Sturf

Very few students left in town. Huge group to VALENCIA--thought about it but opted to stay in town to get acquainted with the city. Took two METRO lines to get to the University just down the street, arg. Spent 8€ for a ticket that elcorteingles said I could retrieve by simply bringing the credit card I'd used to pay online...then the woman at the ticket window turned us away because we hadn't printed our confirmation pages. Is the U.S. the only place that makes ticket pickup as easy as bringing your payment method or was this lady just bullshitting me? It was better not getting in anyway because Marita and I were able to sit on a stone bench just outside the venue and listen...talking to one another and enjoying the tunes (which were uniquely European--having a world sound I hadn't heard before (Arabic tradition + Jewish tradition = cool). It occurred to me later that I'm terrible about sitting in the traditional orchestral/musical event seating...I need the freedom to move/talk/interact. Had tapas with Marita during our long wait between when I'd thought the show started (20:00) and when it actually did (22:00). They were good, even if there is a 10% surcharge for sitting on the terrace and our waiter was terrible and some of the meat on our plates was mysterious.