Cuenca and Valencia

So this weekend was our first out of Madrid weekend. NYU Madrid did a sponsored trip to Grenada/Cordoba and a Valencia/Cuenca. We originally wanted to go to Grenada and Cordoba but we didn't get to the sign up in time. It was full when we got there. However, I am very glad we got to go to Valencia and Cuenca.

We started out at 8 in the morning on a bus. Buses are not comfortable, especially when you are trying to get your sleepy on. We arrived in Cuenca at about 11. Cuenca is mostly known for its being a heavily populated Muslim city in the past. There are some Moorish ruins there. Also, the first Gothic cathedral, Our Lady of Grace Cathedral, in Spain was built here. It's quite a cute town. My favorite part was the "labyrinth" that our wonderful tour guide Angél took us through. There are these little secret streets through Cuenca that he said are good during the evening times. haha. There was this one secret passage where there was a real life Romeo and Juliet story. There was this woman in one of these dark streets that always sat at a caged window. One day this guy comes by and starts talking to her. They fall in love by talking through her window. Well the guy has to go off to war, and when he comes back he sees her talking to another guy at the window. The men begin to duel and the Romeo character is killed. The girl feels so terrible she places herself in a convent. Romantic huh?

Now Valencia.

The hotel we stayed in was immaculate. We had a complimentary breakfast which was incredible. The location was perfect. The first night we went to an amazing restaurant called L´Hamadírada, which means hamadryad in English. Apparently these are Greek mythological creatures, nymphs, that live in trees. The food here was delicious. I had grilled squid. It was one of the best things I have ever eaten. My two friends shared a paella of black rice and baby squids. The reason it is black is the paella is cooked en tinto, which means it´s cooked in the squids ink. Sounds gross but it´s delicious!!!

The next day we had a walking tour of Valencia. We saw Roman ruins, an amazing cathedral, an old palace, the famous market there, and most importantly, the BEACH!! They fed us an amazing lunch at a restaurant on the beach, and after we had free time to lie out or go in the water. Although it is October, the water was still warm. I haven´t been to the beach in FOREVER. It was incredible. That night we went out for tapas and Agua de Valencia, which is cava, Spanish champagne, orange juice, Cointreau, an orange liqueur, and sugar (lots of it!). It was pretty taste. The reason there is so much orange stuff is Valencia is known for its oranges. I bought one at the Mercat we went to. It was the most tasty orange I ever had. After tapas, we met up with some more people and went to a free discoteca. haha We of course had to get our dance on. The played a remix with Martin Luther King, Jr.´s "I have a dream..." speech. I felt like it was disrespectful. Oh well. The Spanish are not known for being politically correct.

The next morning we went to the City of Arts and Sciences. This is a futuristic looking combination of buildings hosting the best Aquarium in Europe, an IMAX, Planetarium, Laserium, an interactive science museum, and an opera house. I was really wanting to go to the Aquarium, but we only had an hour to walk around everything, and the cost was 25 Euro. I didn't feel it was worth it to go in for an hour. I am sure I will return. Laura and I both loved it, so I am sure we are going to go back.

ALSO They speak a dialect of Catalan there, so it made me really excited to see Catalan everywhere.

When we came back I realized the sickness I was developing finally manifested itself, and I had to go to the doctor. Some type of infection, but know I have antibiotics and feel 80% better!!

This weekends agenda = BARCELONA!!!!!!!!! I AM SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED!!!!!!!!

Pictures will be posted soon!! I promise!!