Are We Grownup Now?: May 2010

We got back from a visit to the city of Valencia a couple days ago- where Allison's friend Melina has a home. Valencia was unexpectedly large and very beautiful. We spent most of Friday in the old section of the city. We ate lunch at a little cafe where Melina introduced us to 'horchata' the traditional drink of Valencia made from a tuber apparently called a tigernut. It was sweet and refreshing tasting nutty and sort of like cinnamon. We then visited the cathedral and discovered that the holy grail had been hiding there all along! The cathedral houses what it claims, and many believe to be, the chalice that Jesus drank from at the Last Supper. It sits in a niche along the back wall of a small and ancient stone chapel.

the Holy Grail... maybe...

Everything about the little space was obviously extremely old, age seemed to almost emanate from the dark stone walls and high ceiling. The chalice is small with some of its plain surface covered in gold that had been added in medieval times. We were all actually strangely unimpressed by the chalice- not because it was small or not what we had expected but because we could never be sure of it. It was interesting to realize that even if it was the actual cup Jesus drank from (which is possible, it seemed old enough) no one will ever be able to truly verify that. There will always be argument and always many different places claiming to have the 'true' grail. Without the ability to ever know whats real we have almost lessened the grail's significance even as it gains so much. What was most impressive was the chapel itself- the obvious reverence the chalice had been given for hundreds of years. The room smelled of ancient stone and Allison said she could also smell lingering incense from all the ceremonies and services that must have been held there.

After leaving the chapel we climbed the long long narrow staircase to the top of one of the bell towers. An ancient bell hung over the middle of the tower and around us we could see the whole city.

Allison and Melina looking at the view

We were picked up in the evening by Melina's mom and driven to their house in a tiny town which reminded me of a sort of mini European Sante Fe. We were fed large amounts of good food and went to bed full and happy. The next morning we walked around some of the nearby farmland, dodging bicyclists and joggers. We ate lunch with much of Melina's family in a restaurant decorated with wine bottles hanging from the ceiling and giant hollow wine barrels in which tables and benches had been installed. After profusely thanking Melina's mother (she even packed us sandwiches for the us ride back!) we headed back to Valencia and wandered around the much newer part of the city. many of the buildings had only recently been constructed- the Museum of Sciences, a concert hall and the aquarium were all huge and white and gleaming, their shapes rounded and soft- almost nothing was sharp or angular.