Day 24 – to València
Jun 20 – so hot, but the architecture is cool
- Before checkout, we headed over to the sandwich shop for brunch, saw Bumblebee in the town center, and made a pit stop for Cokes.
- Taking a Taxi to the train station was a smart move since they can use taxi lanes and avoid long lines of traffic. Despite driving a manual transmission, the driver kept one foot on the brake.
- It’s funny what you don’t notice on arrival that you can’t miss on departure. Our arrival was wonky with a long route in full sun, but we didn’t think much of it as it was the only path out and we were just being lemmings with everyone else. Turns out, the train station is under major construction. Signs are not updated, even temporarily. Departures was very confusing.
- Not only would we be on a full train, there were a lot of people who never travel. They couldn’t/wouldn’t wait or be patient. They wouldn’t make room for others to get by. They had waaaaaay too much luggage (more than they could manage). But we got table seats! yay! ….and no wifi. boooo. They don’t offer wifi on this “type” of train. I guess it’s okay since when they did offer it, it didn’t work for anyone without a Spain-based phone number.
- We were on the train with a guy he nick named “Poncho Chipas.” He had a cowboy hat, a zarape/poncho, and a huge black mustache. We found him sharing Doritos with his buddies. We saw him again in the platform. He had an inflatable stick pony as part of his get up. Where were those the year he made a pony out of a pool noodle and carried it around on Derby Day?
- When we got to València, it was hot hot hot. Of course.
- The drivers in València were a lot more polite than other cities we had been to, at least in terms of less horn use. However, they were also blocking the way for an ambulance and “blocking the box” at the same intersection.
- When we wanted to go for dinner, we used Uber to order a taxi…which was weird, but nice. We could compare prices and get the cheapest option. Uber can also be used to book trains, here.
- For dinner we went to Hundred (burgers). Except for the famblee who buzzed past the hostess stand and stole a table, we got the last one. At another table, Italian TedDEY graced the whole place with his screaming fit. His parents loudly facetiming the grands weren’t much better. A third family let their toddler run around despite being under foot, near the top of some stairs, and trying to get out the front door. However, our burgers were both pretty amazing. And I tried a Tinto de Verano (half red wine, half lemonade, over ice) that was outstanding! I like it way better than traditional sangria.
- In many places in València, I’d have 5 bars but no signal. And almost no one here has wifi. It was weird to be disconnected.
- With the sun setting and high temps finally dissipating a bit, we walked around taking photos of cool buildings. When we stopped for a drink, we found Papanato cafe and then later found ice cream.
- We also stumbled into a bachelor party where the guy was wearing a skirt and glasses I actually own (for a Halloween costume). He was dressed like an alien. He offered to give me his skirt. No no no; you keep that on, dude.
- Back at our room, it wasn’t cooling much at all. The front desk gave us their fan. It was more humid than hot, but it wasn’t good for rest.
Day 25 – València
Jun 21 – Oceanogràfic València
- In our warm room, he didn’t get much sleep. It was a lot cooler when we woke up, so they must have reset it when maintenance came in for the morning.
- We got one free breakfast for not letting them clean our room. So, we slept until near the end of breakfast…and it was utter chaos. I literally got elbowed trying to get our forks. If one free breakfast is a selling point, they need to take that benefit away. The breakfast itself was fine; it was the people that were nuts. It felt like that Easter dinner in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but a lot meaner.
- So, after breakfast, we just hung at the hotel for blogging/napping/gaming in the less hot. I also used that time to look for Hemisphere, València, but it was completely sold out of every ticket type for the whole day. They probably have good air conditioning. We didn’t have tickets in advance because we didn’t know about it until we got here and started seeing images of it.
- During the afternoon, he found 7 kitties hanging out in the backyard of the hotel.
- And then, he found tickets to the hemisphere “campus” via the aquarium! Oceanogràfic València was a nice place.
- For dinner, we tried a place in the mall, but on the way there, we encountered some very very rude people. And then the place we found was disgusting because it was very understaffed (and also has weak reviews). It was not meant to be, but the Italian place down and across from it was lovely.
- Open air malls are a special kind of hell. (Lookin’ at YOU Waikiki!) They are humid and don’t have enough seating. And since we are in Europe this time, people can smoke just wherever…as long as they aren’t in a store or restaurant. At least European cigarettes don’t stink as bad as American ones. You can totally tell when you pass the latter kind.
- Nearby, a Tony Roma’s was perfect for follow-up drinks; they were a tad bit over staffed; it was cute.
- Back at the hotel, I bought a beer from the vending machine; it was between the snickers and the fanta. I found it odd that they didn’t have small bottles of wine, too. All hotels should have this. In the US, it could still require an ID.
