This is a delayed post, but my academic life has been hectic this week. This past weekend, I went to Valencia, a city on the Mediterranean a couple hours south of Barcelona. I went with my friend Alex for 2.5 days and 2 nights.
We left Madrid Friday at 1:30 on a bus. The ride was 4 hours with 1 stop. When we arrived, we headed straight for our hostel. We stayed at the Center Valencia Hostel. It was really close to the most interesting parts of the old city, but still on a really quiet street. We spent Friday evening wandering around taking hundreds of pictures, and falling in love with this charming city. We say the Cathedral of Valencia, the Town Hall, the University of Valencia, the main Post Office, the Plaza del Toros, the Estación de Tren, a couple of the main Plazas, and the major park, all in one evening. We ate a cafetería, and had salad, pizza, and fanta naranja (my favorite soda here). Then we stopped for ice cream in la Plaza de la Reina for ice cream at a place that holds the Guinness record for most ice cream flavors displayed at one time. They even had Smurf and Donut flavored!?! It was a wonderful evening. I can't really describe what it is about Valencia that captured my heart. It's the people, and the architecture, and the ambiance of the city. It's something that I think you have to experience to understand.
Saturday morning we woke up bright and early, ate breakfast at our hostel, and headed off for the main even: La Ciudad de las Artes y Ciencias. It is the main attraction in Valencia, and consists of el Hemisfèric, an IMAX theatre, el Museo de las Ciencias, an incredible interactive science museum, and el Oceanogràfic, an indoor/outdoor aquarium. We got a combo ticket for all three attractions, and spent our whole day there. It began with the Hemisfèric, where we watched an IMAX show about 'los Gigantes del Oceano' or the 'Giants of the Ocean'. It was about sea creatures that lived in previous time periods, and how scientists know about their lives from various fossils. It was pretty interesting. Next, we headed to el Museo de las Ciencias. There was such much to do and see that I can't even begin to explain. My favorite parts were the interactive physics demonstrations/experiments and the chromosome forest (it's literally a forest of chromosomes). They had a lot of other cool exhibits too, and everything was interactive. I wish I had had more time to read about everything in Spanish, but I guess that's just a good reason to go back. After walking around el Museo, we ate in the cafetería on the first floor, and then headed to the Oceanogràfic. We got to see so many animals and creatures, it was incredible. It is divided up by climate, so we got to see the Tropics, Mediterranean, Wetlands, Temperate, Oceans, Artic, Antarctic, and Red Sea. We also got to see a dolphin show, which was Alex's favorite part because they are his favorite animals. I got some really amazing pictures of them doing tricks. My favorite part of the Oceanogràfic was how it was set up. Some of it was above ground, and some of it was below. The best parts were the tunnels that connected some of the buildings, where you could walk underneath all of the creatures. It was incredible to be up close to all these amazing creatures. I even got to see a Beluga whale up close, which was indescribable!! Overall, it was amazing experience, and a wonderful day.
The day ended with paella, a Valencian specialty, at a restaurant on the beach. Valencia is the region of Spain where rice is grown, so they are known for their paella. We have paella valenciana, which has chicken and rabbit in it. I know it seems contradictory/hipocritical to consume the animal that your family keeps as a pet, but 'when in Rome'...It was delicious, and I couldn't tell you which pieces of meat were chicken and which were rabbit. So for all I know, I could've had all chicken and Alex could've had all rabbit. I like to think about it that way :) We had wonderful service, and it was very enjoyable. We even spoke to one of the waiters for a while, who is originally from Cuba, and he gave us some great advice on places to go the next day, and about other good places to visit in Spain (his favorite city is Barcelona)
We started out early on Sunday morning as well, to get in some more sightseeing. We had gotten to see most of the city on Friday night, but we still had a couple things left to see. We went to the Barrio del Carmen, which is the center of the nightlife in Valencia. During the day, therefore, it is pretty quiet. But the architecture is incredible. Our Cuban waiter told us he calls it 'Little Havana' because of the things it has in common with Cuba's capital. We ended up wandering into a previous convent, that has now been converted into a museum, which was very beautiful. We also found the Museo de las Rocas. We aren't sure entirely what they are, but they are very similar if not the same as fallas. Fallas are floats that are constructed every year for the huge festival in valencia in March or April. The winning floats are kept on display at the Museo de las Fallas (we didn't make it there), and the rest are burned. Therefore, we aren't entirely sure what it is we saw, but they were pretty cool anyways. We stopped by la Plaza Redonda, which is a perfectly round plaza, and el Mercat Central (closed on Sundays), and wandered through a huge swap meet of stamps, coins, and some kind of collectors cards. There was also a mini market where I got myself an abanico (Spanish for fan), which are also a Valencia specialty. We also climbed los Torres del Serrano, an ancient gate that used to be an entrance to the old city. There were beautiful views of the old and new parts of the city from the top.
After our sightseeing, we headed to the beach. We walked about 10 minutes to a metro station to take the metro to the beach, because after walking back on Saturday night, we decided we didn't need that much exercise. The metro in Valencia is very curious. Some of the lines are completely underground. However, others are completely aboveground, and work as a tram. They travel next to the roads, and have to wait at stoplights, and have aboveground stations. These trams work more like buses than the metro, because you have to request a stop if you would like to get off. It was a really cool way to see the city on our way to the beach. I unfortunately forgot my bathing suit, but Alex got to go swimming, and he said the water and waves were really nice. I got in as far as I could, which was up to the tops of my calves, but that was it. It was a beautiful day and very relaxing to be on the beach soaking up the sun. After eating lunch, we walked the boardwalk and the beach for a while, took a cat nap, and then headed back to the city to get ready to leave. Before leaving, we wandered about the main park for a while, to continue to enjoy the weather. After that, we headed to the bus station and returned to Madrid.
So far, Valencia is my favorite city in Spain. Again, I can't really explain why. It might be because I never planned anything about what was going to be seen when, and it was all very spontaneous. But I think it was more the feeling/vibe I received from the city and its people. It was so kind and calm, everyone was so willing to help in anyway they could. I highly recommend it to anyone who comes to Spain, and wish I had time to go back and just enjoy it more.
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