Our school had somewhat of a fall break this past weekend to celebrate the aforementioned holidays. The girls and I decided that on our tight budget, a cheap flight and one night and day in Valencia would be a nice break from Barcelona.
The trip ended up being wonderful. Each one of us fell in love with Valencia in our own special way. By the end of the trip, we were all looking forward to another weekend there.
Within five minutes of leaving our hostel, we were basically cornered by about 12 men in Renaissance-era costumes. They proceeded to serenade us with "Besame Mucho" and about four more songs after that. We slow danced, and drank some sherry while some of them played flute and guitar. It was quite a surreal experience, but one I'm sure we could only experience here.
Next were some cocktails at a bar down the way where the girls and I did our first improv session!! That's right, I brought my improv skills from sf all the way here. We did a little beastie rap and sound ball over some Margaritas and Mojitos. It was really fun and the perfect bonding experience for all of us :-) After a birthday shot with the bartender, we headed over to a dance club just down the alley. There we dance for an hour or so to some Spanish pop, and met some Americans (of course) who were studying in Barcelona and took a trip to Valencia for the weekend. After the club we headed to a pizzeria!! I finally found a by-the-slice pizzeria! I chatted some more with some Brits and Americans from Minnesota, Nebraska, NY, and Philly. It was fun swapping stories and talking with kids more or less our age. We decided to head back to the hostel a little early ( 5am ) in order to wake up for our walking tour the next day.
Up to check out by 11am, we headed into town, when my post-drinking hunger kicked in (not too much grandmas, I promise!). We got some yummy mini-sandwiches and had enough time to stroll over to the beginning of the tour. Duncan, a Scotsman living in Valencia, was our guide, and what a guide he was!! If my family and I end up staying in Valencia, we'll definitely have to go on this tour again! He was fun, sweet, and incredibly knowledgeable about all of the rich history making up Valencia. After two hours of learning about the Christian, Muslim, and Franco-eras of Spain, we grabbed a Horchata and plopped down in a plaza. People watching, from abuelos with their grandkids, to a bride and groom. Everyone was out and about, enjoying the beautiful weather and holiday.
Why I might like Valencia better than Barcelona: unlike Barcelona, every time we turned the corner, there seemed to be a Renaissance-era building staring back at us. The city felt incredibly Spanish, especially the bullring we happened upon later in the day. Bullfighting was recently banned in the region of Catalonia (this August), but the arena itself was as beautiful as you can imagine. The image of the bullring along the horizon and the sight of church steeples all around provoked an instant reminder. "I'm here, I'm really here. Stumbling upon 1,000 year old ruins, and bullrings. In Spain, just like I dreamed." Valencia, in its own way, was a wake-up call for all the girls and I. We all seemed to fall in love with the city for one reason or another. We left not wanting to go, looking forward to our return...
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