España VI: Valencia!

Which country do Sarah and I consider our favorite for repeat vacations? How about the one we just visited for the sixth time since 2018, including twice when we were still living in India: A Espanha (okay, España in Spanish!) While we have typically planned our travel to Spain in connection with music and concerts—hard to top our four concert visit to lovely Granada last summer for the Granada Music Festival followed an opera performance in Madrid in Pomegranates and Concerts and Chocolate: Granada!!—but this time, we were able to combine exploration of a new city with the invitation of good friends who had just moved from Lisbon to Valencia.

Phil and Kristie Gold had moved from our Avenidas Novas neighborhood only two months earlier but they graciously welcomed us to their apartment in the Ciudad Central of Valencia, the heart of the both the narrow lanes of the historic old city and the stunning plazas of the primary business district. What a treat to see our Lisbon best couples friends and to share in the excitement of their new city and new digs! Of course, it was even better as Kristie had baked what appeared to be a magnum of chocolate chip cookies, remembering how much I love them.

Valencia is well known for its paella and is where the famous dish originated in its customary form of paella Valenciana with rabbit, chicken, and snails, so indeed Phil and Kristie guided us to Puerta del Mar where we sampled that dish along with a contemporary version with short noodles with shrimp, cuttlefish, and black squid ink. A great combination of two different takes on this traditional dish and a marvelous start to eating our way through another Spanish city!

So, where would we go for the next morning’s wandering? How about the famous Mercat Central, where Phil and Kristie had already connected with many of the merchants as they guided us through sampling traditional vermut—yes, before lunch and more on that later—and buying olives and a selection of thinly sliced charcuterie and cheese. The Mercat Central is a classic, stylish fresh market, the largest such in Europe, and with a combination of mostly local buyers and some tourists, much more comfortable and charming than the Boqueria in Barcelona, we thought. We felt right at home!

Since the Mercat Central is at the edge of the Ciudad Vella, or the old city, we then wandered through some of those delightfully narrow and charming lanes so typical of the Iberian peninsula, and some of our favorite places to stroll and explore and photograph. Sarah had scouted out a knit shop and she even discovered a tiny silver shop that we subsequently couldn’t find, but more about that later, too.

That evening, after our usual soneca/siesta, we were introduced to another Spanish and Valencian tradition, the delight of the pintxos bar, where we enjoyed toothpick skewered small bites on a slice of a baguette, along with the warm items like croquettes delivered around the tables by the staff, along with vermut and more vermut. Once you’re done, you pay based on the number of toothpicks scattered on your plate, very delicious and very cool as the tables are somewhat communal so you get to meet other folks.

And while Valencia has more than its share of great gelaterias, Phil and Kristie threw us a curve ball with another of the city’s unique treats: Bassk Cheesecakers! While it’s well known that I’ll eat nearly anything that has sugar in it, cheesecake has never been at the top of my list . . . until this one! Bassk, or Basque, and they describe their dessert as “. . . a little rough on the outside, but sweet and creamy on the inside.” Absolutamente, and they have not only the expected, creamy, cheesy, variety but even a light chocolate one . . . guess which one I tried?

On Wednesday, our tour guides extraordinaire introduced us to some of Valencia’s unique attractions, mostly within easy strolling distance of their flat. We must admit we had never been aware of Valencia’s annual Fallas Festival in March, when the city celebrates with days of fiestas, fireworks, and satire, especially with  giant papier-mâché figures called “ninots,” or “dolls,” with each striving to illustrate that year’s theme. A vote determines each year’s best, and that winner joins those from previous years in the fascinating, if a bit spooky, Museu Faller, where we enjoyed those winners in person, while the others from each year are joyously burned in the Plaza Ayumamento.

Then, shifting from the uniquely historical to the stunningly modern, we walked through the City of Arts and Sciences, with its intriguing forms and magical shapes. We strolled the grounds but didn’t tour inside the museum or the oceanarium or the opera house, so we’ll have to plan ahead next time! But what an incredible site from so many angles.

