Hola guapa! Visits with Friends

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VALENCIA Day 29

After taking a night train from Granada I woke up at 6am in Valencia. I made my way to the hostel and slept for a couple hours before heading out to see Valencia.

My first stop is the Mercado Central, which is packed with food and people. There were so many delicious looking things to eat. I stopped at the bakery and got heavenly looking pizza-ish bread. It had raisins and walnuts and some sugar sprinkled all over it! And let me tell you it tasted as good as it looked. I would love to have a market of that size next to my house but I can’t stand all of the people. As I was heading into the market I had noticed there was a large building that had beautiful curved pillars on the inside. I peeked my head in to find out that it was free to enter and walk around. So I did just that.

It was a lovely building, although I still don’t know what it was. In one room the ceiling was covered in carved wood. There were also nice stone sculptures on the walls. After the free wander I headed back out to the street towards the tower and cathedral. The main square, where the cathedral is located, is very lively. I enjoyed the painted buildings.

I then walked on towards the ‘Ciudad de las artes y las ciencias’, which is where the famous modern architecture of the science and art buildings is located. The walk to this area is lovely. There is a large park area surrounding the city that eventually leads to this place. The modern buildings surprisingly fit in really well. While I was there looking at the buildings I received a phone call from my friend Bea, who now studies in Valencia, letting me know where I can meet her for lunch.

I made my way to the train station to meet Bea. I was really looking forward to seeing someone I knew after meeting so many new people for the last month. Bea was living in Dublin when I arrived and it was her leaving Dublin that allowed me to get my job in the coffee shop that she previously worked in. So although her leaving meant I finally go a permanent job it also meant that my new friend was going to be leaving Dublin to return to Spain. So, although I only knew Bea for a few weeks I found her to be very kind, friendly, and welcoming so I was disappointed when she left. Thankfully though, I was able to meet up with her in Valencia to catch up after nearly a year of not seeing each other.

We, along with Bea’s friend Carmen from Napoli Italy, went to a café for some lunch. It was really nice to see Bea again. We chatted and caught up. I enjoyed meeting her friend Carmen who attempted to practice some of her English studies with me. She did very well. After lunch Carmen had to go home to study, as they are in the middle of exams right now, and Bea and I went to a grab a coffee (hot chocolate for me) before Bea’s next class.

We parted after our long chat and I felt refreshed having been able to speak with someone about shared history and friends. Being able to gossip about people we both know seems to have some sort of invigorating effect. It left me ready to continue on for a while more on my own but also looking forward to the next time I would be able to stop and visit with a friend.

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