom are girls—another story for another essay). I would wager that the Chinese government does not want the children of “immigrants” to attend Spanish universities to pursue careers in this country. Their job is to continue working for the Chinese mainland, selling Chinese merchandise and earning money which is mostly sent back home.

The brilliant Canadian economist and polymath, John Ralston Saul has stated that China doesn’t believe in globalization. They aren’t interested in free trade; they only care about selling their products around the world. Spain’s Chinese population certainly backs this point.

Rayo Vallecano vs Valencia CF 18:00

2011-11-26T01:58:00.008+01:00

Madrid club Rayo Vallecano finished in second position last season in the second division and returned to La Liga after an eight-year absence. After 13 games the team has 16 points placing it firmly in the middle of the brutal competition of Spanish football. Valencia is coming off a 7-0 victory over Genk in Champions League play and the club is looking to hold on to their third position in La Liga. This definitely won't be a walk in the park for Valencia CF.

Know Your Architect: #1 El Palacio de Congresos

2011-11-25T01:14:00.024+01:00

The building was designed by the British architect Norman Foster* and was inaugurated in 1998. It is located on the avenue Cortes de Valencia, The building has many functions but mainly serves to host large conferences. It was voted the world's best convention center in 2010.

30 St Mary Axe

*One of Norman Foster's most iconic structures is 30 St Mary Axe in London.

Valencia CF vs KRC Genk 20:45

2011-11-23T01:32:00.009+01:00

After a heart-breaking 2-3 loss to Real Madrid on Saturday can Valencia rebound and take three essentials points from the Belgians? They could only manage a draw with this team in Belgium but a tie just won't be good enough this time around. Someone else other than Soldado needs to score a goal once in a while for Valencia. Who will it be tonight?

Result: 7-0!!!!!

Spanish Life in Easy English

2011-11-21T01:47:00.006+01:00

The Market on Saturday Morning

I live near the Russafa market. I go to the market to buy vegetables, fruit, eggs, olives, meat, and seafood. The quality of the food at the market is very high. The vegetables are very fresh. At the butcher shop I can tell the butcher exactly what I want. I have a better relation with most of the venders at the market than I do with my own family. Unfortunately, I can only go to the market during the week (Monday through Friday). The market is closed on Sunday. On Saturday the market is a very dangerous place. Why is the market dangerous on Saturdays? Do people from Al Qaeda or ETA terrorists shop at the Russafa market on Saturdays?

The market is very dangerous on Saturdays because there are lots of little old ladies (LOLs). The little old ladies who shop at the market on Saturdays are the same women you see during the week. They are very nice and will talk to you in cafés. They play with their grandchildren in the park or they go to church to go to mass. They walk with their little dogs in Turia Park. They say “hello” to you in the lift. These little old ladies are very nice every day of the week except on Saturdays at the market.

The Russafa market on Saturday changes these sweet elderly women into cold-blooded assassins. A little old lady who perhaps thanked you yesterday for opening a door will run you over with her shopping cart on Saturday morning at the market. If you are between a little old lady and her tomatoes it is worse than standing between a mother bear and her cubs. The Russafa market is a war zone on Saturdays and there are no prisoners. I am against war. I am too young to die. I don’t shop on Saturday at the market.

The Spanish and Holidays

I learned very quickly when I moved to Spain that Spanish people love holidays. Many Spanish people tell me the same thing: I work to live; I don’t live to work. I think that this is a great attitude. I think Americans should be more like the Spanish in this respect. Americans should take more time off from work to enjoy life, to travel, to relax, and to cook good food.

Good bridge

Dangerous Bridge

In Spain there are many holidays. In December most of the month is a holiday. When I came to Spain I learned a new word. In Spain when there is a holiday during the week—for example, on a Tuesday—people will not work on Monday so that they will have a long weekend. They call this a “bridge” in Spanish. If people only miss one day of work (Monday) this “bridge” is very strong. There is no problem if people miss only one day of work to make this “bridge.” If the holiday is on a Wednesday things are more complicated. People will often miss work on Monday and Tuesday so that they will have five days off from work. This “bridge” isn’t very strong. Some people will also miss Thursday and Friday and take off the whole (entire) week. This bridge is very, very dangerous (the danger is if you lose your job for missing a lot of work days). You have to be very brave to cross this “bridge.” Even Indiana Jones would not miss work on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday when there is a holiday on Wednesday.

A Chinese family owns a café near my flat. They work every day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. One day I walked past the café and saw a sign in the window. The sign said: We will close at 20:00 on Tuesday for Chinese New Year. The Chinese family took off work for four hours to celebrate this important Chinese holiday. Most of my Spanish friends took off work on Monday and Tuesday for Chinese New Year.

