Valencia!

We loved Valencia. We arrived there after a 4-day stay in Barcelona, and it was a refreshing change from tiny, overpriced rooms, sights packed with tourists, and the general busyness of a big city. Valencia is much mellower, more relaxed. The people seem happier, and are definitely friendlier. Everything costs, well, about what we think it should cost. It feels like a very livable city.

Much of the joy of our stay came from the ease of being there. No big rushes, no fighting the crowds. We had planned to be there a couple days, but ended up staying a week.

There is a huge 8km-long park running around the edge of the city, in the old bed of the Turia River (which was rerouted some 40 years ago after a big flood). It’s an amazing spot for a run, a bike ride, soccer games, throwing the frisbee, or just escaping from the (mild) hustle of the city. We spent a lot of time there.

One of Valencia’s big attractions is the City of Arts and Sciences, a huge complex lying at one end of the riverbed park. We stayed there for an entire day, and still felt rushed. The buildings are odd, futuristic, and lined up end to end. Two of them look like a pair of crawling beetles.




The definite highlight was the Oceonographic, an incredible aquarium, the biggest in Europe. Wonderful tanks with thousands of healthy-looking fish, crabs, lobsters, and all sorts of other marine creatures. It was a nice complement to the diving we did on Gran Canaria. We also explored the Science Museum (fairly dull, and a big waste of an incredible space), and saw an IMAX film on the Alps (sweet, if a bit cheesy).




Just a few miles south of Valencia is a big lagoon called l’Albufera. It’s surrounded on most sides by big areas of rice fields (which happen to be packed with birds!).




It is, very logically, the birthplace of paella, a perfectly local dish. It’s typically made up of rice (from l’Albufera), olive oil (produced in abundance around here), saffron (much of which comes from just inland), and various seafood (from the Mediterranean). Take all the best local ingredients, throw them together in a huge pan (made specifically for paella) to make a delicious dish. Perfect! We had it several times.


These spots sell paella cooking equipment only!


Another interesting local consumable is horchata. It’s a milk-like drink made from chufa, or tiger nuts. And it’s delicious! It’s usually served with fartones, a lightly-glazed donut-like pastry in the shape of a breadstick.

It wasn’t all fun and tasty treats, though. One day we went for a stroll in the park, and got caught in a serious rainstorm. After waiting it out under a bridge for half an hour, we headed for home, and got thoroughly drenched before we made it back to our pension.

The Miquilet bell tower; 500 years old, 11000 kg


We were sad to leave, but the city gave us a nice little send-off. Struggling to find food for the train ride to Cuenca, we stumbled upon a spot with delicious take-out: paella and stuffed red peppers. Hooray! We hope to be back here, to our favorite city of the trip so far.