A weekend in Valencia

Valencia is a gorgeous city located on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Even though they speak Spanish in Spain, the official language here is "Valencian" which has a lot of French and Spanish mixed into it. Lucky for us, all the important signs were in both Valencian and Spanish. 

Valencia has...

Gorgeous cathedrals-- There were quite a few that were open for people to step in and out of. We also saw many wedding parties in and near the cathedrals. In one of the cathedrals we walked up a long and steep spiral staircase. We all decided we needed to start going to the gym! The bell tower, however, brought us to: 

A wonderful view of Valencia! So the workout was definitely worth it :) 

Vast beaches: 

Yummy food:

This is paella, which is a rice dish that is cooked in a huge pan and then served right out of the pan! In fact, the name paella originated from the old French word "paelle" which means "pan." Many tourists consider paella to be a dish of Spain. However, Spaniards consider it to be a regional dish of Valencia, as that is where it originated. Paella And in case you were wondering, I did not eat that all by myself! 3 of my friends ordered the same dish so it came all together. 

Each paella is made with rice, oil, veggies, garlic, paprika, saffron, and and tomatoes. After that, you can choose what you would like to add (chicken, meat, veggies, seafood). 

...and finally: oodles of palm trees!