Risotto ai Funghi (Mushroom Risotto)

2011-11-20T13:43:00.002+01:00

Why would anyone eat bad food when it is so easy to cook a great meal? It's easy with videos from YouTube. Just think of YouTube as the Italian/Spanish/Greek grandmother that you never had.

We cook a lot with rice here in Valencia so switching to an Italian classic recipe is pretty easy. I still use rice from Valencia instead of the usual Arborio rice that Italians use for risotto. First we have the recipe from an Italian chef.

Next we have it in English with a couple of great twists.

Valencia CF vs Real Madrid

2011-11-19T07:51:00.007+01:00

Always a big game for Valencia and now more than ever. Valencia has been playing well but Real Madrid has been destroying their opponents. La Liga has been on hold while the national team played a pair of friendly matches against England and Costa Rica.

Cost of living Valencia

2011-11-18T21:48:00.007+01:00

How much does it cost to live in Valencia?

Check out this great link: http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/city_result.jsp?country=Spain&city=Valencia

It shows the cost of living in Valencia. Remarkable is the very low percentage (13%) for housing. In places like New York you would spend 40% of your budget on housing.

Dear expats, go and take a look, and compare the cost of living in Valencia with the one in your home city. The result might be surprising. Anything between "yeah baby, that is why I live here!" and "what the **** am I doing here?" is possible. Good luck!

NEW oficina Globexs

2011-11-17T09:09:00.005+01:00

Por fin hemos encontrado un local que nos gusta: Calle Reina Doña Germana, 6, bajo 4. En breve abrimos nuestro nuevo centro de operaciones para dar el mejor servicio a propietarios y inquilinos. Inauguración enero 2012.

Finally we have found an office space: Calle Reina Doña Germana, 6, bajo 4. Soon we will open this new operation center to give the best service to owners and guests. Opening January 2012.

Ver mapa más grande

Arroz al Horno (baked rice)

2011-11-17T01:35:00.021+01:00

After paella this is probably the most iconic dish on the table in the Valencia Community. This dish is traditionally baked in a ceramic dish and includes pork ribs, panncetta, morcilla sausage, garlic, tomatoes, potatoes, and garbanzo beans.

This version is in Spanish and he gives a excellent explanation of the dish from start to finish.

Here is my version in English which needs to be revised a bit but I think I do a pretty good job. Not too many people complain about my arroz al horno. I have a lot of trick in my version that I think really help the dish along. I don't fry the potatoes beforehand as I think the dish has enough fat and oil and so I parboil them for only a minute or two. I use Roma tomatoes which I slice in two and place around the dish. And don't be shy with the ribs,pancetta, and morcilla.

Een passie voor wijn en de natuur...

2011-11-16T11:58:00.006+01:00

Een Belgische bio-ingenieur met een passie voor wijn ontmoet in Spanje een man die eveneens geïnteresseerd is in planten en wijnranken... Het resultaat: een mooi liefdesverhaal, een wijngaard ten zuiden van Valencia en een uitstekende wijn...

Tekst Marleen Duerinckx voor “My Sphere”

We hebben een gesprek met Nina Coolsaet (39) – jawel, de dochter van de bekende uro-androloog Bo Coolsaet. We zijn blij dat we haar in België kunnen strikken, want ze heeft sinds 2004 haar vaste stek in het Spaanse Valencia. Haar levensverhaal leest als een roman. Ze genoot een opleiding bio-ingenieur aan de K.U.Leuven. Ze specialiseerde zich gedurende twee jaar in Gent en Nederland in de viskweek voor humane consumptie. Bij Nutreco, een bedrijf in visvoeding, startte ze 11 jaar geleden als visnutrionist in de Spaanse vestiging van het bedrijf.

Zelfde passie voor wijn

Naast haar boeiende beroepsleven, heeft ze hobby's en specifieke interesses. “Ik ben altijd erg gepassioneerd geweest door wijn. Thuis ben ik er als het ware mee opgegroeid. Toen ik in Spanje woonde, heb ik mij destijds ingeschreven voor een wijncursus in Aranda del Duero. Tijdens de eerste les werd de lege stoel naast mij ingenomen Alfredo Esteve.” Een Spanjaard die vanzelfsprekend dezelfde passie voor wijn had als Nina. Ze geraakten aan de praat en nu acht jaar later delen ze niet alleen hun passie voor wijn, maar ook hun leven, ze zijn de fiere ouders van een tweejarig zoontje en runnen samen als bijberoep de bodega Mas L'Altet.

