¡Adiós Valencia!

It is hard to believe that it is time for us to leave Valencia! We have truly enjoyed the past six weeks here- exploring the city, experiencing the traditions, learning Spanish, trying new foods and so much more. While I am excited about our upcoming adventures, I am definitely sad to be leaving.

Henry already shared about our Las Fallas experience, and it really was incredible to see the city transform and celebrate this tradition. It felt so special to be in Valencia in the weeks leading up to Las Fallas because we got to watch the sculptures go up, see the neighborhood Fallas groups gather and cook paella in the street and experience a lot of fireworks and firecrackers. The sculptures were such beautiful pieces of art, and it was kind of hard to believe that after all that work, they were just set on fire. Even knowing that was the whole point of Las Fallas, it still felt a little sad to watch them burn.

And since Las Fallas been over, the city has felt really quiet! After weeks of what felt like constant fireworks, it has been a big change.

We have been going to our Spanish classes and I think we all feel like we have made some progress. Henry is really into ordering food in Spanish and Hayes is getting good at talking about what he is doing and how he is feeling. They have both been talking about how we can continue to learn and practice Spanish as a family once we leave, which I love. 

We've spent the past week or so going back to some of our favorite places in Valencia We made another trip to El Centro to climb the bell tower of the Cathedral. Then we stopped at a local juice bar so the grown-ups could try Agua de Valencia while the boys got fresh-squeezed juice drinks. Hayes really want to eat snails at least one and go to a restaurant to eat paella overlooking the beach (we decided it was really good, just not quite as good as the one we made!). Henry wanted to visit the churrerría for churros y chocolate one more time. We also made one last visit to the aquarium!

We spent most of our last weekend at the beach, which has definitely been one of our favorite parts of being here. I am going to miss watching the sunrise during morning runs and the boys are going to miss playing in the sand.

Now we are preparing to head to Madrid for two days before we go to Portugal. We are all excited for our next adventures but Valencia has been really wonderful. Between our favorite restaurants, the beach, the incredible experiences and all the memories we have made, this city will always feel really special to our family.