giant futuristic space ship

hello,

its been a pretty relaxed birthday. somehow the lady at the hostel knew it was my birthday; it was a bit weird but a good surprise. valencia used to have a pretty wide river running through it, but it either dried up or was stopped somehow (i don't really know). now its a park that goes and goes--good use of space. at the end is a collection of museums and other buildings. i'm not usually impressed by modern architecture, since usually a building is a building, but these were really different. the opera house isn't finished yet, but looks like a giant futuristic space ship and has a roof that looks like it isn't connected at all (except for one little bit at one end). next to it is a baby spaceship that is surround by shallow pools that make the water seem silvery blue (a lot like the blue lagoon in iceland). i'm not sure what is in that one but thats where i stopped under a tree and had sandwiches and my siesta. i've realized with the siestas, you just have to stop and sleep. yeah, you could be doing something else, but it can wait. its good to stop everything and relax for an hour or two.

tonight i'm meeting some cool people that i met in the hostel in madrid. they study here, so they have places that they usually go to. a pretty good birthday, i would say. on saturday i go to barcelona for the end of my time in spain, where i hear there are wickedly cool buildings to see (and more beaches, always a plus). and i hope to catch up on some pacassos that i missed in madrid. then its time for a fiji reunion in sweden on the 10 of may. two more months in europe! its going to go fast since for most of it, i will be with friends or family (i'm going to meet my mom in italy).

have a good day
your friend
chad