Potentieel voor wijngaarden

De invalshoek van Alfredo's wijnpassie is anders dan die van Nina. Van opleiding is hij burgerlijk ingenieur. Hij werkt in een staalbedrijf in Valencia, waar hij zich specifiek heeft beziggehouden met het opstarten van de milieudivisie en deze heden runt. Tot de taken behoren het recupereren van afvalstoffen, het reinigen van water, ... enerzijds voor het eigen bedrijf en anderzijds ook voor externe firma's. De natuur en meer bepaald de planten boeien hem enorm. Ten noorden van Alicante, een uurtje rijden van de stad Valencia, had zijn grootvader een mas met grond erom heen. De vallei van het hooggebergte Sierra de Mariola was voor 1900 een echte wijnstreek, maar door een ziekte die de wijnranken teisterde, veranderde de bestemming van de gronden en tierde de fruitteelt er welig. Geen wijngaard meer te bespeuren in de wijde omgeving, maar Alfredo wist dat de grond en het klimaat een goede voedingsbasis zouden zijn voor wijnranken. Uit zijn interesse voor de wijnbouw, experimenteerde hij vijftien jaar geleden met een honderdtal planten op de gronden van zijn grootvader, diverse druivensoorten testte hij en de Syrah en Cabernet Sauvignon bleken het meest geschikt voor de grond en het specifieke microklimaat. In 2004 besloten Nina en Alfredo dan ook 2 hectare te planten met die twee soorten.

Een uit de hand gelopen hobby

“Wijn maken is een proces dat veel tijd in beslag neemt. Van de in 2004 geplante wijnranken hebben we in 2007 de eerste wijn gemaakt, een kleine productie van 1.200 flessen. Voor ons is het eigenlijk gestart als een hobby. We hebben alles zelf handmatig gedaan. Je moet als het ware ook het hele jaar door op het veld werken om de planten te onderhouden, in september de druiven oogsten, de wijn een jaar op eikenhouten vaten laten trekken en vervolgens nog eens zes maanden op fles. In 2010 hebben we onze eerste 'commerciële' wijn gehad. We doen vrijwel alles zelf, momenteel hebben we één persoon in dienst en tijdens de oogst is er natuurlijk versterking, want het plukken gebeurt vanzelfsprekend handmatig.” Alles verloopt hier volgens de bio-principes. “Maar we hebben een kleine productie en een officieel bio-label hebben we niet echt nodig. Het verhaal van onze wijn komt sowieso bij de eindgebruiker.” Nota bene, in België is de wijn te verkrijgen bij de wijnhandel 'Hof te Cattebeke' van Jacques Thienpont.

Een wijncyclus van negen maanden

De wijn kreeg een mooie verpakking en de naam 'Avi' mee. Vanwaar die benaming? “Hier in de streek spreken de mensen het Valenciaans, gelijk aan het Catalaans. 'Avi' betekent 'grootvader'. Het is een mooie ode aan de grootvader van Alfredo die in 2003 overleed en dus spijtig genoeg het resultaat van dit wijnverhaal niet heeft mogen meemaken. Maar de naam van de wijn is wel een hommage aan hem.

Perfecte harmonie

Kenners zijn het erover eens. Avi is een uitstekende wijn. Het microklimaat van de streek ten noorden van Alicante met koele nachten en warme dagen, met een hoge regenval, zorgen ervoor dat de rijping van de vruchten zeer traag verloopt waardoor de wijn zijn specifieke eigenschappen bewaart, zoals zijn frisheid en mineraliteit. “We werken dus niet met een irrigatiesysteem. We laten de natuur echt zijn gang gaan.” Een andere particulariteit is de combinatie van culturen. “Ikzelf ben opgegroeid met de Franse wijnen, Alfredo is opgegroeid met de passie voor landbouw en planten. Een goede combinatie voor het maken van wijn. De Spaanse wijnen zijn zeer dominant, met een overheersende houtsmaak. De Franse wijnen zijn subtieler. Van onze wijn wordt gezegd dat het geen typische Spaanse wijn is.” Kenners omschrijven Avi als een vrouwelijke wijn die vol, harmonieus en eerlijk is, het aroma van de vruchten behoudt en een lichte toets kent van Franse eik.” Maar beste lezer, er staat je maar één ding te doen. Proeven dit geschenk van de natuur!

Praktisch: Bodega Mas L'Altet S.L. Calla Puerto Rico, 3 pta 5, 46006 Valencia, Spanje, nina@bodegamaslaltet.com

Gedaan met siesta in Spanje?

2011-11-15T15:55:00.003+01:00

Spanje zet zich, net als heel Europa, schrap om een economische crisis het hoofd te bieden. Het werkloosheidscijfer in het land is met 21,5 procent enorm en de schuldenlast neemt nog toe. 'Schaf die productiviteit verslindende siësta af', zien economen als de oplossing.

