26.03 - Friday - to Valencia

Uh oh.. let's continue with ancient Spain trip story now :) So Valencia!
Morning was kind of slow. Luckily the guys picked up the car already last night while I was switched off :) Goal was to head out around noon, which meant getting out around 11 to have a quick breakfast and then out the town we go.

First 1.5hrs was major horror on the road - traffic jams and cars barely moving at all. There were 5 of us jammed into a rather smallish 4-door vehicle :D In the end it turned out to be fine, the first hour I was getting bit claustrophobic (just being me). Rest of the ride went a bit smoother. We stopped here and there for food and gas - was quite chill. Got to see a bit of the nature outside the cities and managed to enjoy the views most of the time.

Arrived in Valencia around 6 I guess. It took us forever to navigate to our hostel in the city center and it took about hundred times forever to find a parking spot. After going around the block about 30 times I politely excused myself, stepped out of the car :) and waited on a parking bench. Finally the car got parked and we managed to check into the accommodation place. Hunger was the next most important topic - got taken care of quite quickly.

During dinner time inquired about local culture - we were all quite surprised when we heard that there is another Spanish dialect in Valencia, called Valencian. Catalan is the official language of autonomous region Catalonia - in Valencia the two official spoken languages are Valencian and Castilian (so Spanish I guess).

Walked around in the city center a bit and then headed out to find the City of Arts and Sciences (Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciences) - somebody had heard something good about it. To get there we walked in this strange park like thing that seemed like an old river bed with bridges going across every now and then. The strangest thing was that this whole area was made into a park with wonderful decorations, sports areas, biking and running roads, fountains and sculptures. Now I read from wiki that there really used to be river at some point but has been diverted now - riverbed area is called Turia gardens. After walking forever and ever in this beautiful park we finally made it to the Arts and Sciences center. OH WOW. It was dark outside by now and all was closed, but oh wow! The complex was amazing! The architecture - the surroundings - the lighting - the shapes - the materials - the combinations of water and stone. Just amazing. One of the coolest things I've seen for a long long time. If you ever get to visit Valencia - take the time to stop by there, you will love it.

Next problem was getting back to city center. Decided to take the metro - we were all half dead by now of the long walk, so we gathered our last strength and walked to the metro station that was about 25 minutes away. And what do you know, by the time we got there it was closed - we missed the last metro by 10 minutes!!! I wanted to cry. And the city center was so far away. After walking around and trying to figure out the bus system ended up taking a taxi still.

It was Kaspar's birthday today so of course we had to celebrate :) And what is the best way to celebrate than find a place where one can dance - and dance we did. As custom in Spain goes, it is totally ok to go to eat at 1 or 2am, so that is what we did. Found this wonderful little restaurant that seemed to be run by the owner. He was so generous and seemed to be doing everything there by himself. Food, beer and wine kept flowing. Got back to the hostel probably around 3 or so - after trying to navigate back and taking a wonderful night tour in the city :) This was probably the most walking I have done in a day for years :)