A trip to Valencia, Spain

While we were in Spain last week, I kept thinking of things that the world really needed to know about Valencia. About the food, the style, the weather, everything. I have no way to tell the world. But I can tell my 13 readers of this blog...


So here goes.

What to expect in Valencia, Spain...


First, Valencians speak Spanish, but some also speak Valencian. Yes, that's a real thing, and no, it isn't Spanish with a couple of little changes. In fact, it looks alot like a fusion of spanish and french. Odd. However, many Valencians, and Spanish folks in general do speak at least some English.


Now, on to the important stuff. If anyone ever intends to go to Spain, there are some things you should know. Like other places in Europe, the service industry is not as we're accustomed to in the U.S. When you walk into a restaurant or bar or store, you likely will not be greeted. You also are not 'seated'. Your waiter or waitress will come to you eventually. You order what you want, they bring it, and that's about the end of the service. However, they do not expect tips. Some people do tip, but we witnessed most locals do not. A 10% tip is considered a great tip, so that does make up for the lack of service. Also, you have to request your check. They don't just bring it. I think it's because they're just a lot more relaxed than we are. They want you to sit and enjoy your time, your company. So, when you're ready for it, just say "La cuenta, por favor", and they'll bring it on over. 


On another note - what do people in Spain wear? Regarding fashion, the spanish dress 'smartly'. It's hard to describe, but I'll try. Men and women wear well-fitted clothes. They are fashionable. They coordinate appropriately. You will see very few people wearing anything with rips, tears, discolorations, stretched-out, ill fitting, unattractive things. Also, in Valencia, at least, scarves were not at popular as they were in Ireland and Scotland. Women in Spain tended to wear skinny jeans or pants. There were plenty of ladies in leggings and a reasonable amount in shorts. Their shorts typically were nicer shorts, not much denim shorts. Shirts were varied, but all were hip. Lots and lots of sundresses and skirts. And let me tell you, when they go out on Friday or Saturday night they do it up! Hair, makeup, short dresses, heels...the whole nine. Speaking of heels, everyday shoes were about 50% ballet flats and 50% heels. Some heels were pumps, but most were espadrilles. 


Men wore more fitted jeans than we're used to in the U.S. They even wore capris. Not a ton of shorts, but same thing, the ones that were wearing shorts were nicer looking shorts - not really jean shorts. Lots of driving shoes for men. And most of the driving shoes were brown hues. LOTS of flashy, fly tennis shoes for guys too. You could tell they took pride in what they looked like. No wifebeater type shirts, but plenty of polo style and button down types of shirts along with lots of cool, trendy t-shirts. 


We were there at the end of May, and the weather was quite perfect. Every morning the sun was shining and there were no clouds in the sky. The weather was in the upper 70s and the humidity was notable lower than here in Virginia. 


Regarding food, breakfast starts at 8ish, lunch at 2-3pm, then a siesta (yes, most everything really does close down), and dinner at 8-9pm. We didn't experience the discos really, but we understood that they didn't get going until 12pm or later. Also. We were hungry. Constantly. The food was outrageously priced for what you got. Breakfast was no more than a pastry with a cup of coffee for about $3-4 US Dollars. You'd be lucky to get a piece of potato omelet and a chunk of bread for lunch at about $7 US Dollars. And any decent dinner (using the term loosely) was $10-15 US Dollars; and you'd be lucky to be full from it. Most of the time, the serving size was about 1/2 of what you'd expect. I'm not a fan of McDonald's or Burger King, but we ended up there ALOT simply because we could only get full there. We also lived off of Starbucks. They didn't close for siesta, and they had actual sandwiches with some meat on them. It was still overpriced, even by Starbuck's standards, but at least we didn't starve to death.  My advice: Get a room with a mini kitchen so you can go to the market and get some food to cook/prepare yourself.


Oh, and the beach. Valencia is close to the beach - about 1+ hour walk, or a bus for about $2 US Dollars will get you there. It's the mediterranean! And it's gorgeous. View of the mountains, very low, calm waves...and no one there seems to care about keeping up appearances like we're used to at our beaches. Topless is okay there, so once you get over the initial shock, it's quite nice to realize people aren't judging as they do in the US. No one to impress, and no one cares, so if you're pale like me, it doesn't matter. If your bathing suit isn't the newest and cutest, no one cares. So nice! They generally seem to just be okay with natural states. So you'll see people picking their noses, they will blow their noses anywhere, and not everyone was as keen on deodorant and whatnot as we are. Just saying...


Watch where you're walking. Pedestrians do not have the right of way. And people on bicycles will not move for you. Ask me how I know...?


Anyway, would I go back? Yes. Maybe not to Valencia, but back to Spain. The people were rude-ish by our standards, but once you got used to them, you could tell they didn't mean anything by it; it's just different social norms. The architecture is unparalleled, and as with most of Europe, there is a great transportation system in place. 


Glad to be home though...it felt weird speaking english to the first few people we saw in the Atlanta airport; but now we're rockin' and rollin', spewing it all over the place just like the good ol' times.


Tags:
What to wear in Spain, Vacationing in Valencia, Traveling to Valencia, What to wear in Valencia, Culture in Valencia, Spain