Valencia

The last weekend in January, I took a rather impromptu trip to Valencia, on Spain's east coast. Valencia is best known for its beaches, so January is obviously not the most recommended month to go; however, I had wanted to escape the cold weather in Madrid for a while, and having been told that Valencia was always warmer, I decided to go. That's one great thing about Spain - it never gets that cold, and when it does you can just take a 3 hour bus ride and be in 60° weather again!

One of Valencia's beaches, deserted as it was winter

While the weather was not exactly scorching, it definitely felt nicer than Madrid, and the best part of the trip was that it reminded me how much I love traveling last-minute and on my own! I kept going back and forth about whether or not I wanted to go, and didn't actually make the final decision until late Friday night, when I booked a shared ride on Blablacar and a bed in a hostel for the next morning! Talk about last-minute...

The Town Hall of Valencia

But it turned out to be a great trip! Beginning with the very friendly driver of my ride-share, I met lots of really cool people, even though I was there for slightly less than two full days. The first afternoon, I met a German guy at a vegetarian restaurant who was in Valencia on exchange - I quickly learned that it is a huge destination for study abroad students from all of Europe. After we finished eating, he showed me a very neat part of the city called El Cabanyal with lots of old buildings boasting lovely tile facades. It has always been a somewhat unsavory neighborhood, and there have been threats recently to tear it down in order to make way for big developers. Hopefully these plans will not succeed, however, because the buildings were really lovely and full of charm!

Some lovely facades in El Cabanyal

That night, I discovered a "bookstore-bar" that sounded cool by simply putting "cafe bookstore" in Google maps. It was in the midst of what people had described as the "hipster" neighborhood, so I knew I'd like it. They had a very nice atmosphere and lots of delicious craft beer, which was especially nice considering how uncommon it is in Madrid. I spent quite a long time enjoying a salad and a few beers while reading a book; it was a perfect way to spend the evening as a lone traveler.

Ubik bookstore-bar

The next day, I did a free walking tour in the morning with a group I had found online. As always, I really enjoyed it and found it to be a great way to learn more about the history of the city while also getting some great tips from locals and meeting cool people. We saw many traditional, historical things, such as the main cathedral, a building which used to house the silk market (important thanks to the city's advantageous location on the Mediterranean), and part of the old city walls.

Silk Market, Cathedral and Serrano Gate

And we also saw some strange and quirky things, such as one of the narrowest apartment buildings in the world, a wall with heads and bodies of old statues pastiched into it, and my personal favorite, masturbating gargoyles. This latter, by the way, was part of the exterior decoration of the former silk market, which also included carvings of men humping trees and allusions to bestiality. The guides unfortunately could not offer any explanation to this rather atypical decorative style.

Masturbating gargoyle, narrow building, statue pastiche

Valencia actually has quite an interesting history, having been an independent kingdom for much of the Middle Ages, like most of the different regions of Spain. It seemed to me like a mini-Barcelona: another beach-side city, similar architecture and they even speak Catalan, although they call it Valencian. The Borgias, who are now famous thanks to the TV series, were actually from Valencia, and there were several buildings with their names on them or with statues representing them. There were also lovely tile mosaics on the sides of many buildings.

Beautiful tiles

On the walking tour I met a German girl and a Dutch guy who I then hung out with for the few hours I had left before my shared ride back to Madrid. We had horchata, a drink which I always associated with Mexico but which is actually from Valencia! Also, the horchata here is completely different, as in Mexico it's usually made with rice and here it's made with a special root called chufas in Spanish and tigernuts in English. Allegedly it has so many nutrients and vitamins that it is a super-healthy drink, and known in Valencia as a fool-proof hangover cure. It's traditionally eaten with pastries called fartones, which were also amazing.

Horchata and fartones

As I said before, it was a short trip, and while Valencia was maybe not the most exciting or wowing city I've visited in Spain, I had a great time enjoying some sunny weather and meeting a lot of interesting people. Hooray for last-minute trips, and for traveling on your own!