Julia & Liz Experience Old Valencia

10/14 For the first full day in Valencia for my American friends, we definitely made it count. We got up early, 

Enjoying some horchata in the morning

had some breakfast in the piso, and took the bus over to the old part of the city. In case I haven’t already mentioned it enough- I LOVE OLD VALENCIA. It has beautiful, unique architecture, an interesting history, and a great authentic vibe. I can’t seem to get sick of it. I hope my friends felt the same.  So, just like the “walking tour” I have given in the past for John and Olivia, we started out at the famous horchata restaurant in Plaza de La Reina. The girls loved their drink, and I’ll be sad to go back to America and not be able to have it anymore! Next we walked down the plaza to the cathedral.  I hadn’t paid to go inside it since I visited here in 2007, and when the girls said they were interested in touring it, I gladly agreed. The only problem? It was a Sunday morning in Spain: Mass was going on. We ended up walking around the areas near the cathedral, and admiring it from the outside. There are still plenty of beautiful sights to see. We ended up sneaking in a side door and listened in for a bit of the Spanish mass. When it ended, we went back around to the front and paid our 5 euros for the entry ticket and the audio tour. We walked around and faithfully hit up all the numbered points of interest, learning all the history of the Catedral de Valencia. The most unique things are the dehydrated arm of Saint Vincent (it’s weird looking), and the fact that the Vatican approved “cup-most-likely-to-actually-be-THE-holy-grail” is in there too. Once we were done touring the interior, we climbed the treacherous 300ish steps up the narrow , winding church tower to the top- called El Miguelete/ El Micalet (in Valenciano). From there we got to enjoy my favorite view in the city. I realized this would probably be the last time I’d make this climb for quite a while, and it made me sad and nostalgic. That was my 5^th time going up there, and I will certainly miss it. After we dealt with wearing skirts in the wind and took all our photos, we headed back down to the plaza.

View of Valencia from the Cathedral

We had a typical Spanish lunch consisting of various bocadillos in the Plaza de La Virgen, and Liz and Julia got to enjoy the great atmosphere of the GORGEOUS surroundings. I just really love that plaza. It’s definitely my favorite in all of Europe (can you tell I’m feeling nostalgic?) Next up, we walked around the city some more, and just explored the surrounding areas. I had intended for us to go inside the Torres de Serranos, but since it was a Sunday, they were closed. Sadly, we just had to admire them from the outside. That did not stop us from taking photos though! We did some souvenir shopping, and then walked around by the Plaza de Torros. At that point, we realized how tired we were. Walking around the glamorous streets of a European city can definitely take its toll! We ended up getting some frozen yogurt at “Toppings” and listened to some live music.

Julia, Myself & Liz on the Miguelete

Liz & Julia in front of Torres de Serranos

After that, we took the metro back to my apartment. We freshened up, and relaxed for a little bit. Around 6 (very early for a Spanish dinner!), we walked the twenty minutes towards Whitney and Raúl’s apartment. She had made una reserva for us to all have dinner together at a cool place right by her building. This was a special occasion because- SADLY- it was the last time I would get to hang out with them in Spain. They

The Farewell Dinner- I miss you guys!

were heading to visit Whitney’s family in America the next week, and I would be out of town. I was glad my friends got to meet her, and we got to enjoy some delicious sangria. I don’t recall exactly what we ate, but I know that we ate a lot and that it was delicious. Also, it was a little different than the typical “Spanish food” that you find everywhere, so I was happy to mix it up. Raúl got to practice his English a little bit, and when Whitney left to use the restroom he talked more than I had ever heard him! When she came back, she didn’t believe us that he had been speaking so much and in good English- guess he is just shy in front of his novia Americana J After dinner, we took some farewell photos, and then I teared up a bit. It was an emotional day I guess. They have been involved in my life in Spain from the start, and I will truly miss getting to spend time with them. Whitney was the best Spanish teacher I ever had L , not to mention she had become a very close friend. It made me sad to realize this chapter in my life was coming to a close. On cue, it started raining pretty hard. Raúl so kindly drove us back to my piso, and I said adios to some great friends. The three of us girls spent the rest of the evening relaxing in the apartment- we were having some plumbing issues, and a hilarious story ensued- ask me if you’re ever curious! 

Enjoying the love from Whitney & Raul

John's Valencia Experience- Parte Dos

Risking his life for a photo.

Being the morning person that he is, John made sure we were up and out of the piso by 9am and on our way to explore more of the city. Since he had the chance to see the modern parts of the city yesterday, I decided today to take him on my “historic tour” of the old city. By this point, I have a whole walking route mapped out, and can point out the places of note. I am a pretty good tour guide if I say so myself- I even know random little informational tidbits and have dates and facts all memorized by now. It’s too bad I can’t do this for tips! We took the bus downtown to the Plaza de La Reina, and began our day there. It was nice and hot, per usual Valencian style, so the first thing we did was go inside the Cathedral. This is the main point of the old city center, and so we paid the 2 euros to climb the 300+ stairs to the top of the church’s tower, El Miguelete. This was the 4^th time I’ve done this in my life, and I know more times are to come. The views at the top are spectacular though, and I definitely wanted John to have that vantage point of my beloved city. Next, we swung by the classic horchata place for a drink, and then we explored the Plaza de La Virgen and the surrounding buildings. We got to see the River Turia fountain, the old Islamic entrance to the church, and the old Roman ruins underneath the plaza too. Once I felt John had a real feel for the look and architecture of the central part of the city, we headed over to the Torres de Serrano. Unfortunately, the towers are randomly closed on Mondays, so we only got an exterior view. We then kept walking through the narrow streets (with me leading the way, be proud) and walked over towards the quarter of the city with the old wool market (Llonja de La Seda) and the Mercado Central. We passed by a church called Iglesia de San Juan, in honor of John, and he also got to see giant paella pots for sale. We didn’t end up going inside La Llonja, just had a quick peek, and then we arrived at the market. I figured John would love it, especially given that he enjoys trying random foods. I was right. Once he’d had his fill of taking photographs and buying unique fruit, we headed over to the business and shopping centre of the city, or the Plaza de La Ayuntamiento. This is a beautiful part of town full of tall buildings with gorgeous architecture. The fountains and palm trees all around don’t hurt either!

