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Valencia

April 2024
Birthday weekend away Read more
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  • DooWhitt toursValencia
    Day 1

    Day 1

    April 12 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Up at 4.30am after evening out with Peter & Simon to celebrate Simon’s 50th. Big meal + vino tinto + 5 hours sleep not the best preparation but the journey went to plan. Fascinating to fly over snowy mountains.
    Metro easy to navigate and we were able to check in when we arrived about midday. First coffee at ‘Arrecife’ bar just around the corner. The apartment ‘Valencia Centro’ is great - very well equipped and close to everything. Went straight out for a wander - it’s a big & busy city but a lovely vibe. Streets, squares & buildings are fabulous. Weather is perfect. Stopped for delicious toastie & bocadillo and 1 beer. Just as well only 1 because it was 6.2%. €20. Back to the apartment about 2.30 via Mercadona for a few supplies. Rest, then out again at 5ish.
    Walked out to museum area and saw the new fabulous waterfront buildings - theatre, music, science & oceanographic aquarium. Loved the L’Umbracle arch which disguises the car park. The old river which flooded in 1957 is reclaimed as a huge park with sports grounds and family areas. A massive undertaking and not finished till 2003. No bars in the park that we found though!!!!
    Wandered back to town and struggled to find beer. Many places closed between 4 - 7 pm. No good to us! Back in the centre we had a couple of pintas (about €5 each but pint rather than jarra) then stopped at New York tapas bar. Didn’t like the name but it was a proper tapas selection so we sat at the bar and thoroughly enjoyed our food - total €25. Had tortilla de patatas, prawn & mussel salad, fried pulpo & bread. Bargain.
    Stopped for last beer at Arrecife bar. Andy had extra lomo, egg & chips. Biggest beer (doble said waitress!?) was only 33cl. They don’t accept cash over the bar - have to put into a machine and it gives change. Anyway, home 9.30. Glass of Guvnor from local Mercadona then bed.    Read more

  • DooWhitt toursValencia
    Day 2

    Day 2

    April 13 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    Up 8am. Andy went for a run. Out for breakfast 10ish.
    Met for walking tour at 11am. A lot of people split across various language groups. Our group was about 30 which for us was too many. Patricia was very good but it was difficult to herd so many people. To be fair, it is a sunny & warm Saturday so there are a lot of locals and tourists around but the tour wasn’t the best. We covered all the main sights in the old town and she told us lots of the history. The river was diverted after the 1957 flood and was then abandoned for years. In the 80s, the plan for a major highway was thrown out and the redevelopment into a 9km leisure park began.
    After the tour, we sampled ‘Agua de Valencia’. Gin, vodka, cava & orange juice. It was lovely but just a tick in a box.
    We then went to check out 2 potential bars for football later. ‘Beer & Travels’ was perfect but they’re showing rugby & La Liga today. We had a beer and 4 montaditos each - peppers, tuna, cheese & tuna & potato salad. Total €20. Delicious.
    Then to The Lounge bar. Small & crowded but they’re showing Man U later.
    Wandered back via the Market (closed now). Went into La Lonja, the old silk exchange. Fabulous building then home about 4pm.
    Out again 5.30 to St Martins Irish bar (I know, we don’t do Irish bars) to watch Man U v Bournemouth. Didn’t bother with The Lounge from this afternoon. Good sports bar with lots of screens and Spanish staff. Only had one beer and left about 7.15 with Man U 2 - 1 down. The town has a totally different feel tonight. Very busy with locals, tourists and lots of stag & hen parties. We moved on to a relatively quiet street and had 2 beers & pizza. Total €41.60. Footie ended 2-2. Street got busier & busier as time went on. Spent the evening talking about what we’ll do next time we come here. We’ll definitely be back - absolutely love the city. It’s busy but not overwhelming and doesn’t feel oppressive or polluted. Home for vino & tv by 9.15. I’ve only walked 7 miles today vs 9 miles yesterday. Tired legs.    Read more

  • DooWhitt toursValencia
    1
    Day 3

    Day 3

    April 14 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Up 8ish again. Andy went for a run. Out for coffee & toast for breakfast then had a look inside the Estacion del Norte. Fabulous building and full of history. Had a peek inside the enormous bullring (capacity 12,000) but couldn’t go in. Again, so much history and bullfighting still takes place here. It’s also a major concert venue - Tom Jones & The Pretenders advertised. Then easy Metro to seaside. Arrived about 12. Walked the delightful prom from one end to the other. Very busy on a hot & sunny Sunday afternoon. We were going to stop for Paella Valenciana but the restaurants were all very busy or booked so we got the Metro back to town. It was about 3pm by this time so we stopped at the first place we saw traditional paella advertised. Le Petit Montmartre - mmm. Possibly not authentic but it was in one of the lovely squares with lots going on. €13.90 each. Anyway, it tasted very good. Andy had a ‘cachi’ beer = stein. Haven’t seen or heard that before. It cost €11 which wasn’t too bad considering the size of it and the location.
    Home for quick rest & change then out again 5.30.
    Went to Beer & Travels to see if they’re showing Arsenal v Villa. Not. Had a Maeloc cider from Galicia. Second weakest on the list. €4.00. Very nice. Then got lost on the way back to The Lounge. These streets are demons! They did have the match on but Arsenal lost after Liverpool lost earlier. Big gift to City!
    Saw local religious parade in honour of St Vincent. I tried to Google what it was but couldn’t find anything. Our tour guide told us yesterday that the locals pay a fee to be Falleros & Falleras to celebrate their huge Fallas in March. The floats & statues cost € thousands and are often satirical. They’re all then burned at the end of the fiesta. Perhaps the Valencians dressed up tonight are getting their money’s worth out of their subscription.
    Had a beer on the way back home watching lovely fountain and people coming and going. €5.45 each. Then to New York where we went on the first night. Had a beer & lasagne, pork kebab & tortilla. Total €21.70. Delicious and enough after paella lunch. Home 9.30 for Guvnor. I’m on 9.5 miles, Andy on much more after run this morning. Had a lovely birthday.    Read more

  • DooWhitt toursValencia
    Day 4

    Day 4

    April 15 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Up 8ish. No run today so out for early walkabout. First stop was Ayuntamiento. Nice & early so pretty quiet. Again, fantastic decor & windows. Next stop Post Office. Waste of time - just a modern building. We didn’t bother with the cathedral - we’ve done many of them. Then to St Nicolas - our guide recommended it and said it’s their version of the Sistine Chapel. Unfortunately only open for worship on Mondays so will have to save that for next time. Had a coffee then went to the market. Enormous and full of all kinds of local food & drink & souvenirs. Bought a pack of paella mix. Wandered a bit more and bought fridge magnet, T shirt & spatula then brunch in Los Toneles where we had breakfast yesterday. Had bocadillo de calamares and jamon y queso. Big & delicious.
    Back to the apartment to collect bags then easy trip back to the airport.

    Busy flight again. Airport doesn’t seem big enough for the amount of traffic. Landed on time. Straight into a taxi home.

    Flight price was €135.45 including resident discount. Seats were €60 so almost half the price!
    Apartment price was €372.60. It was perfect for us. Great location, cool and very quiet at night. Would definitely stay there again. Owner was very accommodating and let us check in early and check out late.

    Overall observations - very enjoyable weekend. Food excellent and reasonable price. Beer €4.50/€5 for pint. Expensive compared to what we’re used to but not bad for the 3rd biggest city in Spain. City is very manageable and not intimidating. Next time would probably try to miss Saturday. It was very, very busy and the evening was full of hens & stags and other parties.    Read more

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