Valencia!!!

Our internet seems to be working tonight, so I can finally catch up a little bit.

All of the KEI students headed to Valencia for our first overnight excursion on October 10 (I think...). I thought I would be getting out of Catalunya for a while, but I was sadly mistaken. It's not that I don't like Catalunyans, but I was ready to see a different "culture." I was really excited because I had heard so many great things about Valencia (mainly about the beach and how beautiful everything is). However, I was just a tad let down. The trip was was still good and the city is beautiful, but it was rainy and cold the whole time. Plus, we never made it to the beach. I would recommend visiting though. It's quite a bit smaller, and much less busy than Barcelona. I think it's perfect for a relaxing weekend getaway for people in Barcelona. It's only a few hours away by train, and there are lots of little shops, cafes, and restaurants to visit.


This used to be a river bed. The river kept flooding the city, so in 1957 the city officials decided to reroute it. Now there's a beautiful park there. You can definitely tell it's a river bed though. It had been raining, and it smelled like nasty river mud. If you've ever smelled that before, and I think it's safe to say that most of the readers here have, then you know it's a really gross smell.

The next few pictures are from our time at the City of Arts and Sciences designed by Santiago Calatrava. He's also designed the telecommunications tower in Barcelona and is currently working on a few projects in the States (like the future train station at Ground Zero).

This is the performing arts building. Can you guess what it's modeled after?
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If you guessed a gladiator's helmet you are correct! That's all I have to say about that.


These are a few more buildings that make up the complex. The first one resembles an eye. It's very hard to see in this picture, but it's very cool in person. Inside there's a domed theater (IMAX), so when you look through the windows from the outside it really does look like the iris of an eye. So clever! We got to watch a movie at the IMAX. It was about the ocean. I fell asleep. I really didn't want to fall asleep though because Johnny Depp narrated it. I'll watch anything that includes Johnny Depp. I even sat through Sweeny Todd for him! Granted, I had my eyes covered 85% of the time, but I was listening even then. I'm getting off track. :) The second building houses a science museum, but we didn't make it farther than the bathrooms there. Our time was just too short.


This is just a garden to the side. I don't think it serves much of a purpose, but what do I know?

Then we had a photo shoot.

Katherine doesn't care, I chose the sorority pose, and Chenell is cold.

Then it was time for a new location.

That darn wind wouldn't leave us alone!

Finally! All of the girls get a picture together!


See, it really was rainy and nasty!


This is the best view I had of Mikalet, the famous church of Valencia. Actually, Mikalet is just the tower, but the whole church is referred to as that. Did you know that the perimeter of the tower's base and its height are the same? Well, now you do.

A view from the top! There were over 200 steps to climb. And they were winding steps with uneven risers that were never less than a foot and a half. Our thighs and butts were definitely burning by the time we got to the top!

So, the internet has decided to stop working like it should. I've been trying to upload pictures for 2 hours now... and there aren't even that many. I think this is a good start though! Too bad it's a few weeks late and I now have another trip to tell you guys about. I'll finish this tomorrow... pinky promise :)