Spanish, Paella and Beaches

And so me and my boyfriend decided to fly to Valencia, the third biggest city in Spain with 800,000 people. We payed 40 euros for a return ticket and that was all that took to convince me to go there. Staying at hostel was also really cheap and in the centre of the city. The adventure began. We landed at midnight as the plane was late. Italians and Spaniards aren’t really famous for being punctual. In Trieste, which is a small airport, they changed the gate when we should already be in the air and someone came to us and said only in Italian that we have to change the gate. Spaniards are also really laid back and there’s no public transport at midnight so we had to take a taxi. Luckily the airport is quite close and we were only lighter for 20 Euros (which is what we payed for a one way ticket to Valencia) but it could definitely be worse. We just rolled in our beds when we arrived in a room, which looked like it’s ready for a shoot for Ikea catalogue.

Rested and full of excitement we started exploring in the morning. The first mission was to find coffee. The app told us that there is the best coffee in Valencia right next to our hostel and we decided to give it a try. Coffee in Valencia is really good and can compare to the coffee in Slovenia, so are the prices (about 1,2 Euros for a macchiato). We decided to get breakfast at their local market and were completely charmed. Mercado Central is a market, divided into two parts which have more than 8,000 square metres combined. It is the biggest covered market in Europe and one of the oldest markets still active. People have been trading here since 14th century but the market that we see today has been built between 1910 and 1928. It’s a real beauty. You can find everything here. Fresh fish, meat, vegetables, fruit, spices and freshly squeezed juices... I could go for days. After a good run-through we decided to try the juice, cut fruit and typical Spanish sandwiches, called bocadillo. They are simple sandwiches with baguettes and Spanish prosciutto or their typical chorizo salami. If you wish, they also sprinkle some olive oil on the sandwich. Nothing special, but the prosciutto is so tasty and the bread is crispy and filling. Great and cheap breakfast that we, besides empanadillas (little pockets, filled with spinach, chicken, even potato), have eaten for the next three days that we spent in Valencia. Here we also tried our first churros (fried dough, which is then sweetened and covered in nutella) and our first paella in a restaurant near the market, which was a disappointment. The prices of the famous paella, which was born in Valencia, were up to 30 Euros and because we wanted to travel on budget, we chose the cheapest paella and were, of course, disappointed. We got simple rice with chicken, nothing like on the pictures that made your mouth water. 

The first day we spent on the Spanish market, discovered the centre of the city and Spanish culture. The coffee houses in Spain are always full, Spaniards are never in a rush and the waiters are really slow but nice, especially if you try to speak Spanish, which is a must in Valencia. English isn’t close even to people, working in tourism. The waiters quickly become annoyed at the fact that you’re speaking English to them and just act like they don’t understand you and show you that you have to tray a little bit. I thanked to younger me several times on this trip that I watched Spanish telenovelas and learned some Spanish through my TV hours. The bad thing is that I mostly remembered bad words but with what I knew besides the bad words I kept me and my boyfriend fed and a little bit oriented. It’s obvious that Spaniards are very proud of their language and that they won’t bow to tourists with English. I wanted to order breakfast in one of the coffee shops where there was writing in English “Continental breakfast” but the waiter, despite my showing to the board, didn’t understand what I want. When I finally used my broken Spanish, she quickly understood that I want breakfast. And what surprised me even more, even staff on the Valencia’s airport doesn’t speak English. I was looking for tissues but no one in any of the shops understood me what I wanted. I was forced to mime what I need, but with no success.

Because we travelled to Valencia in May, we hoped just a little bit for a war Mediterranean sea and an afternoon at the beach. But we had no luck. Valencia has 320 dry days a year but when we strolled to the beach, we ran into the biggest rain I’ve ever seen. We ran to one of the restaurants by the beach, ordered sangria and beer and enjoyed a little differently than we imagined. The guides also say that the beach is only 15 minutes away from the city but I don’t see this happening. The first time we drove by bus to the beach for an hour, the second time it took us 45 minutes. We’ll have to check next time if that was our fault for not figuring out the bus system in these four days, spent in Valencia.

A little outside of the city centre is the city of arts and science, one of the biggest attractions in Valencia. It has impressive buildings and visiting them also doesn’t leave you unimpressed. We bought tickets for Hemisferic, cinema and planetarium on the internet, it’s the cheapest and you avoid standing in line. Hemisferic is a building in shape of an eye and represents eye of wisdom. Inside, there’s a 3-D cinema and we were able to see one of the documentaries they offer. It’s a really unique experience, but it takes a bit of organization because they only show movies two or three hours apart. Around Hemisferic is a big fountain and science museum on one side and a gallery on the other. Both buildings are very modern and a real eye-catcher. We also visited Oceanografic, an aquarium, 110,000 square metres big with 45,000 animals and over 500 different species. We were lucky to see the dolphin show and see a shark while walking through a tunnel, which runs inside a pool so sharks swim above and by you. You get a little adrenalin rush and it’s really interesting.

City centre offers a lot of interesting attractions. By the city centre runs a giant park, which was made after catastrophic flood – they dried river Turia in the fifties. The park runs all the way from the city of arts and science on south to the palace of music on north. There are nine kilometres of paths, trees, football field, rugby field and much more. It’s a great place to have a picnic or to rest after exploring the city. Near the big market Mercado Central we can find the biggest silk market from the 15th century, named La Lonja. With Valencia Tourist Card (which really makes up for its price as you also get free public transport) the entrance to La Lonja is free. La Lonja is now interesting because of its gothic architecture and their orange and lemon trees on its garden. The cathedral in Valencia also has an interesting history. It was built over an existing cathedral in gothic style in 1238. It has beautiful Italian fresco and what is more interesting and also the reason that they charge a huge entrance fee – holy grail is located in one of the gothic chapels. It’s the same holy grail that Jesus drank from during the last supper. We can find the gothic buildings everywhere. Combine it with typical Spanish architecture and you’re completely charmed. To add something special and modern, there are amazing graffiti right when you leave the city centre. Really beautiful and something extra.