In October 2019, I joined a Citylife trip to Valencia. Citylife is one of the companies that organizes trips for young adults from Madrid to other cities. They also provide cultural session and tips for housing and moving to Spain for foreigners.
Most of the other participants on the trip were students studying abroad or young adults living in Madrid through a teaching exchange program. We went to Valencia by bus, which took around 5 hours. Our first stop was the hostel to leave our bags and change, then our bus took us straight to the beach!

Platja del Cabanyal and Platja de las Arenas
We spent the afternoon at the beach, enjoying the nice weather and meeting other members of our group. The group would disperse until after dinner, so we had the evening to ourselves. After a few hours in the sun at Platja del Cabanyal and Platja de las Arenas, we went back to the hostel to shower and change for dinner.
We got dinner from a local restaurant nearby, which had one vegetarian option for me (hard to find in some parts of Spain, especially more traditional cervecerías). Then we met with our tour group again.

An Evening Out in Valencia
We passed the Plaça de Bous de València on our way to catch the bus, and found the building lit up impressively. Though I cannot say I agree with the ethics of bullfighting, I admit that the architectural structures created for these events are marvellous. We went to a club that Citylife had booked that evening.
The club was near the Museum of Arts and Sciences which I visited the next day. The architecture was very unique, and extremely modern, in contrast the the historical buildings and streets in the city centre.

Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències (The City of Arts and Sciences)
The next morning, after some cereal and coffee provided by the Citylife organization, I left with my friend, Maud, and a few other girls we had met to explore the city. We stopped for real coffee on our way and had a more substantial breakfast.
Then, we walked through the streets towards the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias (or Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències in Catalan). Valencia is also in the Catalan-speaking region of Spain, but unlike Barcelona, the dialect here is referred to as Valencian. It is the region’s official language, recognized alongside Spanish (or Castellano as it is referred to in Spain).
Due to past pressure to homogenize Spain into a single culture, Spanish is more prevalent in the city than in the surrounding areas of the province of Valencia; however, the Valencian government is encouraging language revitalization. You’ll notice street signs in Valencia favour their official dialect, with Spanish translations sometimes provided.

This complex of museums is made of uniquely shaped white buildings that stand around these clear reflective pools. The combination of white structures and clear water is a little overwhelming on the eyes, but also quite beautiful.
We decided to purchase admission to the science building, or rather the Museu de les Ciències Príncipe Felipe.

Valencian Paella
We spent a few hours exploring the museum and it’s different exhibits. We marvelled at the architecture and learned in both English and Spanish. As we grew hungry, we decided it was time to find lunch.
We decided we would have to try paella in Valencia, as this famous Spanish dish originated from the Valencian region. We found a local restaurant serving seafood paella. Though I normally don’t eat seafood, I tried it here. The paella was good (although I think I have had better in Barcelona and a cooking class I took later in Madrid).
We passed by the Mercat de Colón on our way back to the hostel and city centre, but unfortunately, it was closed. During the walk, we also saw many other fancy buildings, which impressed my North American self. We searched for souvenirs, then met back at the bus around 5 pm to return to Madrid.
