SPAIN 2026
Thursday
Valencia
We were up early for a taxi to the train station. Train travel in Europe is so much more complex than it used to be, lineups, security checks, another lineup... You used to just go to the platform and get on. With the high speed train, it's 3 hours later and we are in Valencia. New day, new city, the home of Valencia oranges.
After checking in at the AC Valencia by Marriott, it was a very short walk to the City of Arts and Sciences area.
The stunning view from our room
The City of Arts and Sciences is a cultural and architectural complex in Valencia. It is the most important modern tourist destination in the city and one of the 12 Treasures of Spain. It is situated at the end of the former riverbed of the river Turia, which was drained and rerouted after a catastrophic flood in 1957. The old riverbed was turned into a picturesque sunken park. The project began the first stages of construction in July 1996, and the most recent building in the complex was opened in 2009.
Deciding not to spend the afternoon in an aquarium, we walked over towards the beach.
If you know my former colleague Joe Nikkols, he is famous in Valencia
It was a much longer walk to the amazingly huge Malvarossa beach than we thought, and not through the nicest of areas, but we got there. Once you get to the water, it's much nicer.
We had lunch at the seaside restaurant called Casa Bassa for some very average seafood Paella, the famous dish of Spain.
It took forever, and the first dish they brought us was some weird thats-not-seafood Paella that another table had ordered, we noticed a few bites in, so they had to wait even longer. Ours is the mediocre one with the shrimp, including full heads and shells. But, we are having drinks sitting at the beach in Spain, so you can't really complain too much.
It's a nice city to wander through when you don't shortcut through the Industrial area, and after a stop along the way for some more cold drinks and yummy desserts, we headed back to the room to rest our feet, and plan our next day.
Friday
Today we had grand plans, we would rent bikes and explore the older part of the city. Well, we tried to rent bikes, but could not get their stupid app to accept any of our credit cards. So we stared walking, then it rained... so good thing we didn't have bikes.
When it would rain the heaviest we would duck underneath bridges along their parkway that leads to the old town, and admire their unique drain spouts. Apparently today was a holiday, so there was lots of groups huddled under shelter all along the way.
We had hoped to visit the Museo Nacional de Ceramica, but it was closed for renovations, or the holiday, not sure but it was closed.
Our first real stop, and a chance to get out of the rain, was the Valencia Cathedral. Most of Valencia Cathedral was built between the 13th century and the 15th century, and this style was mainly Gothic. However, its construction went on for centuries, so there is a mixture of artistic styles, ranging from the early Romanesque, Valencian Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical. It was built over the site of the former Visigothic cathedral, which under the Moors had been turned into a mosque.
OK, pay attention Indiana Jones fans, the Valencia Cathedral houses a Holy Chalice, thought to be the true Holy Grail used by Jesus at the Last Supper. The relic is displayed in a side chapel, and the 1st century artifact is a simple agate cup that has since been mounted onto a medieval base.
Back outside and the rains have eased off, so we can wander around without getting soaked.
"Oh look, that's a cute VW with flowers", as we nearly walk right into a wedding ceremony.
We had a nice little lunch of assorted appies at Lisboa Restobar, hanging out with this handsome fella, while his owner serenaded us with some great Spanish guitar songs.
Now the sun was coming out, it would be a nice afternoon to start our slow walk back to our hotel.
We decided to take a wander through Jardines del Real (The Royal Gardens).
We took a different route back so we could see some more of the historic buildings and fountains.
The military barracks just used what they had to decorate.
What started as a rainy morning walk in Valencia, ended as a sunny afternoon stroll in the old town. 20,000 steps later we’re back in the room.
We had passed this Sushi place on our way, so decided we would go out to Okawa BBQ Japanese - Sushi for dinner
It's an all-you-can-eat buffet, without the buffet. You use an app on your phone, and you can order up to 8 items per round, and then it resets after 8 minutes to order another round. Some is traditional sushi/japanese items, and some is Korean BBQ that you have to cook yourself. All of it was really good, we didn't discover it was a set price buffet until the end.
It would be very easy to have your table look like this, just full of all kinds of Japanese goodness. So many times on this trip we would try to find another restaurant like this.
The next morning it was time to train on to our next stop. Luckily we got to eat some Valencia oranges at the hotel breakfast before we left, we completely forgot this was their origin city.