jetjunkies

April 18, 2026

Valencia was one of Pete’s choices as he was excited to partake of Paella in it’s city of origin. Although Valencia has a lot to offer besides Paella our first meal in the city was of traditional Valencia paella which consists of rice, spices, rabbit and chicken. It was delicious although I was limited to a couple bites of each meat, just for the experience. The large pans cooked over open flames, if authentic, are meant for 2 people. There is a crunchy crust on the bottom that is especially good.

The next day we went to Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias (The City of Arts and Sciences). After a disastrous flood in 1957 the Turia river was drained and rerouted. A sunken park was established in the old riverbed and construction of the City of Arts and Sciences commenced in 1996 and was completed in 2009. The concept was inspired by Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie in Paris. And successive local governments expanded the plans for the development. The complex now includes Europes largest Aquarium (L’Oceanogràfic), Science Museum (Museo de las Cièncias Príncipe Felipe), Planetarium (L’Hemisfèric), Opera House (Palau de Les Arts Reina Sofia), The native plant and sculpture gardens (L’Umbracle), a covered event stadium (L’Àgora), bridges, reflecting pools and more. The total cost came in at 1200 Million Euros (wiki). In 2019 it was reported that the economic impact of the complex is €113 million a year and generated 3,509 jobs.

We visited the Aquarium that is designed in the shape of a Water Lily and has 1,184,030 sq ft and 11,000,000 gallons of water. Each building represents different aquatic environments including the Mediterranean, wetlands, temperate and tropical seas, the Antarctic, the Arctic, islands and the Red Sea. The Beluga whales were especially fascinating as was the enormous display of jellyfish.

Of the outdoor exhibits, the Flamingos were a favorite. The other building we visited was the Planetarium to see the BBC’s OMNI presentation on the planet’s ocean inhabitants.

We absolutely loved this amazing Spanish vision of architecture and imagination.

The next day we were off to the famous, historic restaurant, La Pepica, founded in 1828.

Here Paella is prepared in the traditional way over fire. We had the Pepica Paella, with peeled seafood. This restaurant on the beach was a favorite of Hemingway and many other notable guests.

Yesterday, our last full day in Valencia we walked to the Historic center to take in the large Central Market.

Here are a few more photos of buildings in the central historic district.

Valencia is the third largest city in Spain. The metropolitan area has about 2.5 million people and the city itself has about 850,000.

We are spending the day tomorrow on the train to San Sebastián, leaving Valencia at 11:25 am and arriving at 9:00 pm. We are expecting some fabulous Basque food and exploring around the area.