Apartment in Valencia

Hi, reader

I've finally reached the end goal of this journey and I am now staying in an apartment in a nice, lively area of Valencia City. 

Please meet Leeloo (on the left) and Biffs (on the right). They're brother and sister, two adult house cats who - so far - seem very easy to take care of. Their owner, Louise, is in the UK for Christmas, so I'll be living in her apartment and taking care of these two for the next week

Biffs miaows a lot, mostly because he wants to be fed or petted. Leeloo is quieter. She's named after Milla Jovovich's character in The Fifth Element.

The apartment has strong WIFI and Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney +. There's hot water and a well-equipped kitchen. So I have everything I need to relax for the next week. 

My first stop was Valencia beach. The sun was out and people were walking around in t-shirts. I even saw some brave swimmers going into the ocean. Not for me!

How about this? Orange trees grow everywhere in Valencia. Lots of streets are lined with orange trees. I've been advised they're probably not healthy to eat due to pollution. 

Yesterday, I went to the cinema to see Spider-man: No Way Home. I was excited by the premise of this film, a poorly cast spell from Doctor Strange results in characters from other universes entering the MCU. Added to that, the reviews have been really positive, with some critics proclaiming No Way Home to be the best MCU movie to date. Wow!

I found my way to Cines Babel. It's quite a basic, old-fashioned cinema. Very clean inside. The ticket was cheap, about three euros, I think.

I enjoyed my walk to the cinema along tree-lined streets. There were a lot of people out and about.

Spoiler free review: 

Sorry to say, I found this film disappointing. I think I set my expectations too high, caught up in the fever of all the rave reviews. The film contained a lot of characters I didn't care much about. There were also lots of parts where attempted humour feel flat with me (and the audience around me). Ultimately, I got bored waiting for it to end. I think the problem is that after nine Spider-man films, it feels like the character has been done to death. The film was entertaining enough and had some good moments, but I didn't leave the theatre buzzing with excitement.

I enjoyed the walk home. Night had fallen and the streets were lined with these old style street lights.

Back at the apartment, the cats seemed happy to see me. Here's Biffs playing with his snack dispensing toy.

And here's Leeloo just looking at me.

One more shot of them having breakfast this morning.

Over the next few days I'll be sharing my time between lazing around the apartment watching TV and going out to explore Valencia City. I'm invited back to Kelly's farmhouse on Christmas Day for a vegetarian roast dinner and Boxing Day for a barbecue. Hope you have some great Christmas plans lined up.

Thanks for reading

Brian