My week in Spain: Part 1
Trip Start
Sep 25, 2008
1
10
36
Trip End
Ongoing
Valencia,
Valencian Country,
Spain and Canary Islands
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Sunny goes to school Monday thru Thursday, from 9 to 2, so we slept in a bit and went to get breakfast at a grocery store right across from her building. We only had a little bit of time before she got back, so we went to a park near her apartment. There were fountains everywhere, a rose garden, tropical birds, and a ton of stray cats there. I love how in Europe they have so many parks. They just don't seem to be as common at home. When Sunny got back we decided to tour the main city center, Barrio Carmen. We walked there so we could see the sights along the way. Valencia used to have a river that ran through it, but in the 1950's it flooded badly and they drained the river. They then turned it into a huge park. It is really interesting to see. When we got to the city centre it was lunch time. One of the hardest things to get used to in Spain was the schedule. Everything closes down from about 2 to 4:30-5:00ish for lunch and siesta. No stores are open at all. Then they reopen until about 8. You can't do anything during siesta, it is so crazy. Then you eat dinner at about 9-9:30ish and then go out and party until early morning. Definitely not my kind of lifestyle. I thought it was annoying in France that most things close from 12-2, but now I realize it is much better than the situation in Spain.
Anyway, so for our first lunch in Spain we got the famous Valencia paella. This is the specialty dish for the area. It is a dish with rice, vegetables, and either chicken and rabbit or seafood. You can only get it for lunch and on certain days of the week. It was delicious though. After lunch we walked around a bit and at about 6ish the girls wanted to go back. I wanted to stay and walk around a bit more. So we parted at the metro station and I wandered around a bit more. I found a small market around the Plaza del Torro, which is the bullfighting ring, which was scarf heaven. Any type of scarf you want, you would be able to find there. I ended up buying three. They make me feel more European, plus scarves really do keep you warm.
When I got back we hung around at the apartment for awhile and then went out to dinner. We went to a tapas restaurant and had the most delicious thing. It was a fried disk of goat cheese with strawberry marmalade. It sounds a little weird, but they went so well together, my mouth is watering just thinking about it. Plus they had super cheap wine, only 7 euros for a bottle. Crazy. One of Sunny's friends met us at the restaurant and we went back to Sunny's since it was much too early to go out for the night. We left the house at about 11, and didn't get back until 3 in the morning. We were at some dance club, which was interesting to say the least. I am not a fan of dancing so I just watched the people there. It was amusing. We took a taxi back to Sunny's and went to bed.
Day 3, Wednesday October 29th
We got a late start on the day, which was a pattern for everyday pretty much. The weather in Spain was much colder than I expected, although warmer than France. I packed my bathing suit, but pretty much had to wear a jacket everyday and it rained on and off. We had lunch at an Asian buffet that Sunny loves, and it was pretty good. After lunch we went to the Biopark, which is kind of like a zoo, but it is supposed to seem barrier free. The whole setting of the zoo is based in Africa. It was one of the coolest zoos I have ever been to. We got to go in the lemur habitat, and they were so close it was crazy. It was so strange to be in the same place that wild animals were running around in. It felt like somehow they had escaped from their cages. You're not supposed to pet the animals, but we were so close to them, Merima got to pet the tail of one. We saw the elephants, and they were very active, one was roaring, a mother and a baby were playing a game together. It was cute. The giraffes were also really cool. You could walk on a bridge over their habitat and they were just hanging out there. I got one to come pretty near me by throwing grass at it. Giraffes have the craziest tongues; it was pretty gross to watch them eat. The Biopark was defiantly a highlight of the trip.
After the Biopark we went to use the internet. Sunny makes friends with basically everyone, so whenever we used to internet we got it for free, which was pretty nice. While in the internet café, Sunny met some random guy and invited him out to dinner with us. He was pretty strange/dumb. He said he couldn't eat much at the restaurant because he was on a diet, and that he was visiting Valencia to make some kind of mix tape for a show in a club. Bizarre. After dinner we went out to a bar where Sunny knows the bartender and usually gets free drinks. This bar was a little more relaxed, so I liked it better. We wandered to some other club that was more like a disco and were there for awhile. Merima and I were tired, so we left at about 2:30. Sunny, Anne, and Sunny's friends stayed out till about 5. Spain is too party-party for me. I don't know how Sunny and all those kids can keep up with it. Pretty much every night is party night except Sunday and Monday. All the places we went to were just packed too. There are definitely a lot of culture differences between Spain and France. In Laon, the bars close at 1. In Paris there is probably more of a party atmosphere, but that might be the only place. Also, in Spain you can smoke everywhere. In France it is banned. I thought it was pretty gross to leave the bar stinking like a cigarette. I am spoiled in France and Chicago by the smoking bans. I definitely appreciate them. I even saw a Spaniard smoking on the airport in plain sight, even though smoking isn't allowed in the airport, they don't seem to care.
Day 4, Thursday October 30th
Once again, we got a late start, but no problem. We had a whole week in Spain, so we did not need to be itinerary-driven tourists. We went to the aquarium on Thursday, which is located in the City of Arts and Sciences, a huge museum campus. We got to see the dolphin show, some beluga whales; we found Nemo and Dorie as well. They have a lot of tunnels you can walk through and the fish swim over you. It was pretty creepy seeing all the teeth the sharks had as they swam over you. Usually I don't like fish, but this time it was ok. There were some really cute seahorses. We also saw penguins, and almost got pooped on by some birds in the marshland exhibit. Many of the exhibits were closed though, so it was a little disappointing. It was freezing that day too, and much of it was outside. Some of the birds there seemed pretty cold. Also, it seemed like they were still working on everything. It was the same at the Biopark. They are still building everything, so it was neat to see structures going up.
After the aquarium we went to the mall across the street and got lunch at a place called "100 Dishes," except in Spanish. They had one hundred different mini sandwiches to choose from and they put them all on a plate with chips in the middle. Spain is definitely geared towards either a really big meal or snacking. We also got some coffee afterwards and Anne tried a drink called Horchata, another regional specialty. It is supposedly made from tiger nuts, whatever those are, but it tasted like a hazelnut sugary milk. Afterwards we walked around the city of arts and sciences a bit more. They have a science museum, and IMAX Theater, and art museum/theater, and the aquarium. The buildings are very futuristic looking and are surrounded by large pools of water.
For dinner we went to the Barrio Carmen and got some pizza. But before dinner we climbed up the big tower in the church. It was quite a long climb up, it's was a winding staircase and it seemed to last forever. It was pretty cool seeing the city all lit up at night even though I did not go very close to the edge. While we were up there the bell rang as well, so that was pretty cool. Anyway, we had a very international dining experience in Spain, American, Spanish, Asian, and Italian. We decided not to go out that night, but ended up drinking wine ad chatting until 1:30 in the morning, so we still did not have an early night. It was quite nice and relaxing though.
Read the continuation in the next entry.....
