Sunday, 2018 April 15
We got into Frankfurt right on time and passed through EU customs relatively quickly - I was very relieved. It wasn't too far to our departure gate for Valencia, so we even had time to relax a bit before loading began. The plane left a few minutes late, but that was inconsequential.
The "business class" seats were basically premium economy. Luckily that cabin was almost empty so Krista and I could spread out with the seat between us empty.
We got into Valencia right on time. It's a tiny airport and was easy to navigate through. We got our luggage and got a taxi to our hotel.
This was quite an experience - the driver was flying through narrow streets, his mirrors missing parked cars (and other cars on the move) by centimeters, weaving in and out of traffic. This is the first indication that perhaps I wouldn't be using my IDP after all.
He did his job though - he got us to our hotel (the Westin) quickly and in one piece. We knew we'd made the right choice as soon as we walked into the hotel - it was gorgeous. Our room wasn't ready yet, but they stored our luggage for us and showed us to the bar. First we tried sitting in the courtyard but the sun was too much for us (all of the shady spots were taken) so we moved inside. The service was slow but the food and drinks were both good, and we got a great start on our vacation by relaxing and enjoying being in Spain.
Soon enough a bellhop came and got us to tell us our room was ready. We were on the third (top) floor and had a nice view. Both of us were wiped out from all of the travel so we both took power naps, then decided to explore the city a bit.
After we got up it was still relatively early so we decided to roam around and see a bit of the city. We walked a few blocks to the Turia Gardens (the former bed of the Turia river, since redirected) and wandered south along the edge at street level until we could see the City of Science and Art in the distance. We then turned east into the city, then finally north/northwest to get back to the hotel.
I had a hard time getting my bearings so it was definitely a bit of a random walk. Being Sunday night pretty much everything except the bars were closed; we had been hoping to find something to eat, but nothing presented itself. We ended up back at the hotel and went back to the bar there, since we knew we could get food. It was a good meal, although the service was again slow.
We were pretty much exhausted at this point so we called it a night and went to bed early.
Saturday, 2018 April 14 Monday, 2018 April 16