This time CEA took us to one of the cities that I really wanted to visit before studying abroad, Valencia. I heard that it was a very beautiful city, so I was really excited to explore it by myself and take a lot of pictures at the Oceanografic, the biggest aquarium in Europe.
This was a very relaxing excursion. Our hotel was in the core of the city center, where we had everything around us. During our first tour in the city, we ventured ourselves into the main Central Market. This was a typical Valencian building with its colorful ceramics used as decoration. We got to see all the fresh food that Spaniards like to buy, and we realized that how important it is for them to Go to the Markets.
Our next stop was the Lonja de Seda, a 16th century building. This was a very beautiful Silk Market and I was personally impressed by its architecture: its twisted columns and medieval lamps. We took a lot of pictures there and found that Orange Trees are used for decoration in most of the gardens. We were told that these oranges are not eatable, so were not expected to take any from the trees. For this reason, Courtney attempted to grab one as if she were going to eat it.
During our visit to the old quarter we also visited the cathedral, the Generalitat Palace and the Serranos Gate, that used to be one of the entrances to the city during the Medieval Ages, when Valencia was surrounded by a fortress. While we were walking downtown, we discovered one of the places that we all missed from home: STARBUCKS! I was so happy to taste a BIG MOCHA FRAPPUCCINO that I couldn’t wait!
After lunch we had the opportunity to visit one of the most beautiful mansions in the city: the Marques de Dos Aguas Palace. Nowadays, this Palace holds The Ceramics Museum, and we were very much impressed by all its luxury and decoration. We enjoyed visiting the different rooms in the house and it was unbelievable to see the Dancing Launch of the house. Some of us tried to imagine how they parties would be, trying to dance a Vals.
And the most exciting day of the excursion arrived. On Sunday morning we went to the Ciudad de las Artes y Las Ciencias. Thanks CEA for taking us to the most innovative and modern areas of the city! We spent all morning in the Oceanografic, the biggest Aquarium in Europe. It was as touring all the different kinds of seas and oceans, as we could see from Mediterranean fish to the Sharks in the Ocean and the Seals and Penguins in the Artic and Antartic. How amazing! We all loved the Aquarium and specially the Dolphin Show, too. I wish I were one of those instructors that were training the dolphins and jumping with them inside the big pool. Once we finished with the Aquarium, we also had the opportunity to spend some time in the Science Museum, known as Museo Príncipe Felipe.
In the overall, we had a very nice overnight excursion to Valencia, a city that was in my plans while in Spain, and that took us only two hours from Alicante. Again, thanks for taking us to another excursion with so many things to sightsee and visit.
This was a very relaxing excursion. Our hotel was in the core of the city center, where we had everything around us. During our first tour in the city, we ventured ourselves into the main Central Market. This was a typical Valencian building with its colorful ceramics used as decoration. We got to see all the fresh food that Spaniards like to buy, and we realized that how important it is for them to Go to the Markets.
Our next stop was the Lonja de Seda, a 16th century building. This was a very beautiful Silk Market and I was personally impressed by its architecture: its twisted columns and medieval lamps. We took a lot of pictures there and found that Orange Trees are used for decoration in most of the gardens. We were told that these oranges are not eatable, so were not expected to take any from the trees. For this reason, Courtney attempted to grab one as if she were going to eat it.
During our visit to the old quarter we also visited the cathedral, the Generalitat Palace and the Serranos Gate, that used to be one of the entrances to the city during the Medieval Ages, when Valencia was surrounded by a fortress. While we were walking downtown, we discovered one of the places that we all missed from home: STARBUCKS! I was so happy to taste a BIG MOCHA FRAPPUCCINO that I couldn’t wait!
After lunch we had the opportunity to visit one of the most beautiful mansions in the city: the Marques de Dos Aguas Palace. Nowadays, this Palace holds The Ceramics Museum, and we were very much impressed by all its luxury and decoration. We enjoyed visiting the different rooms in the house and it was unbelievable to see the Dancing Launch of the house. Some of us tried to imagine how they parties would be, trying to dance a Vals.
And the most exciting day of the excursion arrived. On Sunday morning we went to the Ciudad de las Artes y Las Ciencias. Thanks CEA for taking us to the most innovative and modern areas of the city! We spent all morning in the Oceanografic, the biggest Aquarium in Europe. It was as touring all the different kinds of seas and oceans, as we could see from Mediterranean fish to the Sharks in the Ocean and the Seals and Penguins in the Artic and Antartic. How amazing! We all loved the Aquarium and specially the Dolphin Show, too. I wish I were one of those instructors that were training the dolphins and jumping with them inside the big pool. Once we finished with the Aquarium, we also had the opportunity to spend some time in the Science Museum, known as Museo Príncipe Felipe.
In the overall, we had a very nice overnight excursion to Valencia, a city that was in my plans while in Spain, and that took us only two hours from Alicante. Again, thanks for taking us to another excursion with so many things to sightsee and visit.