Valencia #6

My last full week off here in Valencia — time is flying by! And even better, my best friend arrived late on Saturday night to visit me and celebrate her birthday here. It’s extra special to show someone you know so well around Valencia and let them see where you live now and where you’re building your new life.

She’s the first person from the Netherlands to come and visit me, and I noticed straight away that it felt a little different. Having a little piece of home come to Valencia makes you reflect on things and can also make you miss home a bit more. Even so, I absolutely loved spending this time together here.

We went out for a night at MYA, a nightclub near the City of Arts and Sciences. We had lovely walks around the city and through Turia Park, and ate at lots of cute restaurants with delicious food. We also rented bikes for a day and cycled to the beach and Port Saplaya. Port Saplaya is sometimes called Little Venice because of its charming little marina, with boats and waterways surrounded by colourful houses.

After three days of enjoying Valencia together, it was time for my friend to catch her flight back to the Netherlands. Honestly, saying goodbye was quite difficult. Not because I won’t see her for a long time, as luckily, she’ll be back here in just six weeks. It was more the feeling of a little piece of home leaving Valencia again, while you’re left here ‘on your own’. This was the first time I had to say goodbye to someone in Valencia, and I’m sure it will get a little easier next time. The feeling of being ‘alone’ also seems to pass more quickly each time.

On Thursday, I went to the cinema with my friends who also live here, like real locals. Well, maybe ‘real locals’ isn’t quite the right word, as we did choose an English-language film. There were Spanish subtitles, though, so you get a free Spanish lesson at the same time ;). Afterwards, we went to watch a fireworks show. An international fireworks festival was taking place in Valencia that week to celebrate the Día de la Comunitat Valenciana. We heard that this is pretty much the most fireworks you’ll see throughout the year. For the rest of the year, people here are more into mascletàs: extremely loud fireworks and bangs without much of the colourful display.

Friday was a public holiday in the Valencia region, known as the Día de la Comunitat Valenciana. It is celebrated every year on October 9th and commemorates the founding of the Kingdom of Valencia. Festive events, parades and traditional activities take place throughout the region. What I mainly noticed was how busy the city was, as everyone had the day off. I also got to see part of the parade. It’s really nice to experience these kinds of special days and local traditions when you’re living somewhere for a while.

The weekend was all about hiking and stepping outside my comfort zone. On Saturday, I had a fun hike planned with friends, and on Sunday, I had signed up for an event organised by a girls’ community. The second one felt a little intimidating, but I’m glad I went for it. Unfortunately, I didn’t make any new connections, but I did have two lovely hours and came home with a keychain ;).

Until next time!

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