Life: Idiotropic

A good day is one when you have the perfect balance of work and play.  A day when a glowing sense of accomplishment is rewarded with something cold and made on premises.

So my three youngest darlings and I need to renew our passports and the best way to accomplish that quickly is to head into town and go to the US Consulate in Valencia, a first for me.

We took the train in and walked to a narrow pedestrian street with about 20 mopeds parked in front of a very fancy building with enormously tall old wooden doors and a doorman sitting at a desk watching the security cameras.

I told him we had an appointment at 11.  He said the consulate would be closed until noon.

Huh.

So we waited a bit hoping that it was he who made the mistake. We were early, after all.  And sure enough, a wirey man with disheveled hair came walking briskly into the room and over to us shaking our hands, sweetly greeting the girls, and welcoming us before asking us to wait 5 minutes downstairs while he opened up the office and disarmed the usual security.

Five minutes later the security guard nodded and looked towards the elevator to indicate that we could go and soon we were up the elevator and buzzing to enter the tiny little office that takes care of all the Americans in the province of Valencia all the way down to Murcia.

It doesn't seem like it would be so hard.  There can't be that many of us, I think.  But apparently there are... and apparently they aren't all here on official business.  And this good-natured man is required to visit the Americans who sit in Spanish prisons every three months. 

[Shudder]  I can't imagine.

The service in this small office was fabulous though and so friendly.  He apologized for the thick protective glass that he has to stay behind while serving us.  I think he would have rather been sitting down at a cafe doing our paperwork there.  It was a nice government experience.

Afterward with a bit of time to kill before catching the train back to Puzol, we stopped at il Gelataio near the Plaza de Toros for a bit of ice cream.  Perfectly located at a main tourist thoroughfare, I've passed this dozens of times assuming it would be commercial and ordinary.  Boy, was I wrong.  Il Gelateio serves up the best ice cream I've tasted so far here in Valencia.

It's creamy and rich without being heavy.  The flavors are true with a melon that tastes as if you're biting into the fruit itself and a dark chocolate ready to take on the best of the chocolate lovers.  If you can't decide on one, the friendly staff will combine two flavors into a generous "small" scoop.  Perfect for kids and belly-conscious adults.

It isn't mass produced.  Every ice cream served including their small variety of soy ice creams are made right there on the premises.  The small family business is open year round with the exception of a few weeks in the January and February when they take a short vacation.