Valencia, Garden of Paradise

Biking through the Garden of Paradise. That would be a short description of my short vacation in Valencia, the city of oranges and the city where the writer Blasco Ibanez was born. I felt the city was friendly from the moment I exited the airport. I took a deep breath to smell the city. I like to do that in every new place I go, that smell remains forever imprinted in my olfactory memory. Valencia smelled strongly of fresh red grape must 🤤

From the airport we took the bus (Aerobus shuttle), it's the cheapest means of transport to the center (1.4 euros per person), plus you get to see the city. The metro is 4.5 euros, it was good on the way back when we were hurrying to the airport. We rented a studio in the Mercado de Colon area (more precisely on Don Juan de Austria street), an ideal accommodation area, with easy access to all areas of interest.

In the first hours we visited the old center. Interesting architecture, narrow streets, little squares full of cafes and people. Then we met our host who showed us on the map how Valencia is built, showed us how many green areas there are and how close we are to the beach. Especially on weekends she recommended we stay on the beach, that's where all the locals go, the city is empty until evening. She showed us how well the bike paths are built throughout the city. And we realized it would be a shame to use the metro on such beautiful days, so we rented 2 bikes (from Doyoubike, 10 euros/day/bike; 15 euros on weekends). And we didn't stop pedaling until we returned.

The most beautiful seemed to me the Turia Gardens, that green belt that surrounds the city to the northwest. A huge park through which we could get directly to the beach. Pleasant for biking and running there. The orange trees were still in bloom. I think that's what the Gardens of Paradise look like. Or at least I hope... I don't think it can smell more beautiful than that, of orange blossoms, my favorite aroma in desserts.

The park is suitable for picnics. On the way to the beach we would stop right in front of the City of Arts and Sciences (what a spectacular view!) and have a picnic (sandwiches with jamon, chorizitos and cava straight from the bottle). Then we would pedal to the beach. That's the best place to eat paella valenciana with the breeze on your skin and the beach in front of you (we ate at the Marcelina restaurant). The white wine by the glass was exceptional everywhere and cheaper than in Cluj (2 euros/glass). At the end of the meal we would order Agua de Valencia, a drink made from cava, orange juice and some spirit (vodka or gin). Just right to refresh yourself, although a bit pricey (20 euros/liter). The price didn't stop us from drinking significant quantities of this water though, we just had to stay hydrated 😋

Attention, in the restaurants on the beach, between 1pm and 4pm they only serve food! Meaning if you feel like a coffee or a beer you have a small problem. Since we ate around 1pm, by 3pm we craved a coffee. There aren't really any bars on the beach, so we frantically searched for a place that would give us a coffee. Eventually we found a bar right at the end of the beach (meaning a few km towards the end of the promenade; at this point the bike was just right). La Mas Bonita, a nice bar, a bit hipsterish, but they had everything and very good. That's where we had breakfast too, I recommend it.

If you want orange juice, the easiest is to go into the first supermarket you come across, they have dispensers where you squeeze the oranges yourself. How sweet the juice was, if I hadn't seen the oranges being squeezed I would have said they add sugar to it. I could barely taste the orange flavor because of all that sweetness.

And speaking of sweet! These Spanish don't have a limit for sugar. Between the main meal and dinner they traditionally serve a drink called horchata made from tiger nuts (like almond milk) so sweet it makes your teeth stiff. They say it's very healthy, that it's good for digestion, but that much sugar... I couldn't drink it. Instead I ate the bars served alongside this drink, they're called Fartons, they're like croissants, equally airy, but in bar form. Excellent, between 3 and 5 pieces for 1 euro. I would have eaten them all day. I admit I overdid the gluten this vacation. There's also a super sweet coffee, called cafe bombon, I didn't dare try it but people were crazy about it. Personally I prefer cafe cortado.

For shopping we had the whole city at our disposal. It's like a big mall, shops everywhere. For delicacies and gifts we went to Mercado Central (the big market) where we bought rice and saffron for paella, olives (we vacuum-sealed them to take on the plane), spicy sausages, jamon, olive oil, canned tuna and anchovies, almond turron (like almond halva), tiger nuts (I'll make my own horchata without that much sugar! 😋), paella pans. There's a bar here where you can eat very well. Valencia is also known for ceramics and silk.

In the evening we preferred the Ruzafa area instead of the old center. Because we don't eat much in the evening, the tapas bars there suited us best. Some grilled peppers and a small cerveza was enough. Or a vino tinto de verano (red wine with lemonade and oranges) and some grilled olives with garlic.

That's pretty much how it was in Valencia, a long and pleasant weekend, a long carefree walk without plans.