VALENCIA IN 50 PICTURES

valencia in 50 pictures is the visual diary of the 3 1/2 days i have recently spent in the city.

trentatres gallery in russafa: perfect place to chill, as you can see.

comic cafe in russafa: next door from trentatres.

one of the many cute pieces of street art by julieta. the streets need more girls, right?

on the first day, i ended up walking for 8 hours straight and getting bloody blisters on my soles. well, i don’t know any better way to get lost into a place. and i really needed full submersion to forget about everything else.

mural by local street artist lolo.

i met my favourite valencian street artist on a sunny day. we chatted for a couple of hours and i left happy. one of he best feelings is when somebody you like proves to be a great person. gracias, tio!

i had no map and no destination. i was only supposed to get back at 8, for dinner.

veles e vents by architect david chipperfield, in the harbour.

architect santiago calatrava was paid 1 billion euro by the municipality. the commission was the futuristic ciudad de las artes y las ciencias complex. here i am on alemeda bridge and you can see the museu de les ciències príncipe felipe to the right. the complex brings the wanted attention to the city but also the post-launch problems associated with calatrava’s projects.

these are traditional valencian jewelry and hair combs, peinetas.

otherwise, i enjoyed the company of old and new friends. we chilled and talked together over delicious food. because this is spain and your next remarkable meal is never too far.

this is one of the many escif pieces in el carmen. he mixes references: agua de valencia is a local drink made of cava, gin, vodka and orange juice. also the champagne bottle and the lv scarf are used to make a very fancy molotov cocktail. one of my favourite pieces although he makes it so hard to choose!

the new show in muvim – museu valencià de la illustració i la modernitat being set up.

another cool place in russafa: dulce de leche.

the absolute highlight of the valencian part of my trip: this home made dinner.

1. we went to the nearby russafa market to buy the marisco (seafood) and the pescado (fish)

2. we listened to the sellers talking about their fresh stuff.

3. we played with the kids so that our friend could cook 4 separate dishes, one of them rice with dorada murcian-style.

4. we gathered to enjoy the result together. even the two-year old was asking for those irresistible orange mussels. warmth, love and delicious food – a night to remember!