CWT Journal – August 22, 2026

For our last full day in Valencia, we enjoyed a relaxed morning of working out and breakfast before heading just outside the city to Albufera, Spain's largest freshwater lagoon and the heartland of Valencian rice cultivation—and, most importantly, the birthplace of paella.

Lunch at Arrocería Maribel was the real deal: cold beers and a massive pan of traditional paella valenciana—no seafood here, just chicken and rabbit. There were also a few mysterious rabbit parts mixed in. Dad identified what appeared to be kidneys and a heart, so naturally we offered McLaren €5 to eat some of the heart. Whether motivated by her adventurous spirit or her rapidly developing appreciation for shopping money, she didn't hesitate.

After washing up back home, we headed to Mestalla for our first professional soccer match of the CWT: Valencia CF vs. Celta de Vigo. Finley arrived properly dressed in her new Valencia jersey, complete with the club's famous bat. The bat (rat penat) comes from the centuries-old heraldry of Valencia itself; local legend says a bat warned King Jaume I of a surprise attack during his 13th-century campaign to capture Valencia, earning the animal a place of honor above the city's coat of arms—and, centuries later, above Valencia CF's crest.

The match ended 0–0—not exactly an offensive masterpiece, but with more than 40,000 fans packed into historic Mestalla, Finley cheering in her bat jersey, and our first taste of European football, the experience was still a win.

Sometimes the score isn't the part you remember.