In Spanje ben je geen uitzondering als je een middagpauze van twee uur of meer neemt. Je kan dan een stevige maaltijd nuttigen of een dutje doen. Maar het kan zijn dat er nu een einde komt aan het siësta-tijdperk.

Volgens enkele economen zijn mensen veel beter uitgerust en gemotiveerder - en dus productiever - als ze vroeg naar huis kunnen en zich in de avonduren kunnen richten op hun gezin of op hobby's en sport.

'Overwegen waard'

Steeds meer bedrijven zien het voordeel van een kortere werkdag in en overwegen de overstap, maar oude gewoonten en opvattingen - zoals het idee dat werken in de avonduren in goede aarde valt bij de baas - hebben tijd nodig om te veranderen. Toch zegt zelfs de federatie van het Spaanse midden- en kleinbedrijf, die meer dan negentig procent van de Spaanse bedrijven vertegenwoordigt, dat het verkorten van de werkdag het overwegen waard is.

Van de zeventien landen in de eurozone staat Spanje tiende als het gaat om arbeidsproductiviteit, blijkt uit cijfers van Eurostat, het Europese bureau voor de statistiek.
Er is geen wet die een lunchpauze van twee uur voor Spanjaarden verplicht stelt. Over de lengte van de lunchpauze wordt wel onderhandeld door vakbonden en werkgevers.

Spaanse Burgeroorlog

Begin vorige eeuw aten Spanjaarden vroeger, net als de rest van Europa. Maar na de Spaanse Burgeroorlog, die van 1936 tot 1939 duurde, en de periode van crisis en honger die daarop volgde, hadden veel Spanjaarden twee banen nodig om de eindjes aan elkaar te knopen. De lunchpauze verschoof naar later in de middag, na het einde van de ochtendbaan, maar voor de middagbaan, en duurde langer: een traditie was geboren.

The Mushroom Season that Wasn't

2011-11-15T08:08:00.008+01:00

A favored mushroom in Valencia: Rovelló

I was awakened at around 05:30 this morning by a very unfamiliar noise: the sound of rain of the rooftops. We’ve had precious little rain these past several months and not nearly enough. This morning’s steady rain seems like an attempt to play catch-up in this dry autumn. I’m afraid that it’s probably too little and too late to salvage this autumn’s mushroom season. I think we probably needed the rains a few weeks ago to really have a successful year. You can find some species of mushrooms in the market but they are REALLY expensive and only a few select merchants have them for sale. I imagine that they have come from another area of Spain.

We have had a bit of rain this past week. I’ll make my way over to the market this morning to see what they have to offer. I've been drooling over the thought of a mushroom risotto.

Some good tips on making risotto.

And now to ensure authenticity, another video in Italian:

El Leon Dulce

2011-11-13T18:28:00.004+01:00

El Leon Dulce, chocolate belga en Valencia, ven a probar!

Paterna

2011-11-13T13:24:00.004+01:00

Nuevo centro comercial Puerto Ademuz en Paterna

No será un parque de atracciones pero compartirá la misma filosofía. Un gran centro comercial y de ocio, el más grande de Europa, se levantará en Paterna sobre una parcela de 500.000 metros cuadrados para convertirse en un foco empresarial y lúdico con un área de influencia global de más de tres millones de personas.

Puerto Ademuz costará más de 700 millones de euros y generará 4.000 empleos directos, tal y como ya avanzó LAS PROVINCIAS. El grupo inversor Eurofund Investments es el promotor de este complejo que estará situado frente a Heron City, entre la pista de Ademuz y la CV-31.
El parque ofrecerá un nuevo concepto de compra vinculado al tiempo libre, el deporte y la naturaleza. Un lago central con embarcadero donde se podrán realizar actividades náuticas como el esquí acuático, una zona de 'snowflex' (alfombra de agua que simula el deslizamiento por la nieve), piscina de olas, rocódromo, circuito multiaventura, un club deportivo, la ciudad de los niños, una red de tranvía y hasta una pista de hielo.

Este proyecto «supraregional» que será el «mejor centro comercial de nueva generación de Europa», según señaló el manager general de la entidad Ian Sandford, tiene una única réplica en Zaragoza, Puerto Venecia, también del mismo grupo inversor.
Este megacentro comercial, que ya ha abierto una primera fase y en otoño de 2012 abrirá la segunda, cuenta entre sus operadores con IKEA, Zara, H&M, Mediamarkt, Decathlon, Leroy Merlin, Primark, Big Leisure, Porcelanosa, Sportzone o Toys'R'Us.

