Valencia, Spain 🇪🇸 🦇

My advice: When you love a place with your whole heart, don’t wait 37 years to return! Oh, how I have missed you, Valencia.❤️💛❤️

On one hand, it’s so different—bigger, even more vibrant, more modern (duh…that’s what I get for waiting so long). On the other hand, it’s still the same—seeped in rich history, unforgettable architecture, and amazing paella.

I barely had two days here but what a memorable two days they were. We walked everywhere and saw everything we could (in Español): Plaza de la Reina, Plaza de la Virgin, La Catedral de Valencia, Plaza del Mercado, La Lonja de la Seda, La Plaza de Ayuntamiento, Mercado Colon, El Barrio del Carmen, Basílica de la Virgen de los Desamparados…

Plus we went to El Mueso Fallero de Valencia to see the best “ninots” that have been spared by the fire of Las Fallas over the years.

We strolled the Jardín Del Turia, which is a 5.6 mile-long lush green park that used to be the Turia River before it was diverted due to flooding in 1957. (To name a few things) The river bed is the largest urban park in Spain and holds the Palau de la Música, bike paths, refreshment stands, and the otherworldly looking Cuidad de Las Artes y Las Ciencias.

We walked by the former finca (apartment) where I lived with my Spanish family at 17 Reina Don Hermana. I so wish I could find my Spanish family. I believe my madre Española is/was in France.

We drank and ate our share of Valencian favorites—Horchata de chufas, which are tiger nuts grown in nearby Alboraya, con Fartons; Paella Valenciana con pollo y conejo* (Valencia is the birth place of paella); chocolate con churros, patatas bravas, ensalada Valenciana, local wine. I had Fanta Naranja (very different from the Orange Fanta we have in the USA) and forgot to have an orange—which means I need to come back soon because the oranges are to die for. We also had drinks with a friend from my time here. Neither one of us has aged a bit!

*Paella Vaenciana also has snails, which were left out by my request due to an allergy. Here are other ingredients in Paella Valenciana: chicken, rabbit, green beans, rice, saffron, and butter beans. I know there are a few other spices and olive oil.

Hasta luego, Valencia. Ya echo de menos a ti.

Update—got my orange and a mandarin this morning before leaving for Barcelona. Do NOT miss Mercat Central de Valencia (Central Market of Valencia). The most amazing indoor market…hams, fruit, vegetables, spices, paellas, seafood…you name it! I was blown away. I saw a red pepper that dwarfs all other red peppers! The Valencian tomatoes, the white strawberries, the regular strawberries 🍓, the cheeses, oh my…I would be a very happy person starting off my day here each morning.

Pictures below…