A Valencian Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving week!! To celebrate my favorite holiday, I traveled to Valencia, a city on the eastern coast of the country where the classic Spanish dish paella was born. I met up with my friend, and fellow Binghamton Food Coop alum, James who is currently studying abroad in Germany. We had an amazing time exploring the artsy sections of the city, relaxing on the beach, and discovering all the vegan food spots.
The week leading up to my travels was pretty uneventful: we finished season two of El Internado, had a movie night at Skye and Rennes, and I continued my rescue attempts on my new plant (quite unsuccessfully).
At school, I presented on everything Thanksgiving and I think the students at Virgen de la Cabeza all want to go to the States for this holiday now. The hand turkeys they made were adorable and I wish I had taken some pictures of their masterpieces!
On Thursday, I left 6th grade science a bit early to hop in a Blablacar headed to Granada. I had decided to take the train from Valencia since there are not many easy/cheap options for traveling there from the south of the country. This was my first time taking the train in Spain and it was a lovely experience!
After a quick call back home to see how US Thanksgiving prep was going, James let me into the Airbnb and our Valencian adventure began.
On our way to find some dinner, we stumbled across the newly installed ice rink in the plaza next to town hall. It was stunning and so festive with the city lights reflecting off the ice! Unfortunately, we never got a chance to try out our skating skills since it was still being constructed, but seeing the rink reminded me that I need to skate sometime this season.
Friday started with a solo adventure for me as James got caught up on some zzzs after his marathon travel day. I grabbed a coffee and baked good from Bluebell Coffee, a recommendation from Victoria, who was an aux in Valencia last year. In fact, all the restaurants we tried this day were recs from her!
I wandered around our adorable neighborhood, La Rusafa, which easily became my favorite part of the city after this trip. It is a super hip, artsy area with a ton of great coffee shops, second hand stores, and cooperative work spaces!
After collecting James, we adventured to a bunch of different markets, vintage stores, and gift shops on our way through the city. We stopped at a vegan butcher shop which should be an oxymoron, but it really exists. Apparently, Spanish vegans love plant based octopus?
For a snack we decided to try a typical Valencian drink called horchata: a sweet, cinnamon-y flavored drink made from blended tigernuts. Horchata is SO popular here and you can get it at almost any café or horchataría (literally horchata shop in English). The one we tried was really good, but overall horchata is a bit sweet for my taste.
We continued our walking tour and saw the most narrow house in Spain at Plaza Redonda, as well as the cathedral. Our lunch place of choice was an adorable mediteranean restaurant called La Calita, located off the beaten path in a quiet plaza.
I had been wanting to try the typical cocktail from the city, Agua de Valencia, which is essentially a stronger, dressed up mimosa. It definitely lived up to the hype and was so refreshing. James and I also shared sweet potato fries and some kimchi cauliflower wings (labeled spicy on the menu, but with very little kick in reality).
We struck up a conversation with the German couple at the table next to us since James speaks some German. They gave us some recommendations for Berlin and Cologne and we told them all the must see spots for Valencia. It was lovely to chat with them about the joys and challenges of learning other languages.
James and I left our new friends and decided to take the long way back to our apartment so we could stroll through the park that surrounds the city. It was the perfect temperature and there were tons of people walking, running, cycling, and just enjoying the green space.
We stumbled upon a playground that is made in the shape of a huge statue of a man. Unable to resist the opportunity to use a slide for the first time in years, the two of us joined the many children enjoying the play scape.
I had wanted to return to el Museo Fallero, the museum of all the pardoned ninots (art figures) that are made for the most famous Valencian festival, las Fallas. Emma, Natalie, and I visited this museum when we studied abroad, but it is so cool I knew I had to show James.
We toured all of the art structures and took pictures of the beautiful posters that are used to promote the event every year. Las Fallas has been on my bucket list since I learned about it two years ago and this coming March, I am finally going! Being back in Valencia and visiting this museum made me so excited for what I'm going to experience at this festival.
After el Mueso Fallero, we were pretty beat from walking all over the city so we headed home to make a plan for dinner. We chose a vegetarian restaurant, Copenhagen, and decided to pick up some vegan donuts to save for dessert later. In our downtime, we played a game James brought called We’re Not Really Strangers.
Dinner was perfect (3/3 for great recommendations Victoria!) and our server graciously offered to speak “Spanglish” with us :) I had a vegetable green curry that tasted more like a zucchini soup than curry, but was great regardless.
When we were home and showered, we continued playing the game while we enjoyed our donuts. The tiramisu one was by far the best, but my selection of apple pie still scrumptious!
Saturday morning began with an on-the-road oreo donut for James (leftover from the night before) and a weird combo of coffee and a spinach empanada for me. We managed to hit two more markets on our walk and they were both festively decorated for Christmas, making them all the more worth visiting!
On our way to see Torres de Quart (Tower of Quartz), we accidentally stumbled upon some amazing street art and had to stop to take some pictures. We visited La Casa de Los Gatos and the tiny replica of a house was even cuter in person!
After checking out and grabbing our stuff, we swung by another one of Victorias recommendations, this time, a chocolate shop. I got a couple of bars that will be coming home to the US with me :)
We walked to Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias (the Park of Arts and Sciences) to take full advantage of the sun and do some people watching. The buildings and architecture here look like they belongs in Sydney, Australia and it feels like a completely different city from the rest of Valencia.
We made it to our second accomodations after an hour long walk and checked in with our host, Kevin. He gave us some dining recommendations and knowing that James had to try proper paella before leaving, we headed to the beach and got a table at El Trompo. We split a delicious vegetable paella and enjoyed views of the waves.
After lunch, James and I decided to have a quick siesta on the beach since we were both tired from a day full of walking and exploring. I think I managed to doze off but the wind and setting sun made for some colder temperatures that kept us from fully relaxing. We made up for this with a proper nap back at the apartment.
When we had arrived the Airbnb, Kevin had mentioned a place with a bunch of food trucks for us to check out. Intrigued by the chance to try some different cuisines, we headed over to Mercabañal for a casual dinner. The indoor/outdoor courtyard space housed several different types of restaurant: Thai, Spanish, Italian, Chinese, etc. James and I decided to try out a vegan mushroom bao bun situation that was really good despite mushrooms not really being my thing.
I really liked the vibe in Mercabañal with the outdoor dining, multiple food vending options, and lively atmosphere. It definitely seemed like the perfect place to go with your friends to get some drinks and share some small bites. The night we went was pretty chilly too so I'm sure during the summer this spot is hoppin!
James had to catch a very early flight on Sunday morning so we said our goodbyes and went to bed. It was so cool to show him Valencia on his debut trip to Spain! We truly had a great weekend: lots of sunshine, good food, and beautiful buildings. What more can you ask for.
On Sunday I prepped for my travel day with a nice beach walk to get some fresh air before heading to the airport and flying back to Málaga. Everything went smoothly despite a 30 minute take-off delay, and I was back in Motril in time for dinner.
I cannot recommend visiting Valencia more if you make it over to Spain. The city is the perfect size for a weekend trip and you really can get almost anywhere by walking which is a huge plus in my book. There is a wonderful culture of food and art that is present everywhere in the city and makes for great exploring. Although it may be a little tricky to get there, Valencia is well worth it when you do :)
El pulpo vegano goes hard 🐙🐙