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Valencia was beautiful, too. In fact, I’m pretty sure I loved every city we visited in Spain ;) It was just such a beautiful place!

Cathedrals everywhere, ancient architecture, mosaics, stained glass…I loved it all!

And Valencia had some great things to offer, including touching the Mediterranean!

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It may not have been pretty outside, but I can still say that I touched it ;)

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And, after putting our hands in the water and taking pictures, we headed to a little restaurant right on the beach for the best meal we had on our trip.

Paella!

We stared out with bread (with salsa and garlic butter), salad, calamari, mussels, and sangria.

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These mussels were the best I’ve ever had! They were so sweet and steamed perfectly.

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Not to mention, super fresh!

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For the main meal, we decided to try 2 different paellas: The Valenciana, which had chicken and rabbit, and a Mixed Seafood one that had shrimp and calamari.

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This dish was so big! I wish I could show how huge it was in real life – it was supposed to serve 4,  and we put a pretty big dent in it, but it was still a lot of food.

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Food blogger in training? ;)

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The rice at the bottom of the paella pans was super crispy and delicious. I really wish I would have bought a real Paella pan while we were in Valencia. I saw them in a bunch of markets, and they had ones that were even bigger than the size we had!

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The chicken and rabbit Paella also had these huge green and white beans! Yay for vegetables! I was seriously lacking on this trip.

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I’d say we did a pretty good job of clearing out the dishes ;)

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For dessert, the waiter brought out 2 plates with a little of everything they had to offer.

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Those plates didn’t last long, and neither did our coffee.

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We were all really happy (and full!) after this meal, so we took the bus back into the main part of town and walked around a bit more.

Luckily, we found another old city gate :) These things are everywhere!

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(Thanks to Nick for these pictures!)

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We saw some of the coolest views of the city from up here.

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We also got to tour a cathedral in Valencia – it was pretty amazing, but not as huge as the one in Toledo. But we did get to take a few pictures!

These cathedrals were just incredible.

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Our day in Valencia was definitely worth the 3 hour train ride. The ocean, the meal, the city, the orange juice!!! Yes, those “valencia” oranges are from Valencia. I’m really not sure if I can have any o
ther orange juice again…it was the more fresh, tart, sweet, juice-y orange juice I’ve ever tasted. I’m not sure anything can compare now that I’ve had it straight from the oranges in Valencia.

Our last 1/2 day in Valencia (before heading back to Madrid to end our trip) was full of fun stuff, too.

Next – and last!:

  • The bull ring
  • Market
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17 comments

  1. This is making me think of the paella I had on my trip to spain last year. It was so good! It makes me want to buy saffron from Trader Joe’s but I’m sure it wouldn’t turn out the same

  2. Everything looks amazing and your photos are brilliant! They look like they should be on the pages of a magazine!

  3. I’m so nostalgic!! Paella! Mussels! Looks so much like my trip to Spain… I want to go back!

  4. BEAUTIFUL!!!! I love seeing the culture and vibrancy in these posts. So amazing. Spain through your eyes is gorgeous! :)

  5. AHHHHHHH – these spain posts make me so happy! and you are nick are so adorable. and that paella – one of my favorite dishes EVER! can’t wait to read the rest – have a great day :)

  6. I want paella….it is SO delicious!

  7. Gorgeous pictures!!!
    And that meal.. omg. I adore calamari.. YUM!!!!

  8. What an amazing trip! I have always wanted to taste some authentic paella! :)

  9. i’m dying to try authentic spanish food like that ever since learning about it in my classes!!

    and stunning architecture. sooooooooo wonderful!!

  10. Oh wow, the architecture is amazing and that pallea looks incredible!!! Okay I am REALLY hungry now!

  11. Whoops, please delete the other comment. Wrong name.

    Oh wow, the architecture is amazing and that pallea looks incredible!!! Okay I am REALLY hungry now!

  12. Your pictures are taking my breath away…WOW! I am so glad that you found your drafts. Everything was absolutely beautiful and I can only imagine how all that amazing food tasted. I’ve never had rabbit, but I would like to try it. I am sure it was delicious in the paella. And the Mediterranean looked gorgeous to me… I hope your week is turning out better than your Monday. Food exploding in the micro (esp oatmeal) is the worst!

  13. Your pictures look so beautiful! Especially the ones of food, but I’m a sucker for Spanish food ;)

  14. wow, amazing photos :) and delicious eats!

  15. I’ve been wondering about Valencia–I sadly did not know it was in Spain!

    This post makes me want to go there right now! From the food to the architecture, everything you shared looks incredible!

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