Valencia CITY AND SEA

🔔BUDGET TRAVELLING FROM EAST MIDLANDS TO VALENCIA🔔 We booked this journey very separately and made it quite a long journey back… but it also made it about £200 cheaper compared to flying directly back to East Midlands✈️ We flew back to London Stansted & then caught a train back to our home town (all the details at the end of our trip itinerary😘 To get to Valencia, we flew East Midlands to Valencia direct with RyanAir. Early morning flight was just £32.99 per person and we were in the city centre by 11.00am !! When we arrived, we purchased the.. 72 HOUR TRAVEL CARD !! 📣📣📣 This was such a useful purchase during our trip.. for €13 euros each, you get unlimited urban and metropolitan buses, metro, tram and commuter trains !! So worth it !! We purchased ours at the airport and it allowed us to get into the city centre & easily explore so much of the city whilst we were there 🚟🚌

We very unexpectedly stumbled upon here just around the corner of a random metro stop we decided to get off at !! A great surprise for Josh though, for the football lovers it’s a great thing in Valencia as it is sooo close to the centre !! ⚽️

Saw this little store selling takeaway paella and we were starving from a morning of travelling, so we decided to give it a try 🥘 Of course, the Arroz Negro caught our eye & we’d be recommended by a friend who used to live in Valencia to try it.. believe it or not it’s squid ink paella, hence the colour !! 🦑 It was also VERY cheap, perfect for a snack. I can’t remember the exact price but it was approximately €3 for a takeaway portion. And we had to get a Fanta Lemon of course 🍋

Found this public garden to sit & then tucked in… it was a YES from us !! Such a unique taste but really really nice, and it’s a famous traditional rice dish here in Valencia 🇪🇸

LIMIN HOSTEL CAPSULES🪐 €102 for 3 nights !! That’s approximately £88, making it just £44 each total !! Amaze deal😱 Breakfast included was a lovely touch (crossaints, pastries, Spanish omelette, fruit, coffee and juice) Started off our days GREAT⚡️ The communal facilities were good; there was quite a bit of mess in some areas but that it purely down to people staying there who don’t look after the hostel- the hostel staff themselves are great with cleaning the facilities and providing fresh towels etc. We’ve stayed in a space capsule before and it’s always one of our favourite experiences👽

Walked along the Marina to get to the beach, a nice walk & saw lots of fancy yachts😱🛥️

The perfect destination for city and beach all in one trip !! We bought a beach throw off one of the guys on the beach, managed to bargain for €11 but I couldn’t resist 🌊🐚💙 There’s also beach huts all along the beach that sell refreshments for a relatively good price !! Approximately €3 for a sangria or a beer🌞

Keeping it on a budget we found this takeaway store near to our hostel and it was only €7 for two kebabs, and I tell you what, they were GOOD😍 I don’t know what it is about Spanish kebabs but… 🤤

After breakfast in the hostel we caught the metro to the ‘Eixample’ area and then did a bit of exploring by foot✨ One of our favourite things to do is to just walk and see where we end up. However, we were on the hunt we bite/sting relief as the mosquitoes LOVED us.. managed to get some AfterBite from a local pharmacy and it was a blessing🦟 If you suffer with insect bites, we definitely recommend taking some repellents and treatments with you so you have if needed!

First Bullring we’ve ever seen in person.. didn’t go inside but it was interesting to see and to read some of the information on the boards around the outside 🇪🇸 The official name is Plaça de Bous de Valéncia, but it is also commonly known as Plaza De Toros de Valencia.

Visited the Town Hall Square of Valencia !! Beautiful surroundings, the architecture of the buildings is stunning, and so is the fountain⛲️ There’s an endless amount of sights, shops and restaurants to explore in this area, you’re spoilt for choice !!

Ahh Mercat Central Valencia !! 📍 WHAT A PLACE !! A few facts.. •It’s the largest market in Europe with fresh produce. •It has more than 1200 stalls selling fruit, vegetables, meat, cheese, spices, nuts and seafood…plus plenty more. •Open Monday to Saturday - 07:30 to 15:00 and closed Sundays Whilst we were there we tried Agua De Valencia, one of Valencia’s famous cocktails. It was €2.95 and the beverage is made up of orange juice (Valencian oranges of course), cava, gin, vodka, ice and sugar. It was very tasty but STRONG to say the least 🍊🍸 We also tried olives for just €1.50, and sampled some traditional Valencian chocolate. Gorgeous 😍

We visited the narrowest building in Europe.. how cool !! 😱 It doesn’t seem to be very well known and we only heard about it through TikTok (none of the guides we were reading before hand seemed to mention it) so if you visit Valencia, definitely give this place a visit !😍 Also, around this area are some really beautiful stores full of art and homemade pieces🫶🏻

Continued our adventures by foot, this time towards the beach and stumbled across Plaça de La Verge and the Serranos Towers. 2 more things ticked off the things to see in Valencia✔️

An afternoon spent on the beach relaxing, eating ice lollies & going for a paddle 🌊🐚💛 City in the morning, beach in the afternoon !!

