For the last months, living as a tourist in Spain, I've gotten to know Valencia quite well. The heart of Valencia. I saw las Fallas, the grand tradition of a week long party of fireworks and countless other Catholic and cultural traditions, culminating in the torching of giant paper mache scuptures - makes me wonder if the burning man is a cheap rip off. I don't care if it's a rip-off. I like American ingenuity and artistic license. But, I do like Valencia. I have no Spanish heritage, but being in Valencia is like gaining an extra grandmother, who is really cute, witty, and talkative.

Friendly, polite - very temperate, a reflection of the weather perhaps. Traditions, and the artistic athletic youth. Grand architecture, and rice fields. A city which diverted a river, an converted the trough into a very pleasant park, with trees from around the world. There's plenty of beauty in the in the Mediterranean, but this has been similar to an extended stay in a village. Imagine a successful little village from 400, 600, 1000 years ago - and the same people live here, and are expanding. Valencia is like it's famous oranges - blooms consistently and sweetly.