Spain

And then before I knew it, I was accepting an Internship teaching English as a foreign language in Valencia, Spain. 6 month contract in hand, I said goodbye to good old London (with the promise to myself to come back and see the many things I hadn't had the chance to see) and boarded a plane to Valencia, with no idea what the city was like, and not a word of Spanish knowledge. 

Upon arrival, I was pleasantly surprised by the almost summer warmth compared to the icy cold winter I had just left behind in England. I was shown to my flat and my new room-mates who were also English teachers. It was very much a student flat (the shower leaked, the light switches fell off when you touched them, the wiring was dodgy and the internet was constantly on the blink) but I liked it. My room was bright and sunny and cheerful, and my flatmates were nice. 

 

 My street.

After settling in for a few days and beginning to teach (with very little training but it was in fact easier than I expected) I set about exploring the city when I had time. Weekends were pretty much it for me, as I was working forty hour weeks. Still, the students were often fun, and my surroundings were beautiful. Weekends were of course my highlight. 

The way to work itself was scenic too, and as I didn't finish til 9:20 at night, when I began teaching as it was winter it was dark by then. So I was able to get some pretty photos of the Porta De La Mar - the door of the sea. You will notice the bat on the top, which is also rather cool. The bat is in fact the symbol of Valencia, and can be found on any important monument, engraved on every drain and street, and is in fact the mascot of the Valencia football team also. 

Why? The story is pretty cool actually. on 9 October 1238, James I and his troops were based on the outskirts of the city of Valencia awaiting the right time to attack the Muslim troops and conquer it. One night, while the troops of James I were sleeping, their enemies were preparing a surprise attack against them. In that moment, a bat flying noisily woke up James I and alerted him, so they were able to avoid the surprise attack from the Muslim troops. This allowed James I and his troops to win the battle and take the city; in gratitude the King set the symbol of the bat on-top the badge of Valencia and it has been there ever since. Or so legend says anyway.

My favourite thing about Valencia is the park, or as Valencian's call it, the 'Old River' Turia. The old bridges that still span it are gorgeous and there is nothing nicer than sunbathing here on a hot day.

There is of course a story as to why a river became a park; on the 14th of October, 1957 the 'Great Flood of Valencia' occurred. The old river that had run through the city broke its banks and caused an enormous amount of damage and loss of life. To prevent it ever happening again, the river was diverted, and the old river bed was turned into a beautiful park.

 Beautiful big trees have sprung up with time, and it feels like the park has always been there, even though hardly more than 50 years ago, a great river was there in its place. 


The city is also full of orange trees of course. Valencia is famous for its oranges, and it lives up to its name. Most streets are lined with orange trees, and the gardens and parks are full of them.

Of the many bridges that span the Old River, one of my favorites is the aptly named the Flower bridge. Every time I see it the flowers are different, but always in vibrant reds and pinks.