Valencia, Spain - Sagunto cont.

It is very quiet here but there are a couple of things that can wake me in the morning. These birds gather on the apartment building across the road (the side my bedroom is on) and greet the dawn with a lot of chattering.

 

They are obviously insect eaters, the way they swoop and swerve, and I thought they were swallows or swifts but they don't have the forked tail, so I am not sure what they are. The other  thing that can wake me is the garbage truck that goes by most mornings and picks up the big bins on the street.

My plan today was take another go at the bus to Valencia but my knee indicated that 2 long walk days, back to back, was enough and it needed a rest. So instead;

Laundry. I have seen these clothes lines hanging from balconies all over Europe (you can see that every apartment has one here) but this is first time I have used one.

 

There is a door in my bedroom out to that little balcony and it in turn has a window that can be opened for air flow. I left it open most of the day today letting a warm breeze in.

It was a bit disconcerting hanging it out, knowing that if I didn't get the pegs on right it would end up in the parking lot.

By the middle of the afternoon the sun was on that side of the building and it dried fast.

Lunch was gazpacho. I have always loved this soup (in fact was obsessed with it while pregnant with Mike) but never been able to make one I really like.

This is delicious, maybe a bit too much salt. It is made entirely of vegetables though some gazpachos have bread blended in to thicken them.

Back to yesterdays explore of Sagunto:

While having my breakfast I asked google maps for directions to the market. A 10 minute walk and I was there.

 

Luckily it was a Thursday because it only happens on Thursdays and Saturdays. I walked through the "flea market" section - clothes of all kinds, tools, kitchen equipment, leather goods, bed linens - with people pawing through them, discussing purchases with their friends or haggling with the stall keepers. But this wasn't what I was interested in.

Nearer to the market building were the produce stalls.

Cheaper here than the grocery store. Bananas are 1.59E kg there.

Still lots of noise with the crowds of people and the stall keepers calling out their wares to potential customers.

Inside are the stalls that require electricity and refrigeration.

Out the door at the other end of the building and there were more stalls and this was what I was looking for. I had been disappointed by the selection of olives at the grocery store (no better than at home) and here he was with a huge selection and you could get as much as you want. I was in a line up so could listen to what was being ordered and see what the weight was on his scale so I ordered un cuarto de kilo of 2 different kinds (one a mixture of olives and other pickled veg and one with olives, herbs and lemon chunks). Cost me 3.60E.

Back through the market building I was looking for something else I needed. A washroom, after my breakfast orange juice and coffee, and I knew the market building would have one. Which it did.

 

That's a long enough blog for today and I know that tomorrow I will just be doing some cleaning and prepping for Christine and Kristin's arrival, so will finish up the Segunto photos on tomorrows post.