Life in Valencia

FINALLY IN VALENCIA

After all the traveling around the Madrid area, we finally got settled into Valencia about a week ago. It is amazing how the weather can change so much in just a few hours drive. We left behind the snow in Madrid and came to Valencia to find much warmer temperatures and much more sun. Valencia is right on the eastern coast of Spain and is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea. I haven't been able to visit the beach yet, it's still a little too cold for that, but I can't wait!

HOME

I am living with a host family, Fernando and Maria, and their three children, Maria, Guillermo, and Marc. Things are pretty relaxed here and the food is great! There are lots of good fruits and a lot of vegetables are served with the meals. One thing I will say is that the Valencianos sure know how to cook their vegetables! By the time you get to them with your fork they turn more into a vegetable moosh. At every meal there is a baguette on the table to accompany the food. Oil and vinegar and sometimes salt are also used on salads opposed to those thick fattening dressings that us Americans sure love. The only thing I am still not adjusting to is the difference in meal times. Here they eat a light breakfast, like a piece of toast and coffee, and then have the "comida", lunch, anywhere from 2-3. The dinner, "cena" is then served around 9 or later. No matter how much I eat for breakfast, I am starving by one and still have to wait two more hours to eat. There are also tons of stores, cafes, and restaurants scattered all throughout the streets that are always selling about a million types of yummy breads, snacks and desserts. My favorite is the croissant that has chocolate in the middle of it! I think I could eat one for every meal if I was allowed.

One of the towers, "torres", in Valencia

CITY LIFE

Living in the city is pretty nice because you can pretty much get anywhere you need to go without a car. Since I don't really like to drive, this is great for me. Valencia has a great bus, metro, and train station service available to the public. The best way to get to know a city though is to walk through it, so that is what I have been doing a lot of! I have slowed down a bit the past couple of days because I am figuring out the metro system, but beforehand I was literally walking 4+ hours a day.

the train station in Valencia at night

CANALS

Saturday evening we traveled to another town south of Valencia called Canals. We went in the evening because they were having a festival that celebrated their patron saint. In the town square, there was a large man made tree that probably reached 30 or 40 feet that was adorned at the top with oranges. When we reached the center of town, we encountered tons of other people all crowded into the square. Many were walking circles around the tree in hopes of good luck. Finally, at 9 they lighted the firecrackers which surrounded the tree. The tree quickly caught ablaze and all cheered.

XATIVA

We traveled to a town a little south of Valencia named Xativa. It was quite a bit smaller than some of the others we visited in the Madrid area, but it was just as, if not more, wonderful as the others. The main thing we did there was visit an old castle that was situated up on top of a small mountain. When we finally reached the top after a long hike, the view was just amazing. You could see the whole city from up there.

The old castle

VALENCIA VS VILLA REAL

Before class started, we wanted to make sure we got in as much fun as possible so we went to a Valencia vs. Villa Real game here in Valencia. It was so much fun! Valencia ended up kicking their butts 4-1 and it was a really fun game to watch. I am so glad to be in another country that actually appreciates real futbol!

The group who went to the game Sunday night. We were all kind of hee-hawing if we wanted to go because it didn't start until 9 and we started school the next day, but I think we all could say that it was worth it!