I slept until 8. Guys, this trip had some weird clocks. Some nights I’ve gone to bed at 8:30pm and others 11pm (I know, that is shocking).
So, everyone was asleep! We got to walk the streets and have the whole place to ourselves. We say lots of cool old buildings and struggled to take good photos because they are so close to each other that you can’t even step back enough to get a complete photo.
So you’ve heard of Valencia oranges right? So it’s pretty funny that this town is covered with orange trees. We googled it and there are hundreds of thousands of them and none are edible. Not because they are poisonous but because they are bitter. Apparently they are often sent to the UK and made into marmalade. It’s a shame but I’m glad they are being used instead of falling and being wasted.
We finally found an open cafe and got our traditional breakfast of baguettes, empanadas, coffees, and croissants…
We stumbled across a very small section of Roman ruins on our walk. Apparently Valencia was founded as a Roman colony over 2,000 years ago and is one of the oldest cities in Spain. History lesson for the day!
We took a leisurely walk through the park that spans through the city. It used to be the Turia River but there was a massive flood in 1957 and they decided to make it into a park and reroute the river. It’s incredibly long and has fountains, playgrounds, paths, etc.
We ended at the ocean end of the park where we found some amazing architecture and stood dumbfounded at the massive buildings covered in mosaics. It’s crazy how long that must have taken to complete. And it’s crazy that none of the ground is paved cement. Everything is cobblestone or tile.
Valencia has the largest aquarium in Europe so we decided to drop the money and check it out.
We took in a dolphin show which started with a kahoot. All my teacher friends know what I’m talking about. The kids were cracking up.
When we stopped for lunch around 4pm, we ordered ribs, and the combo sampler which seemed like all the fried foods Americans love. And the jarro de sangria was probably our favorite part of the meal. Sangria is sold everywhere here!
We have already noted that water at the table is either unheard of or will cost money so why not order beer? At the aquarium, where is expect a beer to cost $10 plus, they were $2.50. It might not be cheaper than water, but it was close! Go figure.
At this point we had already created 14,000 steps. These vacations aren’t for the lazy people. Some people on this trip have had their hands busy while creating clothing. Em brought her crochet materials and is working on a scarf. It might be done by the end of the trip as we are only on day 5.
Next up was the Museum of Arts and Sciences which is in this amazing building.
It’s very much like the San Francisco Exploratorium. There were exhibits on sound, music, contagious diseases, color blindness, and everything in between.
And so, with 17,746 steps on the watch, we crashed at the hotel and began planning for our departure tomorrow.
Valencia has been a beautiful city to visit and had many of thinking that it felt a lot like San Francisco while walking around the downtown area.
The kids went across the street the the four story mall for desert while we stayed in the room and showered and prepped for bed. Because it’s 7:30pm and that’s just how we roll.
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