Valencia: November 3rd-5th

After a very long 9-hour train ride, we arrived in Valencia, the birthplace of Spanish paella! Immediately upon arrival, we were in awe of the city. Beautiful buildings, streets, squares, and parks were all around us – much different than Madrid. We admired the unique facades of each building – it seemed like each structure had its own story. There were many churches and squares through the city. Unlike many of the churches we’ve seen throughout Europe, Valencia’s were smaller, older and humble.

We enjoyed our 3-night stay at the Red Nest Hostel – friendly staff, clean rooms and bathrooms, and the best part of our stay was our access to the hostel’s large kitchen. For our first night, we decided to relax and cook a huge dinner. For dinner, we made bruschetta, spinach salad with tomatoes, onions, and lemon dressing, vino, and chicken cooked in white wine, mushrooms, and onions. Content after a delicious and fulfilling dinner, we took a night stroll around the city center. Many bars and restaurants were open late for tapas and all serving Spanish wines and of course, Agua de la Valencia (champagne, local orange liquor and orange juice).

The next day, we made it out to El Mar, Valencia’s beach (about 10km outside the city center). There, we enjoyed the beautiful Mediterranean Sea and the large stretch of soft, white sand. The weather wasn’t too bad either (70 degrees) but the wind made it a bit chilly once the sun started to set. Liya enjoyed sunbathing with the fellow Spaniards in their teeny-weeny Speedos and Ben enjoyed body-surfing with Colin for a couple of hours. Later that evening, we enjoyed some tapas – patata bravas (spicy sliced fried potatoes) and vegetable tempura – with the accompaniment of Spanish Rioja of course.

For our last day in Valencia, we took our time walking around the city center and wandering through the different streets. We ventured into a large open-air market where we bought some Valencia oranges. Apparently, they are supposed to be the best, but they tasted like regular Satsuma oranges to us! We also bought a bottle of Aqua de la Valencia, but we learned later that it wasn’t anything special – tasted like Fanta with champagne! Later in the afternoon, the two of us enjoyed an hour-long run through Valencia’s largest park, which stretches like a belt around the city center. After our workout, we enjoyed climbing up a vast and very tall spider web-like Jungle Gym (constructed using rope only). No way would that exist in the States – there would be too many lawsuits!

That evening, the four of us went to a restaurant recommended by many locals for their great paella called El Rall. For dinner, we ordered a bottle of house Rioja and paella de la Valencia for four. The paella was made with rice, saffron, onions, string beans, small artichoke hearts, rabbit and chicken.

The next morning, we hopped on the train and made our way to our last stop in Spain, Barcelona…