25 millones de visitas

El proyecto de Paterna superará en 100.000 metros cuadrados la extensión de su precedente, lo que lo situará a la cabeza. De hecho, espera alcanzar los 25 millones de visitas anuales cuando el proyecto sea una realidad en todas sus fases. L35, el despacho de arquitectos especializado en centros comerciales con más de 120 proyectos en doce países (entre los cuales está el de Aqua en Valencia), se encargará de las obras que podrían comenzar «en tres años si todo va bien», tras toda la tramitación previa necesaria y la aprobación de licencias. El decreto impulsado por el Consell para actuaciones territoriales estratégicas podría agilizar el proceso de ejecución que culminaría con el final de la obra «en seis o siete años», destacó el presidente de L35, Jos Galán.

Y es que tras nueve intensos meses previos de trabajo, los promotores ya han «contratado» todo el suelo necesario pero «todavía queda mucho por hacer», entre otras cosas, la modificación del Plan General de Ordenación Urbana del municipio para recalificar la zona.

Tras reunirse con el Consistorio, el grupo va a mantener contactos con todos los grupos políticos, sociales y económicos y establecer «condiciones preferentes» a empresarios para sumarse al proyecto. Colaborarán además con equipos locales de arquitectos, técnicos y abogados. Un tema «fundamental» será el apartado de las comunicaciones para dotar al complejo de cuatro accesos. Para ello se realizará un estudio de tráfico e infraestructuras que posibiliten futuras conexiones de la CV-31 y la A-7, junto a la llegada desde Valencia por la CV-35. El proyecto ya tiene estudio de viabilidad y de mercado para su área de influencia que abarcará «desde Tortosa hasta Alicante».

Museo de Bellas Artes de Valecia

2011-11-13T08:03:00.002+01:00

The sun isn't always shining in Valencia. On one of those rare, rainy days you may want to pop your head into the Museo de Bellas Artes de Valencia as seen from the Turia Park bike path in this photo. The entrance is free and the museum itself is just a short walk across the river from the city center.

Open Tuesday - Sunday from 10:00 a 20:00

Calle San Pío V, nº 9

46010 Valencia España

Teléfono de información: 96 387 03 00

New York Style Cheese Cake for the End of the World

2011-11-11T01:01:00.005+01:00

Since today is supposed to be the end of the world as we know it (11-11-2011) you may as well have dessert. I would definitely have cheesecake for my last meal. Graham crackers in this recipe can be replaced by Marías here in Spain and and if you can't find sour cream you can use crème fraîche instead. If it isn't the end of the world then you should plan on getting some exercise tomorrow.

Cordoba, Vida y Genio

2011-11-09T01:17:00.011+01:00

If this video doesn't inspire you to grab your passport and buy a ticket to Spain, nothing will. Valencia needs to produce a video of this caliber to attract visitors. Valencia has countless attraction to capture on film. Put these images to great music and you have a great advertisement for Valencia, a Mediterranean jewel. Because I am a writer I would prefer a video with writing, with dialog. Go out and talk to the people of Valencia and ask them about their city. People here are incredibly passionate about this place, as well they should be. A lot of that passion has rubbed off on me and everyone else who has made Valencia their home. ¡Amunt!

Salade Nicoise

2011-11-07T03:41:00.005+01:00

The salade niçoise is another Mediterranean classic. This dish may have a French name but it's still peasant food like everything else I cook. It may be on the menu of expensive restaurants but it’s inexpensive and easy to make. Canned tuna is used almost exclusively when you order this dish in France so hold the seared, sushi-grade ahi tuna. Where? How about between your legs? If you’re looking for yuppie food you have the wrong guy and the wrong salad. I don’t mind people jazzing up a recipe but I do mind when chefs try to take food away from the people to feed the rich.

Levante UD vs Valencia CF 22:00

2011-11-05T01:05:00.017+01:00

This must be the most anticipated derby in the history of Valencia vs Valencia. La Ciutat de Valencia stadium is the place to be today for football fans. For the poor souls without tickets, sitting in front of a television in a local bar will have to do. I'll be sitting behind the goal wearing a scarf for Valencia and another for Levante; it's called hedging your bets. I only wish that both teams could walk away from this game with three points. There has to be a way to make that happen. Maybe we can call on the Pope for help.

I am torn in my allegiances so I'll be happy just to see a great game and may the best team win. I think that's what you call a Win-Win situation. Both teams are in the fight to remain in the top slots in La Liga.

Watch the game on La Sexta at 22:00.

Bar El Kioso

2011-11-03T04:02:00.005+01:00

In the lovely Plaza del Doctor Collado, Bar el Kiosko is almost impossible to miss in Valencia's Carmen district. Right behind La Lonja and the Mecado Central it's a perfect place to take a seat and have a few tapas. You may have to wait for a table in the square as this place is busy night and day. I always order the grilled sardines as I can't make these at home without bothering the neighbors with the smell.

