Miss List...Valencia
- Themi Alexandra
- Jun 7, 2018
- 2 min read
Updated: Jun 8, 2018
Things I’m going to miss about Valencia
The pace of life. See Back in the High Life Again post.
The Polideportivo El Carmen. See Back in the High Life Again post.
The lilac trees.
The palm trees.
The street art.
Biking the Turia Gardens.
The tinto de verano that I sadly discovered on my second to last day. Similar to sangria, but in my opinion lighter and more refreshing: it is a mix of red wine and carbonated lemonade.
The ability to walk everywhere - any time of day. I felt incredibly safe in Valencia. It felt downright provincial.
The walk to the co-working space that ended with a beautiful view of palm trees in the distance.
The friendly cashiers at my local Carrefour Express. On my last visit I noticed my regular cashier had gotten a haircut. I told her in Spanish that I liked her new haircut. And it was both exciting and bittersweet to be somewhere long enough to notice.
Rebeca and Lorena. In every city we visit we have two residents that make up our local city team, our operations lead and our experience lead, who are employed by Remote Year to help us get the most out of each city. Have a question about where to get the best manicure or the best meal, in comes the city team with a swift assist. Rebeca and Lorena were a dynamic duo. They worked well as a team with their years of friendship shining through. Individually they each were incredibly positive and pleasant to work with. It will be hard not to associate my memories of Valencia with two of its greatest natural resources.
Le Favole. I loved having a regular spot that just happened to be a stone's throw from my apartment with a friendly staff (shout out to Carolina and her palm tree tattoo) and delicious pizza.
My neighborhood. I loved the square at the end of my street that was filled with benches and some great street art. The pocket behind the Mercat Central where if you walked through at the right time of the afternoon you felt like the only person on the street and that the city was all yours. The “local merchants.” Annie (@nomadicannie) and I happened to live a block up from a popular corner for some local prostitutes. During the day I would see them would killing time, sitting on a bench in the square, smoking a cigarette and chatting to the guy who ran the bike shop on the square. As noisy as they could be at night, they were part of the neighborhood fabric and I wouldn’t change a thing.
Things I won’t miss about Valencia
The temptation that was all of the incredible shopping.
The fact that nothing is open on Sundays.
Siesta time. I would begin my work day at the start of siesta, so I never actually got to participate.
Their pharmacies. It was surprisingly hard to find common toiletries in Valencia. And I never did find where they sold typical things sold at Walgreens like band-aids. That’s my million dollar idea: bring Walgreens to Valencia.
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