Valencia: Sight-seeing, dining and horchata
A few steps away from the market is the Lonja de la Seda (or the Silk Exchange), another touristy hotbed, declared as a cultural heritage site by UNESCO. There are also many cathedrals and museums for the culturally inclined visitors to marvel at.
THE CITY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
One of the most amazing structures of Valencia is the “not-to-bemissed” and perhaps literally the cannot be missed, futuristic looking City of Arts and Sciences (Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències). This threekilometer enclave is just a few minutes away from the city center and was build at the former riverbed of the Turia river by Valencia native and world famous architect Santiago Calatrava.
The over 10- year- long and close to €900-million project was officially finished only in 2006 (though the Agora complex was added in 2009) and houses six complexes: the L’Hemisfèric: an ultra modern IMAX movie theater and planetarium; El Museu de les Ciències Príncipe Felipe: an interactive museum of applied sciences; L’Umbracle: a 17,000 square meter garden with various species of plants; L’Oceanogràfic: a marine park and the largest aquarium in Europe; El Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía: the opera house with four venues within the complex used for opera, ballet, smaller musical concerts, and live theater; and, L’Àgora: a covered plaza for huge conventions, fashion shows, concerts, and sporting events such as the Valencia Open Tennis 500.
There is just way too much space here so future additions are extremely possible. One of my biggest regrets when in Valencia earlier this year was not being able to enter the different complexes because of time constraints. Still, the view from outside, and the strolling within the huge enclave was already mesmerizing — I cannot imagine how much nicer the inside of each complex would be. That is on my next Valencia trip agenda for sure.
By the way, Santiago Calatrava also designed the stunning Bodegas Ysios, a winery in Rioja Alavesa. This winery has a unique rolling aluminum roof design that looks like stacked wine barrels from afar. His other noteworthy works included the Athens Olympic Sports Complex used in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Greece.
LOCAL GASTRONOMY
Asians, including Filipinos would feel comfortable immediately with Valencia cuisine as rice is the most important food for the locals as well. The rice does not have to be just in paella form, even though the variety of paellas here is unbelievable, from black rice to every conceivable meat and vegetable pairing. There is also Arroz al Horno or the Valencia oven-baked rice. The paella I enjoyed so much was the Arroz de Senyoret — a seafood paella made from Bomba rice (it could also be made with rice varieties Senia or Albufera), squid, cuttlefish, mussels, tuna, and prawns, mixed with tomatoes, cloves, garlic, and saffron.
Food and wine prices in Valencia are also quite reasonable, especially if compared to Barcelona or Madrid. At El Poblet, a Michelin star restaurant in downtown area by the very charismatic veteran chef Quique Dacosta, a multiple course haute- cuisine dinner cost less than € 100 a head — incredibly cheap by Michelin star restaurant rates, and more so from a renowned chef. I had the good fortune of eating in a few Michelin star restaurants and this one surely delivered on its billing. Not only were the courses tasty and delicious, but the aesthetics of the dish presentations were terrific and super original. One of the courses I had was called “stone of Parmesan cheese” where the presentation took a literal meaning. The Parmesan cheese was concealed in stone forms, and served together with real stones. Obviously when I touched the stones, I realized which ones were the Parmesan and which ones were not edible, but from a foot away when I was staring down at the plate, it was hard to know — simply brilliant! Oh, and it tasted amazing too.
Asians, including Filipinos, would feel comfortable immediately with Valencia cuisine as rice is the most important food for the locals as well.
On the wine side, I had local Valencia DO wines. While the wines I tried were really not bad and at great prices even if taken from a restaurant menu, I was not much of a fan.
THE
especially during the summer months, where it is the favorite thirst quencher of the locals. I was so enamored by the taste that I bought a horchata concentrate version back to Manila. This horchata from Valencia is totally different from the Mexican
drink, their traditional beverage made with rice.
I want to thank the hardworking Manuel Ferris and the rest of the Valencia Tourism Office for hosting my unforgettable two days in lovely Valencia. The time spent was indeed so short. There was so much more I wanted to explore and I hope to return again.
The next time I will not only go back to the City of Arts and Sciences, but also visit wineries and learn more about wines from Valencia DO, and even those from Alicante DO and Utiel-Requena DO. I want to understand local grape varietals like Merseguera, Garnacha Tintorera ( known as Alicante Bouschet in other parts of the world), Monastrell, and others. My perspective on wines from Valencia is admittedly quite limited and I have not tasted enough wines from this region to give my fair opinion on the style, the level of complexity, and the quality of the wines. A Valencia, nos vemos de nuevo!
The author has been a member of the Federation Internationale des Journalists et Ecrivains du Vin et des Spiritueux or FIJEV since 2010. For comments, inquiries, wine event coverage, and other wine-related concerns, e-mail the author at protegeinc@yahoo.com. He is also on Twitter at twitter. com/sherwinlao.