Valencia

All Saint's day (aka November 1st) is a national holiday in Spain, so this weekend was a 4 day weekend for everyone here. To celebrate this, I went to Valencia with two of my friends from the PRESHCO group. I don't know what I was expecting from the city, but overall I enjoyed my time there. It was surprising how quiet everything was. You'd be walking around right at the lunch hour, and there would be very few people on the streets. My Frommer's guide book made a point about Valencia being overshadowed by the other cities in Spain, which I can completely understand. It has a cathedral, but not as grand as all the others. It has an "old city" but not as old as various parts of Cordoba. It was a nice place to relax for a few days, but I can understand why it doesn't even have its own section in the Rick Steve's guidebook.

I have to say, I love big markets. We found one in Valencia, and I think it may have been my favorite part of the trip. Even though they had pig heads and rabbit bodies just sitting in the cases...:( And a guy was killing the eels in front of everyone. People seem to be made of sterner stuff here in Spain. It made me kind of sad. But I loved looking at all the seafood, meat, and vegetables. I don't know why. I guess I enjoy the energy in the atmosphere of a food market.

I've returned to Cordoba now, and so ends probably the only trip I will take during my time here in Spain. I can't honestly say that I'm disappointed about that. Traveling causes enormous amounts of stress for me, and I like being at my home base. Someday I'll get myself to the UK. Just not now it would seem.