The next day we left for Valencia which was about four hours away by bus. Yes, another bus ride in cramped seats surrounded by grumpy college students. We arrived in the late afternoon and had time to grab a quick bite before a bus tour of the city. We went to a nearby hole-in-the-wall cafe and had quick bocadillos (sandwiches). In Spain, a bocadillo is a sandwich on a baguette, and a "sandwich" is served open-face on sliced bread, which I learned the hard way after several confusing orders. After being in the cafe for about twenty minutes and it being time to hustle back about four blocks to the hotel, we were met at the door by a torrential downpour and sprinted back through the rain to the hotel where we made it just in time to board our favorite bus for even more quality time in the uncomfortable seats.
The city was really beautiful though and I was incredibly impressed with the architecture because many different parts of the city were in different styles and the neighborhoods were all very cute. Unfortunately it was Sunday, so everything was closed because Spain pretty much shuts down completely on sundays, except for the small shops with chinese owners. Go China! We ended our tour at the aquarium and museum of arts and sciences. The aquarium was awesome, with everything from the smallest crabs and jellyfish, to beluga whales and seals. Still didn't beat Monterrey though. The designs of the buildings were really cool and modern though, as pictured below.
All the girls before going to a pub called Finnegan's in Valencia
The 105 degree humid weather was perfect for a beach day the next day. Don't worry, we had class too. We spent an hour that morning learning about the importance of tourism to the Spanish economy. Valencia is a very young and vibrant city and the beaches are beautiful. Later that evening I enjoyed some of the best paella I've had yet, second to my host mom's. Apparently, the water in Valencia is not good for drinking, unlike the water in Madrid, but because of this, it makes it the best for cooking paella because it already has a lot of flavor to it. Big cities inland from Valencia even import the water for cooking their paella.
Final note: In Spain the word "valencia" is pronounced "balenthia."
I'm just now starting to get used to the Spanish lisp that I never had to use in my high school spanish courses.
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