Cycling paella

So Jennifer has one day here in Valencia and it was important to cover the high points for her.

Yesterday evening we spent a very pleasant time sitting in the square by the Cathedral watching the world go by while she sipped an ‘agua de Valencia’ – champagne, orange juice, sugar and vodka. Valencia is famous for its oranges so you see this everywhere.

This morning was a bit more left-field. For those who know these things, Valencia is an amazingly bike-friendly city. Not only does it have an enormous slash of a green park ringing the old town, but the new town is riddled with fabulous bike paths. We hired bikes and rode the entirety of the park, through orange trees by the way, and on down to the Mediterranean Sea.

The park ends with the science-fiction architecture of the center for arts and sciences. The Med has a ridiculously wide beach that actually makes getting near the water trek in itself. We ended up riding 26km and satisfying not only Jennifer’s Valencia fix but her riding addiction.

Then it was 2pm and time for Spanish lunch. Valencia is the traditional home of paella thanks to being the center of a huge rice-growing region. We had a Paella Valenciana – chicken, rabbit, broad beans, snails and artichokes. Very tasty, although I left the snails to the Francophile amongst us.

This evening we sat in the plaza beneath our apartment and had a zoom call with our adorable friend Marta. (The apartment is the open balcony window just above the umbrella.) It’s only just Spring here but it got up to high 20s today and, right now, it’s perfect to sit outside and enjoy a glass of wine.