8/12/2006: what a desire to take the plane and fly towards our dear Spain! other air, other mentality, other everything. On the map we are close but for the rest...... alas, Italy still has a lot to learn.
Click air..but what is that? A new Spanish low cost, tickets on promotion at 5 euros, you CAN'T not buy them and then the airline has to be tested, right? No sooner said than done, 44 euros per person including taxes and on the 8th of December we are in Valencia right on time. Our apartment is right in the barrio del Carmen (historic centre), taxiiiii, 14 euros for four and we're home (you can find the apartment on Nice house, clean and equipped with everything, just a little cold but there are the electric radiators.
The neighbourhood is truly characteristic, it's full of little places, from "cafés" to restaurants. We noticed that the cafés are very busy, they are excellent meeting points for a tea or a cerveza and a bit of chatting. We make a stop for a first cerveza then we start walking again in the direction of Plaza de la Reina, but we are hungry as wolves and we immediately wolf down a nice Kebab which, however, will spoil our belly space for a paella at dinner! In fact, no paella but lots of beer!
Wandering around we arrived at Plaza de la Virgen, very beautiful and I'd say that together with Plaza de la Reina it is the busiest, right here there was a typical Christmas market where we clearly stopped to have a look. We passed through Plaza Redonda, where during the day many little shops are open selling lace and souvenirs. We got as far as Plaça Ayntamiento passing in front of the colourful fountain that recalls the magical one in Barcelona. Before returning to the apartment we stopped for a quick beer in a tiny bar called "el Cafetin" near plaza de San Jaime to remember for the intense pink colour of the walls, above one of which was hanging a fake "shit" with lots of equally fake flies next to it, a nice idea!!
The second day greets us with a magnificent sun and a cold, crisp little wind. We head out late (around 11.00) with the aim of seeing the Central market and eating a paella at the kiosk! Spanish markets are always lively and big, the part dedicated to "pescado" is the one I like most, the fruit is always displayed neatly, not to mention all those beautiful "jamon serrano and pata negra" hams.... well, sorry but food and I have a certain chemistry... Good, good, now we have to find the little kiosk that makes paella for 3 euros, to the right of the market entrance (so I read on the internet) but which entrance if there's more than one?!.. the task was very easy and we found it immediately, sure, eating paella at 12.15..... well yes, we did it, yes, all four of us at the counter tasting paella, tortillas and cervezas, what disgusting pigs!!
Near the market you absolutely must see the "Lonja de la seda" which is the symbolic building of the Gothic and the golden age of Valencia, which in 1996 became part of Unesco, the visit is free, not to be missed. We continue walking and then take the bus to spend the day at the City of Arts and Sciences which in our opinion is worth the trip to Valencia all by itself. Even the modern, indeed futuristic, style has its charm, we buy tickets only for the oceanographic because we only have the afternoon available and we really won't be able to see the rest. We pay a reduced student ticket, the only one is me who isn't a student but they didn't ask for documents to verify it, so.......we go in and until closing we roam the pavilions of this marvellous aquarium, it definitely pleased me more than the one in Barcelona.
What shall we do for dinner? We decide to go to Malvarrosa beach to eat some fish. A group of very kind elderly people who were waiting for the bus with us help us understand which stop to get off at, and they also tell us that you eat well just about anywhere.
Once there, there's one restaurant after another, but there's a desolation, either they're all inside eating or there isn't a soul around! After selecting the menus one by one from the places, we slip into a place that I'd say is really quite ugly, we're already inside so what do we do, eat here or have an aperitif?..(and to think we had made a careful selection....) Ok, beer and off to the restaurant "La Pepica", among other things you hear a lot about this restaurant on the internet on the Valencia forums, and we understood why. The fish is excellent, we are left enthusiastic.
We go back home by taxi, we are dead tired, we have ourselves dropped off at plaza de la Reina, then the usual stroll along Calle de Caballeros and then, we go to sleep while Fede and Bizio have the courage to have another beer!
Last day: the weather is still on our side. Today we are alone, they have left and so we continue to wear out our feet around the city. Briefly, we saw Plaza de Toros where the circus was being held so we didn't go inside, we had a wander among the little shops under the arcades. We wanted to see the Mestalla but we changed our minds almost near the destination to go to the port of the America's cup. We went to the Mascalzone Latino boatyard area but there was absolutely nothing and so we went to the "paseo maritimo", I'd say the area isn't great, quite "dead", but oh well, for the long weekend we expected a bit more life and instead..... Back in the "city" we stop to watch on a bridge near the Torres Serranos the many football teams playing on what was once the bed of the Turia river.
We concluded the day with a dinner at "Ceveceria 100 montaditos" in plaza de la Reina. It's part of a chain of places located all over Spain. You sit down, you fill in the menu choosing among 100 types of montaditos, that is small bocadillos (sandwiches) stuffed with every kind of thing, you go to the till, you pay and you wait to be called to the microphone to collect your montaditos, nice, isn't it?!
End of holiday in Valencia. What we didn't do: - taste the horchata, a typical Valencian drink to be savoured sitting in one of the oldest horchaterias in Plaza de la Virgen. - see a show at the Hemisferic in the Ciutat de Artes y Ciences good excuses to go back! The city is a jewel, Valencia awaits you!! And as always HAPPY TRAVELS to those who are about to leave and to those who in their head never stop travelling.
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