An Illicit 1-Day Affair With Valencia

by Mia M.

Some places reach out and grab you. Unplanned and unexpected, somewhere you were just passing through may just leap out and capture your heart.

Contents

  1. Valencia

Valencia

Valencia is one such place.

In one day, Valencia and I had a torrid love affair filled with adventure and excitement - along with a fair dose of "are you fucking kidding me?". Originally, Valencia was meant to be nothing more than a brief pit stop on the flight plan - the music festival was in Benicassim, so we had to take the metro into Valencia and then a train out of it.

Valencia
Valencia

However, being the captivating place that it is, Valencia was not content with being ignored - and our train was not for hours. Luckily, we'd hopped on a 6am flight from Luton to Valencia, so we weren't in a rush by any means. Not so luckily, we had a massive amount of luggage we had to haul around.

Valencia
Valencia

This is me, hauling said luggage.

Now, I'm not a travel blogger. I don't know what words to weave, or pictures to take - but I know how a place makes me feel. I know when a city resonates with me, when I'm instantly in love, when I've been absolutely captivated.

It happened with Lisbon, it most definitely didn't happen with Milan and it happened in Valencia.

First of all... The streets. I am an absolute sucker for European architecture. I love it. All the brightly painted buildings, the flowers, the small streets - it's picturesque and beautiful. I feel like I'm in the pages of a novel. I feel like I want to write a novel. It's an immersive experience; forcing you to be present and focused. You can't mindlessly walk down the roads and ignore your surroundings - no, you are fully aware, taking in everything as you go.

Valencia did not disappoint; walking around we were treated to beautiful buildings and treasure-filled alcoves wherever we walked.

Valencia
Valencia

There was so much beauty everywhere - and so much creativity. Whilst walking around, we encountered so much art. My friend that I went with is very hippy-bohemian and she was in her element with all of the cool, arty clothing stores. There were a lot of cute little boutiques selling clothing and jewellery.

Thankfully, lugging around two massive bags of shit is a good reminder to not buy more shit, so I wasn't lured in to all the clothing boutiques. Maybe that's the solution to my spending addiction - lug shit around on my back like some kind of morbidly obese turtle as a deterrent to spend.

After we eventually pulled ourselves away from the shopping area (because, y'know, it was our first day and we were camping so a: we didn't want to spend money and b: where the fuck were we going to put anything? ) we ended up in a massive food market where you could buy amazing amounts of fruit at obscenely cheap prices. Oh, how I wish.

As we only had around 6 hours in Valencia, we didn't stop anywhere - so we walked around the market, sat outside and re-applied suncream then got back on our merry way.

I must admit, an absolute favourite place of mine had to be the gorgeous street with the hoops - I have absolutely no idea what it was or even what it was called, but there were loads of really unique little stores underneath... and I got some great snapshots.

Valencia
Valencia
Valencia
Valencia

Eventually, I did give in and buy a few things. In my defence, though... they were good purchases.

Valencia
Valencia

I've been searching for a stationery bag for ages (because I wanted one to put my bullet journal in) and I bought this gorgeous one from a really cute little store we found.

Right, before you judge me for buying things that I don't technically need... look at the lights. The mesmering, alluring lights that seduced me into the shop. I was helpless against their siren's call; lulled into a thoughtless daze.

The promise of warth and love and affection (and cool blog photos; guys, this whole blogging gig gets under your skin) was too much for my weak mind to bear... and I had to go in.

Valencia
Valencia

Okay, I'm a total sucker for these cool little shops with their (admittedly not as unique as they first seem) products - and I was immediately drawn in by their wares.

I also got a couple of gifts for my mum and dad because I'm a great daughter.

Valencia
Valencia

You see that gorgeous woven thing underneath the bracelet? That is my bag. It's beautiful and I regret nothing.

We then stopped in the a cute little restaurant where I fiddled with my new camera settings to figure out the difference in photograph results on different settings.

Spoiler alert: I'm still baffled.

Valencia
Valencia
Valencia
Valencia
Valencia
Valencia
Valencia
Valencia
Valencia
Valencia
Valencia
Valencia

After that, we decided to really stop buying things before we even reached the festival and went exploring further. Look at all the beauty Valencia has to offer!

Valencia
Valencia
Valencia
Valencia
Valencia
Valencia
Valencia
Valencia

Bearing in mind that everything was within walking distance and cheap... can you see why I love this place? If you're ever looking for a great place to visit - I would definitely recommend Valencia.

So... that was my little 1-Day affair with Valencia. Unfortunately, I have basically no photos of Benicassim (where our final destination was) because my phone was dead the entire time and I was not bringing a £600 camera anywhere near a bunch of drunk Brits in a mosh-pit. However, the festival was amazing so I'll definitely do a write-up and a lookbook for you!

What did you think of Valencia? Have you been? Let me know your thoughts!

Peace,

Valencia
Valencia

About Mia M.

I'm going through a bit of an existential crisis right now, I'll tell you about myself when I figure out if I'm real or not.

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hey, i’m mia

tattoo lover, plant hoarder, DIY addict and overall stoner grandma

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