Valencia!
Buenos dias!
Yesterday, a big group of CIEE students left for our trip to Valencia! We got up bright and early (meeting at 7:45 to leave at 8) and took a bus into the city.
Our afternoon sightseeing began with Valencia's "Mercado Central," the largest market in Europe! This was located in the center of town in an art-nouveau style building. They were closing when we got there, so we walked through briefly to check it out!
We then had some free time to get lunch, so I went with Michelle, a new friend I met on the trip, to walk around. With the remaining free time, we explored the Lonja de la Seda [Silk Exchange building], designed with the Gothic architecture style and very ornate!
Next, we had a guided tour through the older part of the city. We walked by the narrowest building in Europe - the very small sliver of pink between the yellow and orange buildings in the picture below! It's 107 centimeters wide because the original owner wanted something narrow for zoning laws and taxes! Nobody lives there today, but the door was open to a bar.
We ended our first night with a paella workshop. I enjoyed watching the process and participating in some of the cooking, including adding spices and cutting vegetables. We made 3 meat paellas (rabbit, chicken, and snails...) and 1 veggie. For dessert, we had rice pudding!
We started off our Saturday with a delicious breakfast (eggs and bacon - exactly what I'd been missing) at the hotel before heading to a guided tour of the City of Arts and Sciences, Valencia's unique modern architecture complex. Santiago Calatrava designed this complex at the end of the major park in Valencia as a space for the arts and sciences. Buildings include the Umbracle (the tree structure), the Science Museum, the Oceanographic (largest aquarium in Europe), and the Hemisferic (cinema for science movies)!
After walking around for a while, we took the bus back to the Barrio del Carmen for a guided graffiti/street art tour. Graffiti uses words to express its message, while street art uses figures and images. We talked about some of the more famous street artists in Valencia. Deih is one of the better-known artists who also competes worldwide (and has created street art in Miami), recognizable by his use of stars and other cosmic elements in his art. We also walked through a new project called the Calle de Colores, in which street artists recreate a photographer's pictures. For example, the picture with the kissing couple has the end goal of finding those two people. The ninja that appears in many areas throughout the city is David de Limon's symbol and way of showing that street art in Valencia helps the city's image by improving walls that wouldn't look good otherwise. The Cat House wall is an artist's attempt to help the cats of the city - during the Inquisition only four cats remained in the city. Now, it's a place for cats to come and eat, and the owner even accepts donations to feed them!
We then had more free time for lunch and other exploring! Michelle and I walked around the park located in the former riverbed of the Turia, which has now been redirected to a different part of the city. This 6 mile stretch of parks is considered the "green lung" of Valencia and was interesting to walk through! Next, we walked over to the Valencia Cathedral to climb its octogonal Miguelete Tower. 207 steps later we arrived at the top for some great views of the city. We stayed up there until the start of the next hour and were spooked by the bells when they rang! Climbing up and down the stairs was difficult with the crowds at times (it's the same staircase either way) but definitely worth it!
Yesterday, a big group of CIEE students left for our trip to Valencia! We got up bright and early (meeting at 7:45 to leave at 8) and took a bus into the city.
Our afternoon sightseeing began with Valencia's "Mercado Central," the largest market in Europe! This was located in the center of town in an art-nouveau style building. They were closing when we got there, so we walked through briefly to check it out!
We started off our Saturday with a delicious breakfast (eggs and bacon - exactly what I'd been missing) at the hotel before heading to a guided tour of the City of Arts and Sciences, Valencia's unique modern architecture complex. Santiago Calatrava designed this complex at the end of the major park in Valencia as a space for the arts and sciences. Buildings include the Umbracle (the tree structure), the Science Museum, the Oceanographic (largest aquarium in Europe), and the Hemisferic (cinema for science movies)!
After walking around for a while, we took the bus back to the Barrio del Carmen for a guided graffiti/street art tour. Graffiti uses words to express its message, while street art uses figures and images. We talked about some of the more famous street artists in Valencia. Deih is one of the better-known artists who also competes worldwide (and has created street art in Miami), recognizable by his use of stars and other cosmic elements in his art. We also walked through a new project called the Calle de Colores, in which street artists recreate a photographer's pictures. For example, the picture with the kissing couple has the end goal of finding those two people. The ninja that appears in many areas throughout the city is David de Limon's symbol and way of showing that street art in Valencia helps the city's image by improving walls that wouldn't look good otherwise. The Cat House wall is an artist's attempt to help the cats of the city - during the Inquisition only four cats remained in the city. Now, it's a place for cats to come and eat, and the owner even accepts donations to feed them!
After a short lunch, we headed to the meeting point - the Torres de Serranos - and took the bus back to Barcelona! I enjoyed the trip to Valencia and am excited to continue exploring Spain and Europe!
Hasta pronto,
Amy
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