Valencia.

Thankfully I've made it to Valencia. Not because I made the money I needed in Barcelona, but thanks to some very generous help from a very kind person.

Valencia is beautiful. Even when it's freezing cold and grey. It may be similar to Barcelona in so much as it's a city by the sea with a port, beaches and great architecture, however it doesn't have the crap :)

Barcelona was expensive. It was also full of empty. Empty flights, empty beds, empty bars and empty plazas. I was expecting this winter to be financially tough. I suspect many people cancelled fun city breaks when the media was at it's peak of Crisis gloom 10 months ago, or so. Consequently, cities like Barcelona are suffering. Now might be the time to pick-up a last minute bargain. For me, it's not good. That's my theory at least. I'm also hanging on to the hope that my theory is that cities like Valencia and Cuenca attract holiday makers who feel a little less intimidated by recession. If any city in Spain can ride a financial downturn, Valencia looks to be the place. I'm hoping to recover the cash Barcelona gobbled. Art buying is a very impulsive purcahse mind, and pre Christmas/Crisis purse strings put impulse purchases out of peoples minds. We'll see what happens.

Took a night bus. Haven't slept. Physically and mentally shattered. Today I'm going to do a 'practice' sketch to see what sort of reaction I get. It is just about the perfect city for me. Hopefully, I'll get the weather luck and the authority luck. I need it!

BIG thank you once again to all who helped in Barcelona. Hugely appreciated.