Written by: Quin Perry (Session 1)
We started off our trip to Valencia by going to the downtown area to see the Lonja de la Seda. In the mid 1500s, Valencia was known worldwide for their production of silk on the silk road and this was the center of exchange for the area. When you first walk into the castle-like structure with gothic-style architecture, you enter a breathtaking yet peaceful courtyard filled with orange trees and a fountain in the center. Then, as we continued through the structure we saw the La Sala de Contratacion where contract and trade negotiation took place in a magnificent room with very elaborate ceilings and twisted columns. There was also the Pavilion of the Consulate where tables were set up. They served as a form of the first banking systems, and we learned that if a banker mishandled the money or exchange then they would physically break the table that they were working on as a symbol of their mistake.
The next stop we made was to the Cathedral in Valencia. The Cathedral was built in the 13th and 14th century after the reconquest. It is the home to many different architecture styles including Roman, the Visigothic arch, and Spanish Baroque that are present through the entire building along with art by Goya and others. You can also climb up a massive set of spiraling stairs that bring you all the way to the bell tower where you get the most amazing 360 degree view of the city. You can see a wide variety of landscapes from large buildings to more traditional red tops, to the Mediterranean ocean and mountain ranges.
At the end of day, we decided to get dinner by the Mediterranean Sea which we were all excited to get to see. A traditional dish in Valencia is Paella. Specifically, they have Valencian paella which includes the usual rice and then chicken and rabbit. The dish is served in a large pan family-style. We all found the paella to be delicious and even were able to catch a gorgeous sunset which was a perfect way to end a perfect day of exploring a new city.
The following morning we made our way over to the biggest aquarium in Europe which is in Valencia, the Oceanográfic. The aquarium displayed an extremely wide array of animals ranging all the way from the Mediterranean to the Arctic waters. My personal favorite there was that they had a tank that was full of massive sharks and stingrays that had a walk-through tunnel which allowed them to swim right over your head. They also put on an amazing dolphin show that was very informative on ways to protect our waters along with putting on a spectacular presentation of how intelligent dolphins really are. The trainers were able to get the dolphins to do flips on command, dance with them, jump in unison, and even play fetch.
We ended off our trip to Valencia with a trip to the beach. We went to Playa Cabanal where I was able to get my first experience in the Mediterranean Sea. It was the most beautiful beach I have ever experienced with soft sand, not a rock in sight, and very warm water. It was a very fun and relaxing way to round-off the trip and we all had such amazing experiences on our first trip out of Madrid. We are all even more excited on the trips we have in the weeks ahead.