P.S. Be prepared for lots of buskers (street musicians).

Bar el Kiosko

Calle Derechos 38 Valencia 46001

963 910 159

Ann Wauters

2011-11-02T09:25:00.003+01:00

La Belga más famosa en Valencia es con diferencia Ann Wauters. Ann es una de las mejores jugadores de baloncesto en el mundo, y tal vez la mejora deportista Belga de momento. Este año juego por Ros Caceres, después de haber jugado muchos años en EEUU y Rusia.

Vive en Valencia con su compañera Lot Wielfaert y sus dos hijos. Ann, la Asociación Belga Valencia está muy orgulloso de ti!

Una entrevista con Ann Wauters

Empezaste en el mundo del baloncesto… a los 12 años.

En… el club de Sint-Niklaas, en Bélgica, la localidad donde yo vivía.

Porque… una compañera me pidió que fuera a entrenar con ella para ver si me gustaba jugar al baloncesto. Me gustó tanto que después de ese primer entrenamiento me apunté al equipo.

Un entrenador… Claudia Van Hoorenbeek, una entrenadora belga que consiguió que mi juego mejorara mucho a los 17 años. Solíamos hacer muchos entrenamientos individuales.

Un momento… ganar mi primera Final Four de la Euroliga en Lievin, Francia. Fue muy especial ganar frente a nuestro público y con mi familia y mis amigos presentes en la grada.

Cuando no te dedicas al baloncesto, dedicas tu tiempo a… me gusta pasar el tiempo con mis amigos o viendo programas de televisión.

Una película… ‘Titanes: hicieron historia’, protagonizada por Denzel Washington.

Un libro… ‘El código Da Vinci’ de Dan Brown.

Una comida… me encanta la comida italiana, cualquier tipo de pasta.

Lugar en el que te esconderías… las Maldivas.

Te llevarías contigo… mi iphone.

Te acompañaría… mi compañera y nuestros dos hijos.

(Información facilitada por el Área de Comunicación del Ciudad Ros Casares)

http://www.canalreport.es/

para ver su ficha jugadora y palmares impresionante:

http://www.prodep.com/es/jugadoras/interior/26

para ver su ficha en el bonito idioma "west vloams":

http://vls.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Wauters

Valencia CF vs Bayern 04 Leverkusen 20:45

2011-11-01T02:57:00.010+01:00

Valencia finds itself on the ropes at the beginning of the of the return matches of the Champions League. Valencia is in third place in their group behind Chelsea and Bayern with KRC Genk in fourth position.Valencia is coming off two Liga wins.

Barça faces the Czech team FC Viktoria Plzen tonight.

Game Night

P.S. Valencia won 3-1 with goals by Jonas, Soldado, and Rami.

Spaghetti Aglio Olio

2011-10-31T00:49:00.004+01:00

A favorite late-night snack all over Italy, spaghetti aglio olio (spaghetti with garlic and oil) is as delicious as it is simple to make. Ironically, Chef John from Food Wishes (an American) has the more traditional version while the other recipe (Italian) is a bit unorthodox. The addition of tomatoes isn’t very common but it’s a fantastic little dish.

This is not paella

2011-10-25T23:15:00.000+02:00

Antwerp, Belgium is an interesting place. It is full of Flemish people. In Spanish, the word for ´Flemish´ is flamenco, just like the clap-based style of Spanishmusic and dance that all British people say they love. People from Antwerp are called Sinjoren. It´s from the Spanish word señor. It has something to do with the time the Spanish crown controlled the Low Countries. Now we begin to see the deep connection between Spain and Flanders. But that´s not all. People from Spain love French fries. You can buy them everywhere in Spain, for instance McDonald´s. And I have read somewhere that Belgians have something to do with French fries, but I don´t know if that´s just an urban legend. Also, I´m pretty sure you can buy paella in Antwerp, but it probably has peas in it, so it´s not really paella. It´s just rice with other stuff in it. When a Brit says the word paella, he says the l´s, so it rhymes with fella, or What the hella? But Brits don´t hear much Flemish on their island, so they are forgiven. At any rate, we begin to recognize the many mystical cultural links of the wonderful world we live in. The world is a magical place and travel broadens the brain. You should visit Antwerp. They are famous for beer.

Grilled Cuttlefish (Sepia a la Plancha)

2011-10-25T02:59:00.009+02:00

This dish is as easy to make as it is delicious, or the reverse. Even in for folks who don't speak Spanish this video is a breeze to follow. Simply score the cleaned cuttlefish in both directions being careful not to cut too deeply. Then fry it on both sides for one and a half to two minutes per side. Mix olive oil, a bot of garlic, and parsley in a blender. Throw this mixture in the pan after you remove the cuttlefish and just warm it up a bit. Pour the liquid over the cuttlefish and serve. If you have guests you will need to repeat this several times as it goes quickly. I made it at a barbecue and it barely made it to the table before being devoured.

