My roommates and I just got back from a weekend trip to Valencia. Valencia is a coastal city, south of Barcelona. My program sponsored this weekend trip with a round trip bus ride and hotel accommodations. The city was very different than Barcelona and it was interesting to see another part of Spain.
We left at 9:00 on Friday morning and arrived in Valencia around 1:30pm. We dropped our stuff at the hotel and we went on a walking tour of the city. Valencia is a much older city and you could tell with all the buildings. They were all made of marble or stone and had a rustic feel. Our tour was during siesta time so there was no one on the street. I was so surprised about how empty it was! In Barcelona, siesta time isn't as prevalent because some stores have to stay open in order to stay in business. In the smaller city, almost every store was closed and the streets were deserted.
(I would try and label these pictures but I can't remember what they were but they're pretty!)
After our walking tour, we got on the bus and they took us to places a little further that we couldn't walk to. Valencia is home to a huge arts and sciences center which is beautiful! The building was modern in contrast to the other parts of the city and there was a big reflection pool in front of it. It was a bright, sunny day so we stopped to take pictures in front of it.
When the bus tour was over, we went back to our hotel to get ready for the night. Since Valencia is the home of paella, it was a necessity that we ate it! My roommates and I met up with six other girls and went to a restaurant called El Rall. It was close to our hotel and it was recommended to us by people who had been there before. We ordered sangria (of course) and seafood paella for seven people. When it came out, I had never seen a paella so big! It was massive and filled with rice, shrimp, mussels, clams and calamari. The home of paella did not disappoint. We left feeling full and very satisfied! While we were there, a man started singing right near our table. He was so good! We cheered and clapped for him and joked he should go on American Idol!
The next day, we had breakfast at our hotel (which was free! yay for free breakfast!) and decided with the group of girls that we had dinner with the night before to do a bike tour. Now, I am not the most athletic or coordinated person in the world so I knew this would be an adventure. I kept telling my roommates I was probably going to fall off. And guess who was right? While on our bike tour around the city, I tried to take a picture while riding and crashed into a bench. Don't worry, a nice Spanish man helped me back up and put the basket back on the bike. (I'm okay now, just have a few battle wounds in the form of scrapes and bruises but I'll live.) We rode all over the city, through a park, by the arts and sciences buildings and finally to the beach. Usually Valencia is known for its beautiful beaches and beach weather but we didn't get so lucky when we went. Although it was kind of cloudy and windy, we still hung out on the beach. I can also say now I've touched a new ocean! We found a jungle gym on the beach and started playing on it like little kids. We also found a bridge that had love sayings on them. People had signed their names with their loved one and put a romantic saying next to them. The picture you'll see below of the bridge says, "with you, I see things in a different way." So cute! Finally, when we got tired, we rode all the way home, trying not to get blown over by the strong winds!
Later that night, we were so hungry that we searched for so long to find a good restaurant to go to. Right around the corner from our hotel we found a cute restaurant called La Cata. Alyssa, Bridget, Lainie and I (my roommates) all split two orders of patatas bravas tapas (which are like mini french fries with a sweet and spicy sauce on top), calamari, a margarita pizza and a pizza with prosciutto, arugula (which they called "rocket salad") and cheese. Like usual, we had sangria and cava (champagne). Typical to the Spanish culture, we sat around the dinner table for almost three and a half hours enjoying our meal and talking. When we finally got back to the hotel, we hung out in each other's rooms and laughed at Naked and Afraid in Spanish. We had to get up early the next morning for our bus ride home so we went to bed on the early side.
Although I didn't fall in love with Valencia like I have fallen in love with Barcelona, it was exciting to see a different part of Spain. Even though the weather could have been nicer, my roommates and I made the best of the weekend and had a great time ourselves.
Now it's back to the regular week but I can't wait for my next travel weekends!
Besos!
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