Valencia and Madrid..until July 10

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I spent a week in Valencia …unwittingly during America´s 32 cup (massive sailing competition) during which time I met some great people at the hostel I was staying at and got sick  perhaps from the soggy sponges and watered down soap? Valencia is a beautiful city - 3rd largest in Spain…much more clean and safe than Barcelona..though it smells like urine?! If it isn´t, it should be called the city of castles because there are hundreds of castles and palaces everywhere - very beautiful…and most attractions are free or very cheap. My highlight of Valencia was going into Pallmer for the day with people from the hostel and trying to find the ´huge´ lake. We never found it but after spending the day at the ocean we ended up finding the best Paella ever (it was created in Valencia). We were driving through the rice fields and stopped to ask a farmer on his tractor for recommendations. After we made our way to the spot in town we saw this tractor barrelling down the main street…..and we ended up following him, mud flying everywhere, to this restaurant in the middle of a rice field. We had a massive feast, in the courtyard of the restaurant, served by the owner and his sister..who spoiled us with great conversation and liqeur from their bar. We watched the sunset over the rice fields and could see the fire works from Valencia. The day and meal was totally worth the extra night of suffering my belly gave me, as I was still sick but would not miss out on the Paella experience.
From Valencia I went to Madrid for 3 nights and met up with a friend of Steph´s boyfriend, Mark. The first night we drank at the chill hostel I was staying at on the prostitution street, chilled with some Spanish ladies on a bench and then found this mellow club called Como…which was very Euro (the boys were nice to Mark…more so than the girls who couldn´t keep up with his white dance moves). The next few days were really relaxed, I couch surfed with a great host who toured us around Madrid and took us to the local outdoor pool and El Retiro Park for some frisbie with his friends. I did venture into one of the main museums (Prado/Pradue) but for the most part I hung out in parks and read and wondered around the city - it was great! Madrid is beautiful, super hot and I always felt safe there.

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