Valencia

This weekend, a group of ten of us went to Valencia. We got on the train at 9:30 on Friday and rode it five hours south to the beautiful beach city. When we got there, we went to look for our hostel. I had found the hostel online, and it was the first hostel that I had ever booked, so I was anxious to see what it would be like. The check in process was process was very easy, and we were all quickly assigned to rooms. We immediately went to check them out. All of the rooms were very bright colors, and I think that all of us stayed in bright pink rooms. I was assigned to sleep on the forth floor, but I ended up switching rooms with my friend Sam so that I could be with more people from our program. The hostel had a bar and a terrace that we decided to go see before we went out to lunch. We learned that the bar had a happy hour at 9:00 every night where they sold half priced drinks. We decided that we would go there before we went out so that we didn't have to spend a lot of money. I was very impressed by the place and glad that my first experience with a hostel went so well. It is called Purple Nest Hostel if anyone is looking for a place to stay in Valencia, Barcelona, Granada, and a few other places in Spain. It was a great price and an awesome place to stay.

After we got done exploring, we decided to go out to eat at a close by restaurant. I had a sandwich and some french fries and everyone else ordered pretty similar things. Then, Alejandra, Danni, and I decided that we wanted to go shopping. We went to a few small stores and I ended up buying two shirts for only six euro each.

After shopping, we came back to the hostel to get ready for dinner. We were originally planning to get paella since it was created in Valencia, but we decided that we would wait for the next night. We went to a close by restaurant which was decent but not the best that I have ever had. Then, we went back to the hostel, got ready to go out, and had some drinks. We met some Belgians at the hostel bar who had been in Valencia for a few nights. They took us to a dance club, but we didn't buy any drinks there because they were pretty expensive. At 2:30, Lauren, Danni, and I were ready to come home. We walked back to the hostel and quickly climbed into bed. We couldn't wait to get some sleep after a long day of traveling and exploring.

Saturday morning, we woke up early and had some breakfast. The hostel was offering toast, coffee, juice, and fruit for three euro. After breakfast, we bought our tickets for the science museum and the aquarium and then got a taxi to take us there. The taxi was surprisingly only 4.35 euro total from the hostel to the aquarium. I would say that the aquarium, Oceanografic, was my favorite part of the trip. We got to see a lot of really cool sea creatures and a dolphin show that was really well done. I was told that the aquarium is the biggest one in Europe, and I would believe that because there was so much to see. After the aquarium, we went to the science museum which is in the same area. We spent a lot of time exploring and playing with the different gadgets. We also went to a free electricity show which was fun but nothing to rave about. After the museum, a group of us went to get horchatas. They are almost like milkshakes and very famous in Valencia. The taste was very unique, but I liked it a lot. Next, we came back to the hotel, ordered a few drinks at happy hour, and then went out for some paella. It was probably the best meal that I have ever had in my life. We got two kinds, but my favorite was the sea food paella. The meal was a little expensive, but it was definitely a good purchase because it was so delicious. We decided that we were all too tired to go out that night and went back to the hostel to fall asleep.

Sunday, we woke up early again and got breakfast. Then, we checked out and put our bags in storage. We made our way over to a famous market in Valencia where they were selling all sorts of interesting things. It was kind of cool to see all of the little shops set up and people watch since the place was crowded. After shopping, we went out to lunch, and then went to a place called Parc Gulliver. It is a giant statue/playground which is modeled after Gulliver from Gulliver's Travels. There are slides and things to climb all over the place, and it was honestly one of the coolest things that I have ever seen. Our train left at 5:00 that evening, so we went back to the hostel, got our stuff, and then walked back to the train station.

Train station in Valencia

Street in Valencia

Not sure what this building is, but it is beautiful.

Room in Purple Nest Hostel

Terrace at the hostel

Another view of the terrace

Bar at the hostel

Street outside of Purple Nest

Building across the street from Purple Nest

One of the streets in Valencia on the way to lunch

Street grafitti

More grafitti

Another street on the way to lunch

Wall decoration

The group walking to lunch

Cathedral in Valencia

Priest store across from the Cathedral

Another view of the cathedral

Horse!

Cathedral

Restaurant by the Cathedral

Beer!

No explanation needed

Exploring the city and shopping 

One of the plazas in Valencia

Beautiful building near the plaza

Palm trees!

Another beautiful building

Sunset

Danni in a locker at the hostel

Day two in Valencia

A plaza near our hostel

Science center in Valencia

Science center

More of the science center

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Aquarium

Birds!

Duck with a crazy head

Restaurant at the aquarium (didn't eat there, but its pretty)

Why hello there, Mr. Penguin.

Penguin!

Crazy birds in a giant cage

Bird, bird, bird, bird is the word.

Finding Nemo fish!

Jellyfish

Fish tunel

Stingray

Coral

Fishies!

Fish tunel

Turtle!

Seal babies!

Jaws!

Horchata

Sangria de verano (two and a half euro... score!)

Paella

Alejandra

Sam

Eli

Soccer stadium

Park Gulliver

This was such a fun weekend, and it was so great to see another part of Spain. On the train, I definitely realized how beautiful this country is and how lucky I am to be here.