Earlier this morning, Nicole, Bryce, and Mike arrived into Valencia by train. It was Mike’s birthday, and we were almost ready for the birthday festivities to commence. However — none of us recovered from La Tomatina well. Still exhausted from the past few chaotic travel days, we decided that breakfast and naps would be the best way to start the day. Naturally.

As the weeks roll on, I feel less and less guilty about taking naps. Mainly because I’m overwhelmed with gratitude instead. Naps are a gift that I rarely receive nowadays.

After checking into the hostel and taking our respective naps, we headed up to the hostel’s rooftop terrace to celebrate Mike’s birthday. We wanted to go with a Spanish theme, but it turned more and more into a Mexican fiesta.

I regret nothing.

We wanted to destroy Carlos the piñata into a million pieces, but we also decided to wait until the following day when we had more time. So Carlos lives another day.

The weather has been beautiful in Valencia these past few days. So when choosing where to go for dinner, an outdoor patio was a no brainer. But in all fairness, outdoor patios are always the right answer in Spain. Or Italy. Or France. Or anywhere, really.