So, my camera ran out of batteries 2 weeks ago, just before our trip to Valencia, and then I ran out of time and didn't stop to write about the travelling. I've since purchased some batteries, visited Barcelona, taken some pictures, attended my first ever professional soccer game, turned in some papers-- a lot to cram into one post, so here is the SparkNotes version of the first weekend:
First, the Prado: Two weekends ago, I joined the Master Painter's class on their field trip to the Prado. It's huge! I wandered around for two hours and probably didn't see half of it, but what I did see was amazing. I didn't think I liked El Greco until I saw his paintings right there in front of me. There is something that doesn't quite get captured in pictures of the paintings, and after seeing rooms and rooms of paintings in the same style, you could really see how unique his paintings are. Towards the end of the trip, I went back and just sat in front of some of my favorite paintings.
After the Prado, Ellie, Molly, Anna, and I stayed in Madrid to catch a 1:00am bus to Valencia. It seemed like a good idea at the time-- sleep on the bus, save on money for a hostel. In hindsight: maybe not the best plan. We were fine in Madrid, though it was a little chilly, and the bus ride itself wasn't bad, but we arrived in Valencia at 5:00 in the morning: sleep-deprived, cold, and in a new city. Luckily, we found the hostel quickly and even though we couldn't check-in, the receptionist let us grab some tea and coffee in the kitchen. We waited around for awhile and then went back out to see the market nearby. It was huge (and contained everything from dried fruit to a large pig's head), and we bought bread and cheese to eat for dinner later. It was still freezing when we left, and we were all a little crabby from the lack of sleep, so we went back to the hostel and took a nap on their couch before trying once again. It was a lot warmer (and we were in better moods after the nap) and we spent a couple of hours in an art museum. I'm not sure what we liked more: the fact that the museum was heated, the cushioned seating in front of the paintings, or the art itself (hint: it probably wasn't the art).
The weather was pretty chilly for the entire weekend, so we decided that it would be a good idea to do some "inside" activities. Translation: we ate a lot of food and played a lot of cards. Here are some of the things that we ate:
Fried eggs, french fries, and chorizo: We actually ate this in Madrid because we needed a warm place (and dinner) before the bus arrived. We split it four ways and it was absolutely delicious! And if I never learn to make any other Spanish dishes, at least I know that this one would be pretty simple.
Paella: This was actually on the list of things to do even before the weather was bad. My host mother told me that Valencia has the best paella (which makes sense since it's close to the ocean). It was very good, especially after walking around in the cold.
Bread and cheese: A staple for every weekend of travelling, but this was the best so far. We bought "queso fresco" at the market, and it was even better than the kind my host family has. We also warmed the bread in the microwave, so it was soft and warm. Some strawberries and oranges (also from the market) and some hot tea made a really good, simple, and cheap meal.
Juice: We had plans to go out to a bar Saturday night, but we stopped at a juice place instead. They had both alcoholic and non-alcoholic fruit drinks. Ellie and I split an orange-carrot-lemon juice, which was so fresh and unlike anything I'd ever had before. The place itself was also really cute. We sat on wicker chairs around a short little table, and the colors looked like something you would find at a beach.
Chocolate: We had chocolate in a lot of forms, including (of course) hot chocolate with churros. We also tried a croissant filled with chocolate, and this was also very good.
In between eating, we did get around to see parts of Valencia. On Sunday morning, we went to church in the cathedral and then climbed the tower to get a view of the city from above. We didn't make it to the ocean (after walking for about an hour, we realized that it was much farther away than we thought) but we did get to see an amazing park along the way. There was once a river that ran through Valencia, but because it often flooded, they decided to divert it away from the city. Now, there is a huge park that follows the path that the river once took. We climbed a rope jungle gym, posed by some musical sculptures, and saw some of the other museums from the outside. After giving up on the ocean, we walked back to the bus stop (an even longer walk). It started to rain, but luckily not too hard, and we stopped at a small grocery store to pick up some food before catching the bus (unlike the rest of the food we ate, this cheese was flavorless and disgusting, but we were so hungry from the walk that we ate it anyway).
In summary: though the trip was a little hampered by the cold and our lack of sleep, the food and friends made up for it!
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