A gorgeous restaurant, gorgeous paella & a GORGEOUS deal😍 For €18 you can get 3 course, as well as appetisers and a huge side of bread & dips.. the paella is just what was ‘left over’ from the day. We could see it in the kitchen and it’s still in the huge paella pan hot and looking delish (it’s just not made fresh there and then). If you want paella that is made fresh and served in a small pan, then you pay this price MINIMUM per person and you’re only getting paella, not essentially 5 course. So we of course went for the ‘Menu del dia’ and it did not disappoint!!

VALENCIA CATHEDRAL.. supposedly home to the Holy Grail✨ On our final day, we spent a couple of hours exploring the beautiful cathedral. Entrance was fairly cheaper, about 6 euros because we managed to flog the student ticket 🤣Your ticket also includes an audio guide & we loved it, made a nice change rather than reading off of signs. Some facts…🇪🇸 •The cathedral was built between the 13th & 15th century and the style is mainly gothic💫 •Inside is Santo Caliz Chapel, rumoured to hold a chalice that was used by Christ at the Last Supper, as well as a famous painting by Goya in the Saint Francis Borja Chapel🏆 •It is home to a unique birth tradition..Pregnant women walk 9 rounds of the cathedral (9 times for the 9 months of pregnancy) At the Virgen Mary statue (behind the altar) you say a prayer before and after walking the 9 rounds. The candle that you get, you have to take home and someone has to burn it for you on the day of the delivery. It is said to bring a nice delivery & and healthy baby👶🏻

The weather was NOT on our side today but nevertheless less we still decided to go and have a look at the Arts & Science Museum.. we decided not to pay to go inside and to any of the exhibitions as we would want to spend a FULL day there.. an excuse to go back to Valencia !! 🇪🇸 We did go kayaking though and it literally started thunder storming 5 minutes in so that was abandoned quick.. but at least we can say we’ve done it !! 🤣🤣

When we say it CHUCKED it down.. it CHUCKED it down🤣🤣🤣 Had to run to the closest food place we could find as we were not only soaking, but starving.. so dominoes it was🍕 Paid approximately €20 for two medium (I think) pizzas and they were good😍 Carbonara flavour & Texas bbq !!

A cosy night in tonight as the forecast was thunderstorms all night.. but we didn’t mind☔️ A night in the pod called for lots of snacks, and lots of UNO🩷

So it turns out we were in Valencia for the World Paella Day Cup !! In the home of paella too !! 🥘 We spent a bit of time watching the contestants making their dishes, but only VIP could go through into the arena area so after a little watch, we decided to go and find our own paella to eat😍🤣 We later checked the results and the winners were.. Japan !! 🇯🇵

You can’t beat a good take away paella in the sunshine in a Spanish city 🤌🏻🇪🇸 Again, we only paid a couple of euros for each tub, and they were delicious 😍 Afterwards, we did a bit of souvenir shopping. Shot glass and a magnet secured ✔️ we get this from everywhere we go !!

We then spend the rest of our final day soaking it up on the beach. Anyone else find the best flavour Fantas are abroad.. the watermelon one was divine 🤤 Stayed there all afternoon sunbathing, chatting, swimming, playing UNO & then Josh went and got us a Burger King before it was time to head back to the airport. The deals were so good, it was something like €9 for two big meals, so it was another great budget find.. saved us because in the airport it would’ve been triple 🤣🤣

Home time !! 😭 We flew from Valencia to London Stansted direct with RyanAir. Late night flight was just £41.99 per person. ❕CRASHED IN THE AIRPORT FOR A COURSE OF HOURS… guilty if it means we can save some pennies…❕ We then caught a train from London Stansted home to Nottingham just £16.90 each (one transfer at Peterborough). 🚨TOTAL TRAVEL COST JUST £92 per person for 4 full days in Valencia🚨 Valencia is the perfect destination for couples if you want a mix of both a city break and beach holiday. And it can be done GREAT on a budget🧡 Book that trip !!