Valencia! Sun and the Beach

Saturday March 9 and Sunday March 10
       On Friday March 8, Claire and I decided we wanted to go to Valencia, so we got tickets, booked a hostel, and went! Ok, so it wasn't that easy, we ended up going to 3 different train stations trying to get tickets..but now we know it is easiest to buy train tickets at Atocha! We found the ticket counter, got a number, and waited, and bought our tickets! We took the train there and a bus back.
       Saturday March 9 we woke up early (not terribly early though) to take the train to Valencia. It was a 6 hour train ride, because we didn't want to spend extra money on the high-speed train, and took the slow train that stopped at like every stop. The scenery was pretty, although the train was a little bumpy! When we got off the train, it was 60 degrees and sunny! We took the metro and found our hostel (technically it was a guesthouse), and dropped our stuff off. We then walked around Valencia. This past weekend (March 15-17) was Las Fallas, a big celebration in Valencia. Every area (or people forming a group) makes a big float, and then at the end everyone decides which on is the best. The others get burned in a huge bonfire and the one that is the best gets put in a museum. Fireworks and lights decorating the streets are also involved. We walked around Valencia, which the city center is really compact. We found a place to eat lunch/dinner and had pizza and some ice cream, yum! Before we went to mass at St. Mary's Cathedral (Cathedral of Valencia), we climbed the bell tower to get a view of Valencia, it was so pretty! After mass we walked around some more and got chocolate and churros, and bonuelos, something similar to a churro but round, kind of like a doughnut. We then went back to our hostel, taking pictures of the lights around the city as we went. We also came across a boy that was lighting a firecracker/sparkler thing in the street...I guess that is legal in Valencia! All night we heard firecrackers and at midnight there was a big firework display! We couldn't see it from our window, but we could definitely hear it!

Bull fighting ring

 

St. Mary's Cathedral (Cathedral of Valencia), and the bell tower we climbed

View of Valencia from bell tower.

Lights on the streets for Las Fallas

          On Sunday March 10 we got up, ate breakfast, and made our way to the beach. We took the metro and this little tram thing to get there. It was so pretty there! But the Mediterranean is really cold. Everyone was out and enjoying the weather (mid 60s, maybe 70s) but people were still dressed like it was 30 or 40 degrees out! I took off my jacket and walked around in short sleeves for a while and people were giving me funny looks. But it was really nice to be on the beach and walk around for a little bit. We saw a group of men playing soccer, and one of them told us (in Spanish) that next Sunday we should bring our shorts and come play with them. We ate at a Pans & co. for lunch, and I had a ham and cheese warm sandwich with fries. So good! We then got ice cream and found the bus station to go back to Madrid. The bus ride back was about 4 hours, and during it they played the movie Monte Carlo, in Spanish. It has Selena Gomez in it and she and her friend and sister go to Paris and she gets mistaken for this rich girl and she goes to Monte Carlo and falls in love with this guy...kind of like the Lizzie McGuire movie. It was a good movie, even though I couldn't tell what they were saying sometimes. 

The beach!

Hotels and restaurants near the beach

Awesome sand castle!

Things I learned in Valencia:

• Even when it is 60 or 70 degrees out, people still wear jackets with fur and act like its really cold...when it is definitely not
• I love the beach!
• Valencia is really small and compact compared to Madrid
• Valencia has Las Fallas and La Tomatina...it must always be a party!
• The Mediterranean coast has absolutely no waves...at least not in Valenica

 Adios!