From Barcelona to Valencia
We checked out of our Barcelona hotel in search of some breakfast. We were feeling much better today and our appetites had finally returned, we decided to play it safe and eat quite plain things today. This small cafe was offering coffee and a croissant for €1.80, bargain!
The excellent coffee and crab shaped croissant went down a treat. We slowly started making our way towards Barcelona Sants station where we would catch the high speed train to Valencia. The cost of the pre booked ticket was just €18, excellent value for money considering it was a three and a half hour journey.
I looked up from where I was eating breakfast, like I mentioned before nearly all of the buildings in Barcelona are really beautiful.
On the way to the train station we spotted an indoor food market and had a look around.
A shame I was sticking to plain food today as this fancy looking smoked salmon, cream cheese and tomato layered sandwich looked amazing.
Iberian ham can be found everywhere in Spain, the hams are labelled according to the pigs diet with an acorn diet being the most desireable.
These homemade pies looked quite plain so we bought some.
I chose chicken and my wife chose spinach, the pastry of these €2 pasties was quite thin and the fillings were delicious.
At the train station we bought more things for the train journey.
The legroom on the train was really generous.
Everyone was handed headphones in case they chose to watch a film.
This sandwich was difficult to fit in my mouth but tasted great.
We shared this large €1 chocolate pastry.
The buffet car on the train was quite reasonably priced so we bought some hot drinks and a Toblerone to share.
Valencia was much hotter than Barcelona, it felt like being in a sauna so any shade was a really welcome sight.
Based on excellent reviews we booked a private room at Red Nest Hostel right in the centre of Valencia. The room cost just €74 for two nights.
The brightly coloured corridors of this large hostel looked amazing and the staff were really friendly and helpful too, I would definitely stay here again.
On the top floor was an air conditioned bar with an outside roof terrace to enjoy your drink.
A really nice mojito cost just €4, we would've loved to work our way through the entire cocktail menu but we had a city to explore.
Just minutes walk from the hostel and we were in the beautiful old town.
There were some stunning old shops with original signage.
What stood out most here though was the street art.
The street art was massive in some places.
We spent an hour or so admiring it but soon started feeling peckish again.
This place looked ok so we grabbed a seat outside in the shade.
A jug of sangria cooled us down nicely.
Some small complimentary snacks arrived at the table, we wanted more food though so ordered some things to share.
I love Russian salad, a delicious blend of potatoes, egg, vegetables, mayonnaise and tuna. The bread sticks were an unexpected bonus.
This mozzarella and tomato salad tasted great but an unexpected guest had gate crashed the party...
Waiter there's a fly in my salad!! Just as we were over our recent illness this was the last thing we wanted to see laying in the balsamic vinegar underneath our salad. The waiter insisted it must have just landed there, we were not convinced though and nothing was knocked off the bill.
Still put off by the dead fly we ate our final snack that arrived, a slice of tortilla served with bread and mayonnaise. We paid the bill but didn't leave a tip.
The temperature kept rising as we further explored the old town, more stunning street art appeared around every corner we turned.
The shops were selling lots of this!
As the sun started to go down we were treated to a spectacular view of Valencia Cathedral.
Back at the hostel we spotted this list, we had a lot to fit in tomorrow!
Russian salad I love...but bread sticks on the side I think! Thats a beautiful picture of Valencia Cathedral.
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