David's busy season at work is fast approaching. Knowing we won't have many more weekends left this winter and spring where David doesn't have to work, we took advantage of cheap plane tickets and spent a weekend in Valencia, Spain in mid-January. Valencia is the third largest city in Spain. Having already been to the two larger cities (Madrid and Barcelona) as well as Seville, we have become big fans of Spain so looked forward to spending a few days in Valencia.
One of the draws of Valencia was that there are a couple of attractions that I knew Colin would enjoy. The first was Bioparc Valencia. Bioparc is a zoo, with a safari-like experience, where the animals are in enclosures that often do not have glass or cages. We were able to get up close to animals such as monkeys, lions, elephants, and giraffes. We followed our trip to Bioparc with a visit to Oceanografic, an aquarium in the futuristic part of Valencia known as the City of Arts and Sciences. It was definitely one of the best aquariums I have ever been to. Colin especially loved the dolphin show! In between the "kid activities" we visited Valencia's Central Market, a giant indoor farmers' market that is one of the oldest in Europe. Since we were so close to the ocean, we also had to take a short walk on the beach even though it was quite chilly.
The tourist attractions are fun, but the thing we like the best about Spain is the food. Valencia is known as the birthplace of paella. Before going, we were told repeatedly that we needed to try the black paella. This type of paella is made with squid and the black color comes from squid ink. Sounds a bit weird, but it actually was really good. For dinner, we stayed on the safe side and enjoyed a traditional seafood paella. We also managed to squeeze in a lunch of tapas during our day of eating. Oh, and a snack of churros and chocolate! I don't think I could ever get sick of the food in Spain. On the downside, dinner is served so late there. We couldn't find a restaurant that even opened until 9:00pm. Not exactly convenient when traveling with a two year old. We were waiting at the door of the restaurant we decided on when it was unlocked at 9:00 and were pretty much the only ones there for our entire meal. When we left at 10:00, people were just starting to arrive including families with children. I can't imagine getting used to eating dinner so late!
Now, we just need to survive two months of David's busy season and the rest of the gloomy London winter. We will go on a few more trips this spring/early summer and then move back to the US in July. Our time here is going by fast!
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| Checking out the giraffes at Bioparc Valencia |
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| I loved how all the streets were lined with orange trees |
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| Churros break |
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| Waiting for the dolphin show to start at Oceanografic. Not sure why he is holding up his fingers. |
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| Aquarium tunnel |
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| Chilly walk on the beach |
