Are you SURE this isn't Hawaii?

I stepped off the train into Valencia Nord at half past noon on the 22nd. The first thing I noticed was the ceiling of the station. People had told me to look up, so of course, I did. The ceiling was beautiful. I didn't look for long, though, nor did I take any photos. I had very little time in Valencia, so I took straight off to the hostel. The first thing I noted out the door was the giant bullring to the right, which I would be going to later that evening. I had missed the one in Madrid; I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to see a bullfight in Spain.

As I walked into the main square, I had an intense feeling of deja vu. It felt like Hawaii! There were tall, beautiful buildings standing upon spotless streets, fountains of all sizes and tropical greenery everywhere. It was a second Waikiki. I continued across the square, in awe of the grandeur of the place and found my hostel, tucked in a back alley. The hostel had good ratings, but I didn't feel initially comfortable walking home down a lonely back alley at night. Southern Spain was far from the safest place to be. Fortunately, the staff in the hostel were very helpful and friendly, even going so far as to write me out a route of the best things to see in Valencia on a day trip.

This time, I had no guided tour. Back to exploring! I went directly to the market (which was the primary interest point of the staff girl) and was shocked. This was nothing like the “market” in Madrid. Housed in a century old building, there were vendors selling fresh fruits, meats and more EVERYWHERE! Best of all, it was dirt cheap! I loaded up on some fruit for a couple euros and had my food for the afternoon. I wandered around the city all after afternoon, seeing everything there was to see (which included a photo request from two “hobos” and tons of gorgeous graffiti). Valencia, though it is full of people, is only half an hour's walk across the city center. Outside of that it is very drab.

I arrived back at the hostel at five to cool off before my bullfight and left to get tapas before the show at 6:30. Once again, the hostess didn't speak English, so I resorted to pointing at signs to get what I wanted.

The bullfight was at seven. I approached the stadium to see a crowd of animal rights protesters engulfed by the people flowing into the stadium. I made my way past them and settled in my seat. The bullfight started with all kinds of music and cheering as the six matadors pranced into the ring. This was going to be awesome!

Little did I know what I had paid to see.

There were six fights, all of which were very similar. It began with a bull being released into the ring amongst the six matadors. Two padded horses would come into the ring, provoke the bulls to charge, and the riders would stab the bulls in the back. The performing fighter would then proceed to stab the bull with six colorful harpoons, followed by the dance. At the end of the fight, the matador would plunge a sword into the back of the bull, killing it. The crowd would cheer like wild and the matador would accept hats, flowers and gloves as he walked around the ring.

Gruesome, tormenting and definitely not something I'd go see often, if ever again. Two hours of bullfighting was enough of a Spanish experience for me, so I returned to my hostel to spend the evening talking with a couple of guys from (none other than!) the Netherlands.

I slept in late the next morning and arose to wander over to the art and science complex Valencia is so famous for. It was quite a walk along the park, but well worth it. The park in Valencia is a former river, dried up and converted. It runs through the north part of the city and the largest park I have ever seen! I finally arrived to a breathtaking view of the arts and sciences complex and wandered around for an hour or so. The prices were a bit high for me, so seeing the amazing architecture would suffice.

I continued on to the beach and hung out for a while (seeing more kinds of boobs than I ever wanted to) and boarded the train to Castellon at six.