Valencia Weekend!

Yesterday I returned from a weekend in beautiful Valencia! I really enjoyed it, it wasn't that warm, but it was beautiful nonetheless!  Krista and I arrived in Valencia on Friday morning and hung around for a little while until the rest of the girls arrived.  We had a great time catching up on holiday stories and enjoying some early afternoon sangria, tapas and lunch before taking a much needed nap!! Traveling tires you out, man!


Valencia is just a beautiful part of Spain.  On the train ride there, I saw countless orange groves and palm trees, and once we got there, I noticed that every building, even the train station, has it's own little bit of flair.  It's a very decorated city.   I usually judge whether or not I like a place by the atmosphere that it gives me.  For example:  Madrid's atmosphere, to me at least, is pretty commercial.  There's a ton of great shopping, a lot of tourists, and a lot of really good places to eat.  It feels pretty rushed and busy though, so although it is the capital, it's not my favorite city.  It's nice for a day trip though!  Barcelona, on the other hand, has a real chill and laid back atmosphere.  It seemed really artsy and it is on the ocean, I loved it!  Valencia was somewhere in the middle of that, I think, but more towards the relaxed end of the spectrum.  I loved being there and am hoping to go back when it is a little warmer!

I just thought this was cool!

An interesting fountain

Cathedral in one of the main plazas.

La Lonja.  We weren't exactly sure what La Lonja was...but it was pretty neat anyway!

Inside of La Lonja.

The Valencia Aquarium

Anyway, after exploring, eating, and napping, we decided to get dressed and eat some more! Before going out to enjoy the Valencia night life.  We had a great night and got up in the morning all ready for the Valencia Aquarium--the largest in Europe! It was AWESOME!  

It was so fun to see all of the sea animals, I really enjoyed it a lot!  My favorites were the beulga whales and the dolphins.  We even got to see a dolphin show, which was really cool!  Here are some pictures from that:

After the Aquarium, some of the girls went shopping while Corinna and I went back to the hostel to take a nap.  Apparently I was ridiculously tired because I fell asleep about a minute after arriving there!  When the rest of the girls got back, we all got ready to go out to dinner.  Our goal was a to have Paella, so we went to this restaurant that had been recommended to us called El Rall.  When we got there, we found out that all of the tables inside were full.  Because we are so very smart, we said "Well, we can sit outside!", so they turned on the outdoor heaters and we had a nice Paella dinner outside :).  It wasn't too cold, and it definitely made for a memorable night! 

Me, Jaclyn, and Krista enjoying Paella

Paella Valenciano -- Chicken and Rabbit!

Well, that's about it!  I had a great weekend in Valencia and am looking forward to lots more little trips and whatnot :).  I also am looking forward to spending more time in Villa!! woohooo!