Valencia, Spain - Day 2

On our second day of being in Valencia, our friend had to work some and also watch a football match going on in the FA Cup of England, so we walked down to the city of Arts and Sciences. It was built by local architect Santiago Calatrava, the same architect who helped design the new Chicago Spire, as a way of adding modern architecture to a city full of gothic style architecture in the Barrio del Carmen. The city of Science and Art consists of a modern art type museum with various exhibitions but nothing like a typical art museum because the museum of Princípe Felípe is more of a hands on visual arts kind of place. There is also a new opera house, an iMax theater, a garden that is open and free to the public, and a large Aquarium. We visited the museum and the Aquarium and were treated to a practice show that the dolphins they have there put on. It is possible to spend an entire day walking around the very impressive complex and relaxing by the wading pools that flow throughout the grounds. We spent our nights in the Barrio del Carmen enjoying drinks with other Spaniards and visiting local tapas bars. We also found a good local restaurant on Saturday where we tried a Paella that was delicious and filling. As said earlier, the only problem we found in the city is the sudden appearance of putrid smells that make you feel like you are walking in the sewer system. Other than that, we really enjoyed the city and can't wait to visit in March for the annual celebration of Las Fallas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Valencia, Spain - Day 1

We took a late night bus to Valencia, Spain in the southeast to escape the cold of Madrid. It was a nice 70 degrees with the wind blowing in from the Mediterranean Sea. One thing you will learn quickly about Valencia is that it is a city of a 1000 smells. This makes visiting the city a double edged sword so to speak because it is beautiful with great places to eat, nice architecture, and a tendency to let the sewer smells mix with the people. We stayed with our friend at his apartment and enjoyed ourselves quite nicely. It's the third largest city in Spain and boasts some fun cultural activities. In the province of Valencia, the rice used to make paella is grown, thus making Valencia an excellent place to try paella. In a small town nearby in August, there is a festival known as Tomatina, an event that kicks off around 11:00 a.m. and lasts until and involves tons of tomatoes being hurled at whoever you can throw them at while trying not get nailed yourself. Recently, the America's Cup was held in Valencia as well because of its great location on the Mediterranean. The sand is some of the softest we have encountered so far in the world and come this spring/summer, we plan on going back for Las Fallas and a trip to the beach. Here are some pictures of our first day walking around the city and along the beach.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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