Hector is officially back to work, which means I am officially on my own. I had a taste of it on Thursday and Friday, which went fine. Yesterday though, not so well. I started the day off with a nice run in the park, a few exercises on the bridge, and then a walk back home with Vinny. I am not usually one to sleep late or take naps, but since I have been here the bed has been calling. So after a quick shower, I hopped back in bed (at this point it was only 7 am). I tried to return to sleep but I was unable to as the man above us was apparently building a new apartment, or so it sounded. Not entirely sure why he was doing this at 7 am, as NO BODY is functioning that early in Spain. I laid there for about an hour before finally getting up to prepare for the day.

After another quick walk with Vinny, I finally left the house at 10 am to begin. I wanted to grab breakfast closer to the store I was going to be shopping, so I headed south. About a 20 minute walk later I was still searching for a little pastry shop, which if you know Valencia or anything about Spain, you should know that this is like finding a Starbucks in Manhattan. But for some reason, I could not find what I wanted. I ended up back tracking a bit towards the center of the city where I found a chain bakery. A Café Italiano and a cream pastry later, I was back towards the store.

Before I continue, a quick side note on shopping in Valencia. Most of the time it is best to go to the central market each day for your daily meat, veggies and fruit necessities. If you need other ingredients (Olive oil, salt/pepper, seasonings, pans, etc.), it is best to head to the grocery store. Either way, since everyone walks everywhere, it is best to purchase a rolling carrier. (Not entirely sure of its actual name, but we will stick with rolling carrier.) The grocery store is about a 15-20 minute walk from our current apartment. Would you want to carry bags of groceries, the broom I needed, and various other items for 20 minutes?

Back to the story- I assumed that the grocery store would sell these rolling carriers as I saw many of them in the window. Ha, silly me for assuming. The rolling carriers in the window were for in-store use only. So I searched the store and found none for purchase. Back out to the streets. J Store after store I found no carriers. About 45 minutes later, I said "forget it" and decided to just carry everything. Back to the grocery store I go.

I grabbed a cart and headed down each isle. If any of you have ever been on a trip to Dillon's or Publix with me, then you know it takes me longer than most. Now throw in a new language and you can imagine how long it took me! But I survived. Two heavy bags in hand, and 2 broom sticks pointing every which way, I was headed home. Upon arrive to our apartment, I noticed a man standing at our complexes entry way, with a weird magnet thing attached to the door, and his credit card jammed into the slot. Yes he was trying to break in.

So my 2 heavy bags in hand and 2 broom sticks walked past the apartment and around the corner. I knew there was a little shop close by so I walked there. After a quick glance back, he was right behind me. At first I thought, he knows I live there, or he is on to me on to him! I ran inside where people were and he walked right past me. I went back to the apartment and took my belongings upstairs. I emailed Hector to see if we should bother calling the police or the landlord. Not entirely sure Hector believed me, because as many know, I am prone to believe everyone is out to get me.

I decided to let it be and finish my shopping. Instead of heading to the market for my veggies and fruits I went back to the store that I ran into earlier and a bag of healthy goodies. J

A few hours of studying, lunch, and cleaning, it was now 5 pm. Vinny needed another walk, and since Hector was not home yet, I decided to take him back to the river for a nice long walk. Around 6:15 I headed back to our apartment. Guess who I found at our entrance again? You guessed it, the burglar. Once again I walked passed him and wrapped around to the front of the building. This time he went the opposite way and we ran into each other on the opposite side. After watching him now, I understand his method. He was trying to jimmy the lock and if he was unsuccessful after a minute he would dart.

I looked for police and they were nowhere to be found. I went back towards the park and found an officer. It was quite comical trying to explain what was happening in a language I can barely speak to a man that did not speak a lick of English. Eventually I said- I will be back with my husband. Back upstairs I explained to Hector what was going on and he agreed to go with me to the police, at least this time he heard it while he was inside and agreed that I was not making it up. Prior to leaving the apartment, the man was back. This time I was able to watch him from our balcony and get a pretty good description.

Hector and I went to the police and they did nothing. I would need to call 091 while it's happening and then they could maybe help! My blood was boiling but I see now that this is how it works here. At this point Hector wanted to walk around for a bit and then head back to our place. Multiple hours of walking and working out, that was the last thing I wanted to do, but we strolled anyways.

All in all not the worst day, just lots of walking, a few bumps, and a nervous Jessica for the rest of the night. J