HAPPY EASTER
This cute pic from...



...KSJ, the EFB's station chief in Newport, RI.

Here in Europe we sprang forward to "Summertime" (DST to you yanks) this morning.

Yesterday Leslie, Meg and I hopped from Hamburg down to Valencia. Meg has two weeks off from school so we are having a look around at housing and schools as the plan remains to relocate to VLC for the next couple years at the end of this school year (June). And I have plenty of AC work to do, and will now remain in VLC more or less for the duration of the Cup.

It is an easy flight from Hamburg to Palma (2:40) and thence to VLC (0:40) on Air Berlin, and only a couple hundred Euros for adults, less for children. A bit like hopping a bus. The trip was uneventful until we arrived at our apartment, where we found the hot water was not working and -- yikes! -- the cable modem (internet) on the fritz.

Two hours later they were both fixed, thanks to an emergency on-call handyman the team has on tap (and on Easter weekend to boot). We were feeling pretty settled in and went out for dinner, and then managed to lock ourselves out of the apartment. The intrepid handyman was called, and he made another visit to get us back in. Hopefully today, Easter Sunday, will be a little less eventful.

So here we are, in the "City of The Arts and Sciences" as Valencia now calls itself (as well as "Home of the America's Cup 2007!).





The apartment is in what we call "The Bronx", the area of Valencia overlooking the old Turia (diverted riverbed) where already built or under construction are the various parks, museums, cultural centers, music palaces, to say nothing of the many new apartment buildings, hotels, etc. The nice view off the front deck...



That's the Arts and Sciences Center on the left (named after Crown Prince Felipe, the eldest son of King Juan Carlos, who crewed on the 1992 Spanish Olympic Soling team that was famously penalized by your humble blogmaster during a match race in the 1991 pre-Olympic regatta -- but that's another story), and the new Music Palace on the right.




A night time view from the other side, with our apartment building (one of many) in the background.

The bustling area is convenient to both the "Darsena" (old, inner port) where, by June, the teams will have their bases, and to the Real Club Nautico Valencia (Royal Yacht Club) where BMW ORACLE, Alinghi, Luna Rossa, prospective challenger TEAM CHINA/Le Defi, and the Race Committee all have temporary bases now, and is walking distance to the nice restaurant district south of Old Town.

Question to answer in the upcoming two weeks is whether to take an apartment in this area for the longer term (through the end of the Cup in 2007 if not beyond), or a house up north in the 'burbs near the private schools, one of which Meg will attend, but making a 30-minute or so commute to the America's Cup Harbor instead of five minutes.