Villarreal vs Levante UD 22:00

2011-10-23T05:13:00.006+02:00

Villarreal will take on Liga leader Levante tonight in a Valencia Community Derby. I try to mention that Levante is leading the league as often as I can. These are very exciting times for Levante as they are receiving a lot of national attention for their tough play and their David and Goliath story. We wish you all the luck this week.

Valencia CF vs Athletic Bilbao 20:00

2011-10-23T01:10:00.006+02:00

Day 9 in La Liga with Valencia holding on to 4th position behind Real Madrid and co-leaders Barça and Levante UD. A big day for football in Valencia.

Ayora Castle

2011-10-21T01:07:00.003+02:00

Just to the south of Requena (and quite a hump by bicycle) lies the village of Ayora and this magnificent Moorish castle finished in the 13th century just in time to be reconquered by the forces of Aragon. The fortress sits at 640 meters in the valley of Cofrentes-Ayora. With walls reaching six meters at certain points the castle must have been a tough nut to crack for any would-be invaders. Access to the fortress now is prohibited but the view from the village is still permitted the last time I checked.

Ayuntamiento de Ayora, teléfono (962) 19 10 25

Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs Valencia CF 20:45 & Braised Pork

2011-10-19T01:30:00.005+02:00

Thus far in their Champions League play Valencia CF has drawn with Genk and Chelsea. That means that Valencia is winless or undefeated, however you care to look at it.

If you are looking for something to eat while you watch the game check out one of my favorite American chefs, Mario Batali. He is incredibly knowledgeable about Italian food as you can tell by his name and his enormous waistline.

More Valenbisi Propaganda

2011-10-17T01:38:00.009+02:00

I just passed the one year mark with Valenbisi, Valencia’s great bike share system. The system itself began in June of 2010 but wasn’t really completely operational until last December or so. There are still some proposed new stations but it is all pretty much in place and working well. About the only complaint anyone could have against the program is that it is too popular. There needs to be more stations in the city center in order to accommodate just how wildly successful the system is right now. There are somewhere around 135,000 subscribers thus far which represents a bit over 10% of the population—not nearly as popular as the Vélib’ system in Paris after which our system here is based.

I was a hardcore cyclist long before the idea of bike sharing but Valenbisi has made my life much better. No matter where I am in the city I have a bike available to me. I go everywhere around town by bike. Almost everywhere because last night I was so tired after a great workout ride in the morning to the southern beaches I decided to take the bus home from my French class. I walked out of the door from class, walked a half a block, hopped on the #19 bus, and got off two doors from my apartment. But as easy as the metro and buses are in Valencia I rarely use them because the bike, for me, is the perfect urban transportation solution. I suppose that public transportation is a nice option when the weather is crappy but that isn’t the case very often here. Besides, I don’t mind riding in the rain.

There definitely seems to be more cyclists on the road now than there were only one year ago. There needs to be a lot more, but I think that will happen. There is still the major problem of brutish drivers and the overall lack of respect given to cyclists here in Valencia. The bike path network is growing every day so it’s not like the city itself isn’t committed to making bicycling a viable option in Valencia. I think that I speak for many citizens here when I say that I’d like to see Valencia become a first-rate city for bicycles sooner rather than later.

Levante UD vs Málaga CF 18:00

2011-10-16T08:19:00.004+02:00

League leader Levante UD, that's right, folks, League Leader Levante UD will host Málaga CF in the 8th game of the season. Levante is even with FC Barcelona with 14 points. Pinch me, I think I'm dreaming. Well, their were co-leaders with Barça but Barça won last night so it's up to Levante to win today to stay o top.

RCD Mallorca vs Valencia CF 18:00

2011-10-15T01:04:00.002+02:00

After La Liga took off a week for Eurocopa qualifying matches Valencia CF is back in business with a trip to Mallorca. The team is only a single point behind league leaders Barcelona coming off a win with Granada. It's a good day for football!

Another Day, Another Bike Wreck

2011-10-13T05:12:00.006+02:00

I was cruising through Turia Park the other day on a Valenbisi bike and pumping my guts out. There is a little dip as the path goes under one of the bridges. As I was grinding up the other side, rounding the corner the chain broke. I was standing up on the pedals at the time and I started to fly over the handlebars. I was able to stop myself but I was going down and going down hard. My Professor at my old jiu-jitsu school would have been very proud of my break fall as we call it in marital arts. I was able to kick the bike away from me and slap my left arm down to help break my fall as I instinctively tucked my chin to protect my head. The scrapes I have on my left arm, leg, and butt cheek are evidence that I did everything according to plan as the wipe-out occurred (to me it was like in slow motion as I have practiced falling so many times).

