Spain Part II

Coming straight off the back of the Barcelona trip, 2 weeks later we were back in Spain but further south in Valencia. It was also our last chance to go on a European weekend trip with Andrew and Amy before their time was up over this side of the world.

Some of you may remember that Valencia was host to the 2007 America’s Cup because the Swiss who pipped NZ at the post, and were therefore hosting the cup, are a land-locked country and needed somewhere with water. Because of this Valencia has gone through massive construction and transformation over the last few years, including the construction of the City of Arts and Science and other phenomenal architecture along the waterfront. This has made Valencia more of an interesting and popular tourist destination than it once was.

We struck it lucky with our accommodation and had a brand new apartment all to ourselves, for once we were in luxury instead of a cramped hostel room. Although it would have been tempting to stay in that night and revel in our modern surroundings there were tapas to be had and the weather was superbly warm so it would have been a waste sitting inside.

The Spanish culture of late night dining and drinking was evident in Valencia. 10pm at night and everywhere is packed with people sitting outside eating and drinking. We had been recommended a place with amazing tapas and due to its popularity we had to wait awhile for a table...it was worth it, and never a problem when you have a jug of sangria to sip on to pass the time.

The tapas were delicious and typically we went overboard with the amount we ordered. It just kept coming and coming and we were getting fuller and fuller! I think we may have ended up being a little defeated as there was food left on the table which is not like us at all.

The best thing about having your own apartment is a fully equipped kitchen. We got up early and headed off to the central market to buy some breakfast food and provisions for the weekend. What a place! Everything your heart desires was situated in one place. Beautiful fruit, cheese, meats, whole giant squids...needless to say we came away with enough food for a week instead of breakfast for just 2 days.

After our extensive breakfast which lasted well over an hour, we headed out for the day. Chris and Andrew had already decided that as part of their Spanish experience they wanted to go and see a bull fight which Amy and I were definitely not interested in doing! Fortunately for them there was one on that weekend so they quickly snapped up some tickets.

Having had a bit of beach time in Barcelona we were keen for a bit more of that so we jumped on a local bus out to Saler where there was not much to do but laze in the sun and swim but that suited us just fine. Andrew and Amy got their first taste of a topless beach, I am sure they will be well used to them by the time they finish their European adventure.

Hunger hit around 3pm and apparently the only time you should eat Paella is between 2pm – 5pm which was handy so we bussed back to town and went to a more local beach to sample this Spanish delicacy. It lived up to the expectation and was all washed down nicely with more Sangria to keep us hydrated on a super hot day. Not much time to bask on the beach though as the boys had to watch bulls being killed and the girls wanted to hit the shops.

We rendezvoused back at the apartment and then went out to hit the town. The Spanish sun and Sangria was a bit too much for Amy who stayed in whilst the rest of wandered out armed with free drink vouchers kindly supplied to us by the Aussie that ran the apartments. The free drinks ended up defeating us much like the tapas the night before so we wandered through the packed streets alive with partying people to our apartment, stopping only to gorge on bbq'd corn from a street vendor.

Round 2 on the breakfast provisions the next day. Who’s idea was it to get 4 different kinds of meat, eggs, fruit, bread and several types of cheese again? Full to the brim we rolled out of the apartment for our last day in Valencia.

I wanted to visit a church today to pay my respects to my Grandma who passed away the week before we set off for Valencia. There was an amazing church in the centre which housed the "holy grail" which was the cup that Jesus drunk from at the last supper. I thought that would be a perfect choice to light a candle and take a moment to reflect. Unfortunately it seems the church was a bit too modern these days and you cannot light candles anymore, they have false ones with LED lights in instead. This didn't stop me taking the time to respect one of the most treasured people in my life who will be missed greatly.

Running through the middle of town is an old river bed which is now a park for walking, cycling and relaxing. It conveniently runs all the way down to the architectural area housing the Arts and Science museum as well as Europe’s biggest aquarium.

With an afternoon to fill we decided to check out the aquarium which was pretty interesting. There was a dolphin show which in some ways I think I have grown out of as it just seems cruel capturing these frisky creatures and making them perform tricks for food. I had visions of “Free Willy” but remembered that dolphins can kill sharks and may see some frantic flailing armed lunatic as a threat. So we sat and clapped at the tricks like clones and wondered afterwards why we went?

