Mary in London- 2019: Valencia, Spain: Apr 13-14

Valencia, Spain was a dream. I was seriously obsessed. It was warm and sunny. The architecture was clean and colorful! To back up Valencia was the first leg of my friend Sam and my "Spring Break 2019 Spain Extravaganza"...well who knew we'd go to our favorite spot first. We really had zero expectations for Valencia when we landed. Basically Valencia has an "old town" and then surrounding neighborhoods and then a couple miles out is the beach! There were palm trees and fountains everywhere. We stayed in the Rufaza neighborhood which was lovely and a 15 minute walk from the center- highly recommend.

The first day we landed around 11am, had a quick bite, and checked into our Airbnb. That afternoon we explored and went into the Valencia Cathedral. It was incredible (in the top 10 - ha). Afterwards we sat in their main plaza, sipping Agua de Valencia. No, this isn't Water of Valencia- it's their signature drink. It's essentially a mimosa with OJ/vodka but also gin and cava! It was delicious...we're bringing it back to the states. Then we went to the central market. These markets all over Europe are so cool and I swear we don't have the equivalent in the states. Like we have farmers markets but these are so much bigger (and more affordable). Next we went to the Museu Nacional de Ceràmica i Arts because it was free admission that afternoon. It was so cool and not what we expected. The bottom floor was ceramic pieces which were fine but the upstairs was rooms from the palace that this museum is now in. It was beautiful. That night we went to a local tapas restaurant and had 4 tapas courses each and 2 beers for only 10euros - unbelievable...

The next morning was Palm Sunday. We saw the most beautiful palms. We also climbed the Torre del Micalet, a tower in the cathedral we went to the day before, and saw the city from above which is always cool. Afterwards, we went on our free walking tours that we swear by. I paid attention most during the food segment. Valencia is where Paella originated but it turns out the paella most of us know with seafood in it isn't actually Paella...they made it clear that it is just "rice with things in it". Real paella has chicken, rabbit, and beans in it. Also a pro tip is that you want paella that isn't bright yellow but rather orange/yellow/brown color...it means that there is quality saffron in it. Taking the advice of our tour guide, we ate at a restuarant called La Valenciana and got some real paella. Next, we bussed to Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias which is entertainment-based cultural and architectural complex in the city. Here, we rented these little boats and had the best time in the sun. There is also an aquarium here that I would do if I returned. Finally, we trekked to the beach (it was about a 50 minute walk; we definitely should have taken the bus - oops) and we just relaxed and saw the sunset. As we were heading home all the roads were closed and we unexpectedly (to us) caught a Palm Sunday procession. It was so cool to see as it was clear it was very local to the neighborhood. We went to bed early as we had to catch a train the next morning to our next spot. It was a short time in Valencia and it would definitely be a nice vacation spot!