Walking around the old city center

Me in Plaza de La Virgen, love that place!

Mercado Central Valencia

Plaza de La Ayuntamiento- Government Center

We decided to stop for lunch on one of the pedestrian streets at a Thai place called Lemongrass. I convinced John to abstain from Spanish food for one meal because pad-thai is just so good! After that, we walked across the street to the Plaza De Toros. Since the Oktoberfest event was going on still, we were able to go in and walk around, which isn’t usually the case on a day with no bullfights. He was lucky to get to see the inside part, and I of course forced him to pose next to the matador statue outside too. It was still early afternoon at this point, and we weren’t really sure what else to do. We tried to go to the Museo Taurino, but that also was closed. Since it was getting really hot, we headed back towards the Cathedral and took a few more photos. Then, unfortunately, we had to take the expensive metro ride back to the Valencia airport. Air Europa had texted me saying John’s luggage was finally in, but that instead of delivering it he would have to go pick it up himself. It takes about 30 minutes to get there on the metro, so we wasted over an hour of our day getting his luggage. I was just a little mad. Once that annoying task was done, we took his bag back to my piso. We had done a lot of walking and it was really hot, so we just took it easy the rest of the day. Bárbara, Nathan, John, and I ended up going out to dinner at Montaditos, and had a really good time! The little sandwiches they serve were a good way for John to get to try a variety of the Spanish meats. Afterwards we had wine and goat-cheese at the piso and just hung out and chatted. I think after today John had a good idea or “feel” of Valencia, and now we are ready to venture off to Africa tomorrow!

John in the Bullfighting Ring

The Couple- Reunited!

Historical Valencia

Today, with me as their guide, the three of us explored the older historical part of Valencia. The first thing we did was climb the bell tower of the centuries old Catedral de Valencia, called El Miguelete. It was a dizzying, circular journey of about 300 stony steps to the top, but the views were well worth it. From there, you can see the whole city: from the modern Arts & Sciences buildings to the old churches, and from the busy port to the beautiful beach. Once we took some great photos, we headed back down inside the church. There was a funeral going on that morning, so we weren’t able to walk around as much as you normally could. That didn’t stop us from seeing the real “Holy Grail” though! This church is rumored to have the real true original holy grail in it--  the Vatican in Rome even approves this as the most likely candidate. Little known fact about Valencia!

Catedral de Valencia

View of Valencia from El Miguelete

Plaza de la Virgen

Once we left the church and got some water (it was so hot!!), we began walking through the beautiful architecture near the Plaza de la Virgen. The buildings have an almost Islamic feel to them, despite the fact that the country is now 95% Catholic. We enjoyed the unique views, and Christina and I made Greaham imitate the classic pose of the man in front of the fountain in the main square. After that, we decided to head towards the Torres de Serranos. Up to this point in the day, I had already seen all of these sights before, but this was new for me. Apparently, this tower structure was one of the gates that ran along the medieval city walls. There were no signs or information anywhere on site, so while we climbed the tower to see the views and explored a bit, we really had no idea what we were looking at. It was still a pretty cool thing to see though. I later looked up the history of it, and found this out: “the towers were commenced in 1394, and although built with a defensive function in mind, they never came to be used as such, merely cruising through history as a decorative trade gate of Valencia. Between 1586 and 1887 they were used as a prison for the nobility (much like the Tower of London) which is why they survived the liquidation of the city walls in 1865."

Torres de Serranos

Greaham imitates the fountain

Matadors at the Plaza de Torros

After we had our fill of climbing steps, we headed back to the Plaza for lunch. I decided to treat myself to a gofre, a Spanish dessert consisting of waffles and nutella, MMmm! We then decided to head over to the Mercado Central. We walked for about 20 minutes, but sadly once we got there we realized it was closed since it was Sunday. The next thing we did was head back towards the Plaza de Torros to buy tickets for the bull fight that night. After some relaxation in the hotel, we headed over to the Plaza for the show. I went to one of these back in 2007, and thought it was an extremely depressing spectacle. Since my friends really wanted to go though, I decided to humor them. The bull fight this time was just as I remembered. A decorative cultural display of grown men torturing poor bulls that stand no chance of winning the “fight”. It is neat to go and see all the people that get really into it, but being an animal lover I just ended up leaving feeling sad. The photos of the matadors are neat, but everything else is bloody and sad. To finish off our evening, we had some tapas and sangria near our hotel- that helped us forget about the poor dead torros. 

Ole! Poor bull, look at all the blood :(