Category: Spain
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Eating Your Way Through The Turia Garden

We love living in the city but I must admit that, now and again, it is nice to escape the noise and the crowds and get back to nature. Fortunately, here in Valencia we can immerse ourselves among the trees, lakes, flora and fauna only a few blocks away in the Jardin del Turia. The…
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Sea Urchin: How is this food?

Sea Urchin Butter. Words I would never have put together. Now we have a log of it in our freezer and we’re melting it on top of all kinds of things, like seared scallops and pasta (recipes at the end of post). How did this happen? Like many people perhaps, our past experiences with sea…
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Day Trip to Xátiva

Xátiva Spain is a small city with a lot of history. Located about 60 km south of Valencia, Xátiva makes for a quick and fun day trip. It is just under an hour ride on the C-2 regional train (Renfe Cercanías) which leaves from Valencia Nord station approximately every 30 minutes. We recently took a morning train…
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Day Trip to Bodega Vera de Estenas

We love visiting wineries, particularly older historic ones. The Utiel-Requena wine making region in Valencia has over 100 wineries. We recently joined a small tour of the historic caves and bodega of Vera de Estenas.
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Crudo Bar Bliss in a New Location

Updated 7/15/2018 Since we first arrived in Valencia, the Crudo Bar has been one of our favorite restaurants that we return to time and again. Crudo means “raw” in Spanish and that is how much of their fish and meat is prepared. In our opinion, this is the perfect way to eat on a hot summer…
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The Final Day of Las Fallas

Las Fallas finally came to its fiery conclusion on Sunday, March 19th with the midnight burning of all of the fallas sculptures. Called La Crema, this always happens on the Feast of Saint Joseph, who was the Patron Saint of carpenters. One of the underlying themes of Las Fallas is to clear out the waste of…
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Fallas: One Big Street Party

We have made it to the last day of Fallas and our heads are spinning. The sights, the sounds, and the smells of the festival have all come together in a whirlwind of sensory overload. Last night, Valencia threw 1,200 kilos (1.3 tons) of pyrotechnic explosives into the sky at 1:30 AM for La Gran Nit…
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Fallas Street Food

When bunuelo and chocolate and churro stands started popping up on nearly every block in Valencia, we wondered how there could possibly be enough people to consume all of these sweets. Now we know. This city is jam packed. I’ve read estimates of between 1 and 3 million visitors to Fallas and, after being out…
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Fallas is Here, Now Cover Your Ears

There has been a lot of excitement during the weeks building up to the Fallas. At this point, it seems that the city is about to explode. The sulfurous smell of gunpowder permeates the air. Fireworks, M-80s and bottle rockets have become common place. Explosions can be heard in all directions, night and day, sometimes…
