excursion. example: valencia.

Besides jetsetting around to other countries, there are tons of places to explore right here in Spain. Perfect for a short weekend visit aka excursion. Using my recent excursh to Valencia, here is an example of how to properly take an excursion.

First, find a hostal.
Purple Nest, one of three Nest hostals in Spain (all with different colors in the name), was lively colorful and friendly.



Then, take a free walking tour.
Many of the hostals have info. about where to meet for a free walking tour of the city. The tour guides are usually young and informative and friendly since they work on tips. They don't take you into any of the sites but you can get a feel of the city and figure out which sites you want to come back to.

Things we learned about Valencia:

- When the town was in desperate times parents would bring their kids in front of this building with a weather vein of a bird holding an egg in its mouth. They would say "Sit here and wait for the bird to drop the egg so you can eat," then abandon their kids.


- This barroc style doorway of the palace of Marqués de Dos Aguas (now a ceramics museum) was made by an insane architect.


- This building that looks like a church is really the product of a perverse architect. Case in point below.


- The cup that was actually the holy grail at Jesus' last supper is in the cathedral on display. It was acquired after the pope never payed off the loan for which it was used as collateral.

- And the Tribunal of the Waters - a group of 8 farmers - still meets regularly in a circle on the steps of the cathedral and is the oldest running constitutional government in Europe.

Next, try local cuisine.
Horchata is originally from Valencia. It is different than the Mexican version we know in the US. It is made from a nut called tiger's nut instead of rice and doesn't have cinnamon. It tastes like powdered sugar flavored milk.



Very sweet and delicious with these common dipping pastries.



Paella also originated in Valencia. Paella Valenciana has rabbit and chicken instead of seafood.


Valencia is one of the largest producers of oranges.


And the local alcoholic drink: Agua de Valencia = orange juice, champange, vodka and sometimes other white spirits. Didn't taste like alcohol surprisingly! Especially good with the sweet raspberry rimming sugar.



Of course, go to modern sites as well as historical ones.
Valencia is famous for the Ciudad de Artes y Ciencias, a multi-building complex that houses Europe's largest aquarium (with baluga whales!) and a Science museum. It was designed by Santiago Calatrava, a modern architect whose renown is testified to by his selection as one of the architects for the new World Trade Center. The complex is a series of white (and one blue mosaic-ed) buildings with unexpected shapes and angles interspersed with flat pools of water. I suggest looking up the building in Google. It is incredible.







One of the exhibits at the Science museum was a wake up call. This is a model that represents the sun. For size reference, the red info panels were about my height.


This is the model of the Earth and moon in relation to the silver "sun".


Finally, wander around the streets.
Valencia had some pretty intricate grafiti pockets around the city.


My favorite you can see in the back of this picture. It is a grafiti artist up on a platform grafiting and people watching from below. They even had shadows!


Valencia was a nice 70 degree break from chilly Madrid and the palm trees and white architecture made it a bright and exciting excursion!