There's something strange about the water in Valencia. Like I checked it out and apparently it's ok but the taste is off. Again, I'm writing this on some form of transport and this time it's a bus to Barcelona. I've just watched people dash to the bus to make it on time - then stand there for a while madly smoking a cigarette like it's oxygen. ha.
I've just spent the last four or so days hanging out in Valencia and it's been kinda nice. Unlike other cities I feel Valencia isn't trying to shove history down your throat, on the contrary, most of the cathedrals I visited were plain closed, instead it appears to enjoy it's beach side and beautiful weather element. Admiral indeed.
(SPAYN!)
Let me just say that Valencia oranges were created in California. There are still orange trees everywhere though. My friend in Sevilla said that they are 'male' oranges though and are mostly only used for jams/marmalade because they are too bitter. Nice to look at though.
Possibly what I've enjoyed most about Valencia is the long riverside turned park that runs through the middle of the city. A while ago Valencia decided that, no, it did not want to have a river there any more (floodsss) so instead they turned the canal in to one long park with sport facilities, trees, flowers, fountains, and more. I spent a lot of one particular day just strolling around it eating grapes. They were kind of soft. Not the best grapes I've had.
(Fuck you river - trees!)
I've found that when arriving in a new city the first thing I usually do after checking into the hostel is to go on the hunt for a super market. I literally bled money in Portugal (not literally) because I was just going out for every meal when in reality that's not really sustainable. Spaniards do not seem to enjoy dip because it is super hard to find. Come on guys! DIP! Everyone needs dip. This all also coincides with an incident at the Valencian Science Museum that has filled me with a need to eat better...
I'm in the healthy BMI range yeah? In the Science museum they have a ride where you sit there and spin around or whatever. Their requirements are that you be no taller than 193cm and no heaver than 75kgs. I weigh 80.2kg (again, well within range!) so they refused to let me go on it. More annoyed than embarrassed. My friend Dom got to jump on though. Jerk.
(Fight the authority! Kris for ride/thing 2013!)
When booking the hostel I had the option between a 9 or 12 bed room (on a budget guyzzz) and so I thought "oh, there must be 2 bunk beds and a single or something" but no! I have just experienced my first 3-tier bunk system and of COURSE I was on the top! I couldn't sit on my bed without my hair touching the ceiling. It wasn't so bad though; I couldn't receive wifi in the room so I was only in there for sleeping anyway. The common room was very expansive but constantly dark and oddly quiet. You could have 9 people in there and no one would be saying a single word to each other.
That's when my friend Sativa (one of the Aussies I met in Madrid and fellow healthy eater enthusiast) said she and the others were in Valencia so hey presto the next day I was drinking wine and eating stuffed capsicums on their hostels rooftop terrace. Dom and I went to the science museum where my aforementioned awakening experience occurred. The girls slept. The day after they were heading to Barcelona which is where I'm currently off to now. We've decided to have Tapas and cheap champagne.
Otherwise what else did I do? I went to the largest aquarium in Europe which was pretty cool (but cost 29 euro :-/), walked around the city, got drunk with a local Spaniard named Juan, walked around the park I mentioned and made some mean tuna sandwiches. One of which I ate at the aquarium. I was eating what I was seeing. It's like having a ham sandwich in a petting zoo.
(This is from my shitty iPhone camera. Right?)
All in all I'd say I enjoyed Valencia. I didn't go to the beach as I ran out of time but the weather wasn't quite hot enough yet. I was rocking tshirts and shorts almost out of hope than anything else but the sun was shining most days and I can feel there's a definite change happening. It's a big weekend this weekend in Barcelona as it's the Easter weekend and ... well it's Barcelona. If I survive I'll let you know what crappens!