Revisiting Valencia
November 12th, 2009 | 
Author: It’s April and we have arrived in Valencia, Spain. It’s the 3rd largest city and the population is approximately 2 million people. I visited Valencia when I was around 16 years of age and the impressions of this city always remained with me. But, being here now, at the age of 29, wow! What a huge difference. Valencia has done a tremendous job renovating itself and cleaning up. I now will have even a better impression of the city in my mind that will last for decades.
The city is so vibrant. There are a good amount of historic buildings that have been renovated and more that are in the process. I was astounded about how many parks that have been developed since last I was here. There use to be a large river running through the center that would often flood, so in the early 90′s they actually re-routed it to flow around the city. The city planners then used the dried up river bed and turned it into a park. The park has lots of beautiful trees, water fountains, bike paths and many, many flowers. Valencia really has amazed me with its innovations and commitment to its residence.
Our time here in Valencia was made even more special when we met up with a friend staying at one of the best Valencia Hotels. We met him on a cruise we took last year, and we stayed in touch through the Internet and found out that he would be in Valencia the same time we would be here. Truly amazing. He grew up in Valencia, but he too is amazed about its transformation. He took us to sights we would’ve missed not being from Valencia. We went by the school he attended as a child, his home and to other interesting parts of the city. He treated us to lunch and introduced us to a local treat called Chufas, which is kind of like a chewy peanut with less flavor. He then pressed the Chufa and created a drink called Horchatas. Now that was tasty!
We were so glad to have an opportunity to revisit Valencia and to see a new found friend.
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