That evening, we enjoyed the charcuterie and cheeses Phil and Kristie had purchased with us at the Mercado, then we took in a powerful show at the Palosanto Tablao Flamenco club—we always go for music, right? Big time score for our hosts as this was such a powerful, inspiring performance and a true highlight of our trip as we sat so close to the singers, the guitarist, and the two dancers, we felt truly a part of the evening’s emotions.

And speaking of highlights, on Thursday, Sarah and I did what we always do when in Spain, we began our quest for the best chocolate and churros in Valencia! Chocolatería Valor, founded in 1881, has shops all around Valencia and other cities in Spain as well, so a short stroll brought us to our first contestant. The chocolate was deep and rich, velvety and just the right temperature, and the churros were crispy and light, a delightful combination! Of course, we paired our chocolate with another of our favorite Spanish regulars, café con leche! Ah, frabjous joy!

Properly fueled, we joined Phil and Kristie for a couple more of Valencia’s iconic spots. We started with the Cathedral of the Holy Chalice, with its imposing main chancel as well as the special chapel of the Holy Grail, where this traditionally acclaimed chalice has been housed for over 800 years. Next, we toured the Silk Exchange, with its incredible “twirled” columns—my word, not the architects’—and learned about the importance of Valencia’s role as a center of Mediterranean trade from the fourteenth century onward.

That afternoon, Sarah and I relieved Phil and Kristie of their hosting duties (I did leave them some chocolate chip cookies . . . okay, I think it was just two) and we checked into the nearby Hotel Venecia Plaza Centro where we could revel in the view over the magnificent Plaza Ayuntamento. That evening, we joined them for dinner at Lattee & Farina, just off the famous Plaça Redonda, the compact, historic, circular plaza. We are always amazed at the number of Italian restaurants we encounter in Spain and Portugal, and this one was right at the top or our list with fresh pasta and unique sauces.

Of course, with only one more full morning in Valencia, Sarah and I had no choice but to try another of the city’s favorite breakfasts: horchata y fartons. We had passed by the charming entrance to the Horchatería Santa Catalina the day before, so, why not? The iconic horchata is a chilled drink made with soaked, ground, and sweetened tiger nuts. Yeah, don’t ask. I tried it and found it tasty although a bit too sweet. I also tried the farton with chocolate, and, as instructed, dipped it into the horchata. Yum . . . but, oh, wait, they have churros and dipping chocolate here, too? Right. And these churros had ridges and the chocolate was just a tad richer than our first contestant, Valor. We have a winner!

Properly fueled, we met up with Phil and Kristie to tour a couple more of Valencia’s attractions. First up was the Museu del Corpus, where the famous Roques, or “rocks,” huge, oversized “wagons” used in the annual Corpus Christi festival in June to display mythological and clerical figures in a procession to a central square. From The museum houses the historic roques between festivals and is a fascinating place to explore, as it includes eleven of them from 1528 through the most recent, built in 2001.

Next, we were guided to the Museo Nacional de Cerámica, located in the stately, rococo Palacio del Marqués de Dos Aguas. The ceramics were lovely and included a display of contemporary pieces, but the palace itself was even more stunning.

And, so, to our final evening together. We had all stumbled on a captivating, intimate tapas restaurant the day before and Phil had stepped into the breach to reserve us a tiny table in the tiny space of Casa Vani, and, oh my! I had been yearning for another of my favorite Spanish dishes, pimientos de Padrón, and we finally struck gold. We shared several typical tapas, and finished with a postre of another plate of Padron peppers just because!

Oh, and did I mention lots and lots of vermut?

Uau, as we say in Portuguese, what a wonderful time with old friends, sharing memories of dinners and travel and music together in Lisbon and Porto and Evora, to making more memories with Phil’s and Kristie’s joy in discovering their new city and country, their new lives in Valencia and Spain. Uau, absolutamente!

As so often is the case as Sarah and I travel and explore, we quickly realize how little we truly understand about the fascinations of history and different cultures and tastes and customs and how charmingly unaware we all really are in our own tiny orbits. And, so, when we discovered Pablo, in his charming silver shop, we shared some chatter with him about his knowledge of Lisbon and his goal to move back there, and Sarah and I gifted each other a simple silver ring to add to our collection . . .

Muchas gracias, amigos! Até a próxima!