1st week with the family

22.01.2018

Hello Spain!!

We arrived safely, it was funny to go from -3 to +23 in 3 hours :D
We had rare sunny weather, people were swimming and eating ice cream in their swimwear 😅😅☀
We went to the beach and explored the harbor and wandered around the old town
Valencia has very beautiful parts
We just had a meal at a restaurant, mine looked bizarre but it was delicious: black sauce rice with baby octopus :D
The power just went out in the whole apartment where it's already freezing and there's not enough hot water for 5 people to take a shower


Family program for the week:

22 Monday. Public holiday / city & harbor, beach

23 Tuesday. Cuenca (1. Cute city), Chorreras (excursion)

24 Wednesday. Central Market, Albufera Lake, boat trip, rice field / modern art city

25 Thursday. Zoo / Castellon de la plana (Saint Barbara)

26 Friday. Bullfighting exhibition / Irina's arrival / Alicante

27 Saturday. Bullfighting arena / Chulilla / hilltop excursion / City center walk

28 Sunday. Bad weather. Oceanography / shopping / packing

 23.01.2018 

 Today was great 😍 we took a big trip towards Chorreras where we hiked along a beautiful waterfall stream. It was about 23 degrees, sunny weather, so I took off my shoes and walked in the ice-cold stream :D We couldn't cross the stream to find the original hiking trail because some people didn't want to go through the swollen water. The roads are very empty, there are hardly any tourists here in winter. After that, we crossed over to Cuenca, a city built on a steep hill. The view was amazing, we wandered around the old town and the local church. For dinner, we finally found a hidden restaurant on the outskirts of the city because all the restaurants were closed between 4 pm and 8 pm.. but the Spanish people are extremely cute, the menu was in Galilean language but the waiter translated each dish into Spanish for us, and when they realized we still didn't understand, an English-speaking waiter came and he was also extremely helpful. We ate very special and delicious dishes. And now we have a 3-hour journey back home.

24.01.2018

We also spent the day actively after waking up Tamas and leaving (at 11) for Mercado Central. There is a very beautiful and cultured market in the old town, with lots of delicious fruits (persimmons, mangoes, oranges,..) and it's also typical that the local ham legs are hanging everywhere, and there is a separate fish area with live fish and a variety of fish. We bought lots of special dried fruits. After that, we went to Albufera, a huge lake and rice field near Valencia. It's a very calm place, full of birds. We went boating with a local uncle, he was very cute and made jokes in Spanish. All the Spanish people we met were very relaxed and friendly, people here don't rush like at home.. Then we tasted the authentic Valencia Paella (local rice and seafood) and a little bit of the local eel (it wasn't that delicious because it was quite slippery). In the evening, we visited the art city (ciudad de las artes y ciencias). It's an incredible modern and huge complex with an opera house and several museums. In the evening, we had churros con chocolate and agua de Valencia (sparkling vodka orange).

Ciudad de las artes y ciencias

25.01.2018

Today started a bit slowly, then I went to the university for the first information day, while the others visited the zoo. There are 5 of us who came from Vienna to Wu with Erasmus, and now I'm only with Sophie, the others will arrive later. It's funny that even at the Erasmus event, everyone tries to communicate in Spanish. Then I waited for the others for 1.5 hours. The zoo was presented very nicely, with many active animals. They were not so separated from humans (few glass/fences) and they mainly live together (giraffes, elephants, parrots). And the nature was very well-built (rocks, waterfalls). After that, in a nearby resort town (Castellon de la plana, where in the 13th century, András II gave his daughter to the Hungarians- Hungarian connection), we had lunch (it turned out to be more like dinner at 6 pm). We tasted delicious local ham and cheese.

26.01.2018

The weather was slightly cooler today, about 14 degrees, and it was raining. Unfortunately, this afternoon I started sneezing a lot and my nose is constantly running. In the morning, I was also at the university with Sophie. Meanwhile, the others looked around the bullfighting stadium museum. Irina joined us today by plane (her boss only allowed her to leave for the weekend). We picked her up at the airport and then headed to Alicante. It's a very beautiful town, much smaller than Valencia and more touristy. We went up to the castle on the top of the hill (hill) where we had a wonderful view of the seaside and the city. We walked in the harbor and then sat down at a slightly unhygienic tapas place (more like a pub). It was funny how the waiter brought the 1 euro tapas around (different ones each round) and we could order without a menu. In the evening, we had some ice cream.

27.01.2018

In the morning, we visited the bullfighting museum again (it was not closed due to rain this time), it was quite interesting to see how crazy people are to enjoy killing animals...

After that, we traveled to Chulilla, which is a very cute Spanish village with white houses, surrounded by mountains and canyons. We hiked a lot here. Unfortunately, we couldn't complete our planned hiking trail (again) because the planks above the lake were broken, and we couldn't continue.. I was quite weak today, I tried to sleep a lot (in the car on the way), but I hope I'll recover by Monday because I have to move, pack my bags, start school, take classes all day long..

In the evening, we found a cozy Italian restaurant, everyone was satisfied, and the waiter was also very cool. Unfortunately, I didn't feel very well and I was thinking that maybe on the last day spent with the family, I have to spend the whole day in bed.. :/  

Chulilla

28.01.2018

Unfortunately, it was a very rainy day, so Brigi's wish came true, we went to the Oceanographic museum. I was doing fine. It was very exciting, especially the jellyfish and the dolphin show. It's incredible how a human and a fish understand each other and what kind of performances dolphins can do.
To survive Monday and not freeze, we had to buy a coat. I tried to hurry so the others wouldn't wait for me. Unfortunately, it took 2 hours after I finally found one (for 20 euros).

For my name day, my family surprised me with a cute plush candy-shaped seal :))

The next day, the others left for the airport early in the morning, I got up and said goodbye to them.
It was great that we discovered the surroundings together and I wasn't alone, and now my dear family knows what kind of place I came to.

Oceanographic