One of the great things about upping-sticks to live somewhere new is meeting new people (which *can* be a mixed blessing of course) and trying lots of new things to eat.

We've been very lucky on both counts so far: everyone we've met has been remarkably friendly and helpful since we moved to Valencia, and the only poor meals we've had are ones we've made ourselves -- sometimes you just can't find the ingredients you're looking for and sometimes you think you've found what you want but it turns out to be COMPLETELY different when you cook it. The mince beef here, for example, is more like burger meat with a very high fat content, so the only way to make a decent bolognese sauce or a chilli is to choose your cuts and to have them minced by the butcher while you wait.

So it was a relief to have someone else doing the cooking this weekend. And as you can see from the picture our Italian friend Silvestro knocked up a fantastic seafood paella (paella mariscos) with mussels, emperor fish, prawns, squid and a bunch of other fish we bought at the market which I still don't know the names of.

Wine? Well, we went with a light Lambrusco (a chef's perk to quench our thirst in the midday sun) and a couple of bottles of the local Tempranillo for the meal: fairly unremarkable with delicate flavours of cherry and a little blackcurrant, but very easy drinking and perfect for washing down a large plate of paella.

Okay, I had two: let's not split hairs.

For dessert, Silvestro treated us to a home-made tiramisu, and despite having made several trips to Italy over the years, I have to say it was by far the best I've ever tasted. Silvestro himself was typically restrained of course and mumbled something about the flavour improving if you leave it for a couple of days. But connoisseurs are always critical of their own work.

A carahillo (an espresso with a shot of brandy or whisky) rounded the meal off perfectly...

Okay, I had two of those as well.

I wonder what he's cooking next weekend?

On a completely different note, our youngster is enjoying his new school and settling in well (thanks to everyone who asked), but it will be a few months before he's fully mastered the language of course. So when he was tasked with writing a song in a music class a couple of weeks ago, this is what he came up with. And apparently the kids are singing it round the school now, so who knows, maybe a few years from now he'll be doing the warm-up spot for Tim Minchin.

Well, it's another beautiful day here on the Mediterranean coast so I think I may pop down to the beach later with a bottle of fizz and appreciate the way the way bikini never went out of fashion.

Try not to be too jealous...