VACATION TIME: VALENCIA

I recently came back from a trip away to Valencia, and for the week that I was there it was non-stop. I went out with my family but joined my two friends on the last three days of my trip. (one lives out there, the other came out for his birthday)

Below are some of the places that I visited and highly recommend.


1. Ciutat Vella (old town)

This is where the main restaurants, shops, boutiques and cafes were. We went out in the old town most nights as it was a short walk from where I was staying, and it has the most choices when it comes to authentic Spanish food.

Throughout the week we ate a lot and by a lot, I mean...A LOT of tapas. My favourite dish was the Patatas Bravas, they are little fried potato gems of lusciousness smothered in a spicy tomato sauce, and believe me, they taste as good as they sound! (hence the half a stone weight gain when I returned). 






2. Plaza de la Reina/Plaza de la Virgin




One of the first places that my friends and I explored. We had some lunch down a small backstreet café and then when to the Cathedral, which was hands down my favourite tourist attraction. It was  amazing....Although, my friend decided to leave out that it would be a climb of 207 stairs in order to get to see the view!

The narrow staircase was horrid, it was one staircase for up and down. But it was worth it when we got to the top and saw the view over the city.

During the day we mainly came to the centre to look around. They don't have many clothes chain stores like we do in the UK, but they had Mango and Zara and loads of boutique and independent style shops - which only a pigeon can shop in as there sizing is ridiculous! One of my favourite shops I found during my visit was called Ale-Hop (pronounced alley hop) which sold clothes, notepads, jewellery and novelty gifts. I spent a fair few pennies in here!

At night we spent most of our time in bars and restaurants and found some nice places to eat and drink around Plaza de la Virgin and Reina. They were very lively and everything stayed open till early hours of the morning (even the bakery guy). We took a lot of pictures here because, as any selfie lovers will know lighting is key, and the lighting was 'on point' here.



3. Petit Bistro Terrace

This is a rooftop terrace bar that we spent our final night in. It has a relaxed and chilled atmosphere with sofas, bistro tables, fairy lights and soft music. The bar staff are really prompt with the service and the prices aren't anymore expensive than any other bars in the area.

4. Oceanographic Centre - Ciutat de les Arts i de les Ciències

This is Europe's biggest aquarium, which has over 45,000 different marine species. I never imagined it to be so interesting as it was, as I've been to other aquariums, which have the standard marine life in them. The marine park is set up to mimic the different seas around the world (Mediterranean, the polar seas and tropical seas.)


















The aquarium is home to fish, turtles, jellyfish, seals, sharks, rays, starfish, penguins, dolphins, seahorses, beluga whales, crocodiles and many more.

My favourite part was the underwater glass tunnel that's filled with tropical fish, rays and sharks. The tunnel links one area of the aquarium to another and allows you to see the rays and sharks swimming around.






5. BioParc


I am not a fan of zoos so this was one of my least favourite tourist attractions that I visited. I don't like the amount of space that the animals had to live in. This zoo was much bigger and the animals had more room to roam around.

Throughout the day we saw Leopards, lemurs, hyenas, lions, giraffes, gorillas, rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses, porcupines, ostriches, meerkats and elephants, which were my favourite as I got to see them up close and personal as it was their feeding time.

However, from my visit it hasn't made me re-think my dislike towards zoos.  I think the only way these animals should be seen is in their natural habitats or on open safaris.