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  • TravelerValencia, Spain
    Day 4

    The Beach

    July 13, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Today Georgia and I took the subway to the beach. It’s about a 15 minute walk to the closest subway station from our Airbnb. The beach is then 2 different subway cars to actually get to the beach. It is only a couple of miles as the crow flies but we’re staying in the old section of town.

    The beach in Valencia is absolutely beautiful. It stretches for miles in both directions and it’s like fine sugar. There is a boardwalk taking you close to the waters edge. This is important because it’s about 50 yards to the water and the sand sure can get hot. After we tanned for a bit, we ventured into the water. I was a bit hesitant having been tossed by a strong wave in Rio once but there was nothing to fear. Though the waves sometimes were big, I could easily navigate the breakers. The water was so warm and pretty clear. Valencia has many blue flag beaches which means they are not polluted. We saw lots of people paddle boarding and somebody fly boarding (That’s the jet pack that pushes you between 2 and 4 metes above the water). Georgia wanted to try it but she’s going to wait and do it with a friend. There are also jet skis to rent and we may try that later in the week.

    After a couple of hours, we decided it was time to head back to the apartment. It was so much fun that we plan to go back most mornings when we get back from Morocco.

    After we freshened up a bit, I wanted to try a local drink called horchata. It is made from a nut called a tiger nut. It is served cold with donuts called fartons that you dip into the horchata. We headed over to a beautiful building called the Mercat Colon. This is a beautiful building with bar, restaurants, and horchatarias. We weren’t impressed with the horchata and fartons but we plan to try them again somewhere else just in case this wasn’t a good horchataria.

    We ended the day by going out for tapas at a restaurant close to our Airbnb. Tapas are appetizers so I figured if we ordered 3, that would have been good for dinner. The portions were huge so next time we probably only need 1. We tried a variety of croquettes, calamari, and patatas bravas which are fried potato chunks with spicy paprika, a spicy ketchup, and mayonnaise. The food was pretty good. Georgia also ordered another small pitcher of Agua de Valencia.

    Sorry about no pictures. I’ll add them later.    Read more

  • TravelerValencia, Spain
    Day 4

    Oceanographic

    July 13, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Today we decided to visit the Oceanogràfic. It’s the second largest aquarium in Europe and has 500 different species of animals. My favorites were the cold water creatures such as walruses, beluga whales, seals, and sea lions. There are many plexiglass tunnels that you walk through to watch sharks, rays, and fish swim by. I really enjoyed the variety of jelly fish the had too. Oceanografic also has a dolphin show but Georgia refused to go because she says dolphins are cruel animals.

    I have many great things to say about Oceanogràfic. They are open from 10 am to midnight. Though the cost is steep, you could spend all day and see it many times over. The animals all seemed happy. They had signs such as “no flash photography because the fish cannot protect themselves”. There were several places to eat ranging from inexpensive to fancy and expensive. I highly recommend a visit to Oceanogràfic.

    The aquarium is in a part of Valencia called City of Arts and Sciences. It has several music and science museums with some amazing architecture. Below is an aerial shot of some of the buildings.

    Though the aquarium was amazing, our day started out a bit rough. We decided to take the subway to Oceanogràfic. It’s about a 15 minute walk to the nearest subway station. But, once we got there we decided that it would be not much farther so we should just walk. Big mistake. Valencia is known for having over 300 sunny days a year. Not true today. What started as a little sprinkle, ended with a downpour and we got pretty wet. Oh well. At least it cooled things down a bit. We were so tired when we left Oceanogràfic that we actually took a taxi. Funny thing about me, the only way I’ll take a cab is if I find a taxi stand. I’m too scared to flag one down! There is no Uber in Spain.

    We ended the day doing something Georgia was looking forward to. The legal age for drinking here is 18 and since Georgia is 18 she wanted to order an Agua de Valencia. It’s made from fresh squeezed orange juice, sparkling wine, and usually something like vodka or gin. Apparently it’s made for sharing because it comes in pitchers. She really liked it. Unfortunately, we couldn’t order food because there was a problem in the kitchen so we left half of it and had croissants across the street. Drinking on an empty stomach is never a good plan. After, we walked around and did some shopping. It was a really fun day.    Read more

  • TravelerValencia, Spain
    Day 3

    Hop on and off

    July 12, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Today was our first full day in Valencia. Unfortunately Georgia is feeling really sick. I think she is very jet lagged.

    This morning we headed out to the Valencia central market which is just a short walk away from us. This is the largest market in Valencia with more than 300 venders. I was so awestruck that I forgot to take pictures. I will take some tomorrow when I return and add them to this post.

    We got to the market when everyone was just setting up and wandered up and down the aisles. The market is mainly food items such as fruit, meat, vegetables, and seafood. This is the place you would go to get the freshest ingredients for dinner. Occasionally, people have items you can eat or drink while walking around. I had a cup of fruit sliced for eating and a croissant. I’m not sure what makes European croissants so much better than what we can get in the US, but it was amazing. I plan to go back every morning for breakfast here.

    We also got a loaf of rosemary bread and a jug of orange juice to have at our apartment. We were able to watch a machine slice the oranges and freshly squeeze them. This is the best orange juice I’ve ever had.

    Today we went to 3 different grocery stores. When I travel anywhere, I going to grocery stores because you get a good sense for regional foods. It’s also cheap fun. Incredibly, food is overall cheaper here than back home. I suppose the grocery stores need to compete with all the fresh markets around.

    Later, we rode the hop on, hop off bus. Georgia still was sick so I was hoping just riding the double decker bus would be relaxing. The bus has two routes so we rode on both routes. The first is through the old part of town and the second goes to the local beaches. The only place we hopped off was at the marina so I could pay for a future paddle board trip from SUPlife. It was also a chance to see the beach which I think we’ll go to Saturday.

    We decided to take our first siesta like the locals do. It is used as a long lunch and perhaps a short nap. We both fell asleep and slept for 3 hours. This really helped Georgia and she felt much better after it.

    Tomorrow, we’re going to Oceanogràfic which is the largest aquarium in Valencia.    Read more

  • TravelerValencia, Spain
    Day 2

    Travel Days

    July 11, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    It took us 2 days to get to Valencia. We spent so much time in airports due to late flights.
    Georgia especially had a hard time with jet lag. Probably the worst part was the cab ride to our Airbnb. The cab driver dropped us off and pointed in the general vicinity of our apartment. Unfortunately, he was wrong and we wandered around with our suitcases. Georgia noticed an American restaurant to ask directions at. The kind waitress gave directions but in Spanish. Fortunately, Georgia was able to understand. Thank goodness she took Spanish in college. Tomorrow we're taking the hop-on, hop-off bus.Read more

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