A Day Away

I can't believe that I've been living in Alicante for over 3 weeks now. What did I do to celebrate this fact? Well yesterday I went on a day trip to Valencia-- just north of here-- with a group organized through the university. Five other friends from my program joined me as we boarded the bus full of international students at 8:30 am for a fun-filled day. This weekend's lesson: a few laughs and a cup of coffee can make everything better. I'll explain.

In front of a beautiful cathedral
with my friend Katie.

We arrived in Valencia around 11am, and the first half of our journey took us through the city center. Because the weather called for highs in the 50s and only a light chance of rain, naturally, it was instead probably in the 40s and lightly raining. No pasa nada. I was still in awe at the beautiful buildings that comprise the heart of Valencia. Our tour guide explained everything in Spanish, so that was also a great learning experience. It's getting easier all the time! I did catch that Valencia is the third most important city in Spain, only topped by Madrid and Barcelona. This fact doesn't surprise me after witnessing the combination of beauty and history in the city center. 

After the tour, we had an hour and a half to eat and to explore. Because of the chilly weather, we all wanted to eat the kindly-packed lunches from our host moms inside, but it was difficult to find shelter that wasn't a restaurant. So what did we do? We went to a dessert and drinks place and sat on the second floor, hoping that they wouldn't be bothered my our aluminum foil-wrapped sandwiches. Well, they were. So we hastily ordered small drinks and quickly paid before leaving still in hunger. The Estonian boy who had been hanging out with our group was mortified that we had tried to be impolite, and he also could barely speak English or Spanish, which made conversation a bit tricky. So when it seemed that everything was falling to pieces outside the curb of said restaurant, of course it started to rain harder. Definitely a learning experience. But the good news: it doesn't take long for things to turn around.

The reason it's easy to put on weight here.

Three of us decided to brave the elements and to just make do with what we had: a park bench, sandwiches, and a good sense of humor. We scarfed down our sandwiches in the rain, and one friend decided to feed the pigeons with a bit of bread. I've never seen a swarm of birds like that it my life! I swear that they flew from miles away just to fight with the other thousands of pigeons (I'm exaggerating again) for a measly piece of bread. We got a good laugh out of the situation, and the day only got better as my next purchases included a slab of chocolate cake and a hot cup of coffee. I even found a bathroom: thank you, McDonald's. After all of this, it was time to head to embark on the next part of our journey: the Oceanografic.

Site of pigeon attack!

And how beautiful it was! It's the largest and most well-known aquarium in all of Europe. I'm sure in the summer it's probably like Sea World without the rides. Regardless, it was an incredible few hours spent wandering among fishes, sharks, and whales. When I first planned on visiting the Oceanographic I thought, "I've been to aquariums and I've seen Finding Nemo, how special can this be?" I was wrong. It was by far, the most impressive aquarium that I've ever visited, and I don't think it can be topped. There is a special section of Valencia called the City of Arts and Sciences, which I'm sure holds more wonders to be seen, but the Oceanografic was definitely worth the trip.

One of my favorite rooms.

I look forward to the upcoming weekend as well because I'll be travelling to Granada with my entire program (after I take the final for the first part of my intensive Spanish class-- time flies!). I've heard that Granada is a must-visit, and I can wait to see for myself.