The lesson I should take from this is to stop treating the Valenbisi bikes like rented Porsches and try to take it easy. With that said I’d also like to point out that this isn’t the first chain that I have broken on these bikes. In my cycling life I have only snapped two chains on my mountain bike and that was when I was climbing two gruelingly steep hills. Chains shouldn’t be so easy to break.

UEFA EURO Play-Off Draw

2011-10-13T01:01:00.001+02:00

The UEFA EURO 2012 play-off draw will be made in Krakow on Thursday 13 October, defining the four pairings that will contest the last four available places in Poland-Ukraine.

The draw for the qualifying play-off matches for UEFA EURO 2012 will take place from 13.00CET on Thursday 13 October at the Sheraton Hotel in Krakow, Poland.

The draw ceremony will be conducted by UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino and former Poland forward Zbigniew Boniek, one of the final tournament ambassadors.

While the nine qualifying group winners and the best runner-up qualify directly for the finals in Poland and Ukraine, the eight remaining runners-up will participate in the play-offs.

These eight sides will be divided in two pots containing four seeded and four unseeded teams respectively, in accordance with the national team coefficients established at the conclusion of the group stage.

Valencia

Rate How You Lock Up Your Bike

And More About Bikes...

A City Park in a Parking Space

Another Look at Bike Sharing

Bike Parking (continued)

Bike Parking in Valencia?

Stoke City vs Valencia CF 21:05 (UEFA Europa League)

Ruzafa expone cien obras de arte en sus balcones

Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs FC Barcelona 20:45

Arroz del Senyoret

Side Trip to Granada

Sunny and Cool

British expats are happiest in Spain

Why Can't Valencia be More Like This City?

One Semester of Spanish Love Song

Atlético de Madrid vs Valencia CF @ 21:30

Valencia Oranges

The Neighborhood Bar: A Spanish Institution

Rise and Shine!

Cost of living

Valencia Community

Soupe al L'Oignon (French Onion Soup, Sopa de Cebolla)

Levante UD vs Valencia CF 21:30

Because You Have to Eat Every Day!

Taste of America

Infinity Comics

Valencia CF vs Levante UD 21:30

How to Make Potato Pancakes

The Best Things in Life (and most museums on Sunday) Are Free!

Because You Have to Eat Every Day

Sevilla FC vs Valencia CF 22:00

Bike Paths in Valencia

Feria de Valencia

The Death of Fast Food

Ryanair Destinations

Valencia CF vs. Sevilla FC @ 22:00

Know Your Architect: Pere Balaguer & Torres de Serranos

El Cocido de la Abuela

Making the Impossible Not Happen is Easier than You Think

Property prices in Valencia

Cochinillo (Suckling Pig)

Cyclists Not Welcome in Valencia

Fiestas in Spain 2012

Spain erupts with fiestas and celebrations throughout the year. Here's a list of the most important events in Spain for 2011.

The War on Christmas

Holiday Spending Guide

Asociacion Belga Valencia actividades

Happy Winter Solstice! It's All Downhill to Summer!

Amsterdam Loves Bikes and so Should Valencia!

It's a Beautiful Day

My Invention Ideas

Valencia in 3D

Bicifestacion en Valencia

How to Survive and Prosper during a Summer/Semester/Year in Europe

Gazpacho Manchego

El Clasico: It's Not Life and Death but Close - 22.00 La Sexta

Inmaculada Concepcion

Chelsea vs Valencia CF at 20:45

Reason #4,213 Why I Do not Look Like One of those Hunks in the Magazines

Valencia Police Ticket 530 Cyclists in Three Days

skyscanner

Charity Auction to Buy Multi-Function Patient Monitor

A Moment of Absolute Brilliance from the 2010 World Cup Final

Ryanair Rules

El programa que se mofa de la gente de Benidorm gana un Emmy

Know Your Architect: #2 Santiago Calatrava

The Chinese Community in Spain

Rayo Vallecano vs Valencia CF 18:00

Know Your Architect: #1 El Palacio de Congresos

Valencia CF vs KRC Genk 20:45

Spanish Life in Easy English

Risotto ai Funghi (Mushroom Risotto)

Valencia CF vs Real Madrid

Cost of living Valencia

*NEW* oficina Globexs

Arroz al Horno (baked rice)

Een passie voor wijn en de natuur...

Gedaan met siesta in Spanje?

The Mushroom Season that Wasn't

NEW oficina Globexs