Not only did they have fish at the aquarium but an enclosure with the freakiest birds, one was fluorescent orange and another had a massive bill like a duck but really long, it felt like we in the mutant bird sanctuary. It was also a bit odd to have flamingos chilling out in what seemed to be a city type environment, why would they not just fly away?

Our time was nearly coming to an end in Valencia which was a real shame. It was a beautiful city with warm weather, fantastic food and a presence of relaxation and happiness all around. We packed up our remaining Valencia oranges (another excessive purchase from the market but worth it to say we have eaten them in Valencia itself) and landed back in London to chilly weather. Why cant all the well paying jobs for NZ’ers be in Spain!?!

Viva La Barcelona

Barcelona is one of those cities that is a must see on any ones travel itinerary. It has taken us ages to get there but definitely lived up to all expectations. A true party city with an amazing vibe, beautiful food, history, beaches, architecture etc. If it had had surf it would have been paradise but I guess nowhere is perfect. Julie and I have travelled with other people heaps lately so wanted a trip with just the two of us. You could say a romantic summer weekend holiday to Europe!!

The city is not very big but has a massive amount to see and we only had a short amount of time. We didn't want to miss anything so as we have come to learn a bike tour is the best option. There is always a bike tour on offer in popular European cities and they are pretty good value for money and a great fun way to see the city.

Before the bike tour started we needed food. Barcelona being warm pretty much all year round means fruit is abundant. We headed to the very famous central street called Las Rambles. The street is filled with tourists a million and all that goes with them. Beggars, street stalls, people dressed up pretending to be statues, flower markets, restaurants and bars. Through the hustle we managed to find an amazing food market with plenty of fruit for sale.


The bike tour was only 3 1/2 hours long but we managed to see an amazing amount of the city. Our guide new a crazy amount of history about the various statues, buildings, beaches parks etc. The two most influential artists to come from Barcelona and one of the main reasons so many people visit are Antoni Gaudi and Pablo Picasso.

Together they have had a huge impact on the city having been contracted to undertake a number of amazing and slightly eccentric I am being kind, crazy wierd buildings, light columns, monuments, paintings and the most famous and largest the La Sagrada Familia cathedral.
I am not much of an art buff so maybe my ignorance stood in the way of my appreciation. I found most of the early Gaudi to be nice as well as the early Picasso but once they were given full artistic freedom to produce whatever they wanted it all got a bit weird.I guess that's what has made there art so great, there unique style and madness. A little bit of history for everyone - the construction of the La Sagrada Familia began in 1882. It was planned as a neo-Gothic style church. Gaudi took over the construction in 1884 and immediately changed the direction and scale of the building, seeing it as an opportunity to express his own feelings. He spent much of his life working on the church and was still adapting and changing the plans when he died in 1926.He never finished it and it is still under construction today.

During the bike tour we met John and Nat an Aussie couple who we decided to meet up with later that night at a Cava bar. Now a Cava bar in Barcelona is not like something you would find in Fiji but rather a bar serving sparkling wine and tapas. The Cava (sparkling wine) in the region surrounding Barcelona is made the same way as it is in Champagne. More Cava is made here than anywhere else in the world and is is cheaper and taste awesome. After what seemed like a million tapas and far to much Cava we moved on but only after I impulse bought a traditional wine bladder. Just what I have always needed.

Another 30+ day dawned. We still had heaps to see so set off. We jumped on a metro and headed to an outdoor Gaudi park. I was pretty impressed with this park. The architecture was still mad and reminded me of being at Fred Flintstones house but the location of the park had a spectacular view over the city towards the ocean.

Luck was on our side this weekend as on the first Sunday of every month the Picasso museum is free, we killed a good hour wandering around admiring the way Picasso went from a seemingly normal artist with amazing talent, to someone that seemed to loose touch with reality with the tangent he went off on with some of his pieces! Guess art cant all be the same, not sure if Picasso is my cup of tea.

The rest of our time in Barcelona was pretty much spent at the city beach. During the lead up to the Barcelona Olympics huge amounts of money was poured into the city. What was once a deprived port was changed into a beautiful beach where thousands sunbathed (mostly without tops on I might add) on sand imported from the Sahara Dessert. It was a truly relaxing day and a weekend that we both needed in the sun. We were sad to leave but not too much as we knew that in a couple of weeks time we would be going to another Spanish city - Valencia, our Spanish adventures were not over just yet.