VITAMIN SEA - A WEEKEND IN VALENCIA

For our Global Navigators' last weekend in the program, we visited the lovely city of Valencia, on the eastern coast of Spain. Our students had a fantastic time on the beach, walking along the gorgeous streets of the city, enjoying the beautiful architecture, experiencing a different language (valenciano), taking a boat through the rice fields and eating authentic paella valenciana.

Valencia is the third most important city in Spain (after Madrid and Barcelona). A dazzling combination of breathtaking buildings, wonderful beaches and delicious gastronomy, it is one of the most fun and pleasant places to visit in the country. We divided our time among the city itself, the seaside and the incredible Albufera, a fascinating area of Valencia with its own - particularly humid - ecosystem and its own particular flora and fauna. In this area, we saw miles and miles of fields in which the rice for the delicious, stellar dish of the Comunidad Valenciana is grown. Paella valenciana combines rice with chicken, rabbit and vegetables (contrary to popular belief, there is no seafood in authentic paella valenciana) and it is the pride and joy of the people of Valencia.

We were also able to visit the Museo Fallero, a museum that displays the iconic ninots, the figures made of wood and other materials that the people of Valencia spend a whole year building, and which are burned during the festivity of Fallas, on 18-19 March. The winning falla/ninot does not get burned and is displayed in the museum. Finally, we visited the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, where we learned about some cool scientific concepts before heading back to Madrid.

We were so lucky to get the chance to experience such a different part of the country, compare it to Madrid and enjoy everything it had to offer!