Spain 2020: Diary – Day 4

NOTE -> This trip occurred pre-COVID-19 and feels like 100 years ago

It was tough getting up. The alarm went off at 5am, which was 11pm the previous night at home. Jet lag was still a thing so it was tough but we managed.

When we checked out the front desk was ready for us and kindly verified there was a taxi waiting for us in the taxi stand right outside the hotel. We had a wonderful experience with the hotel. They had written to us before we checked in to see if there was anything they could do to make our stay better and I mentioned we hoped we could get connecting rooms. They actually responded and things were set when we arrived. Even though our room wasn’t ready, they did what they could to prioritize it and make our arrival as pleasant as possible, including emailing us when the room was ready. During our stay they were extremely helpful with suggestions and advice on what to do and were to go. While the hotel location was mixed for the things we did, the hotel facilities were excellent and we loved the rooms.

Train to Valencia

At checkout we verified the charges on our bills before heading outside to get our taxi. At the early morning hour there was no traffic until we got to the train station. We got dropped off quickly and made our way in. We found our way to the gate area where our train was leaving and first went through security. Security consisted of putting jackets and suitcases on a belt to be X-rayed. We didn’t have to take any computers out or take our shoes off so it was very quick.

We went to find something to eat for breakfast at the cafe that was open. There were the expected pastries, juices, coffee, sandwiches and fruit options available for purchase. We had completed breakfast about an hour before the train was scheduled to leave so we had plenty of time. We had to sit in the waiting area and we could not go to our train as the platform was occupied by a train going to Madrid which was boarding first. Eventually we gathered in holding area for our train and a train agent came through and scanned peoples tickets and told us where to wait.

The earlier train to Madrid finally left, but they didn’t let us downstairs. From what I understood they were waiting for our train to Valencia to move to the platform. They weren’t letting us downstairs to wait on the platform until until it was there.

By 7:10 the train finally was in position so I assumed we wouldn’t be leaving on time at 7:15. We were near the beginning of the line to board and we quickly got to our car to make sure we had space to put our large luggage pieces in the shelves reserved for that type of luggage. There was plenty of room for carry-on luggage above the seats, but only a small rack in the back of the car for full sized bags. It was mostly empty when we boarded so we had plenty of room for our two large bags. We kept our backpacks with us at our assigned seats just a couple rows away.

The seats were aligned 2+2 and we had a whole row to ourselves. There was a lot of legroom and the seats were much more comfortable than any economy seats you’d expect in an airplane. There was no seatback entertainment to the boy’s disappointment, but there were shared screens playing a movie (in Spanish) and a headphone jack at every seat to listen in. I had downloaded some documentaries onto one of our phones for the boys to watch.

About 7:20 the train started to move so it was only about 5 minutes late. It was pitch dark outside and the interior lights were on so it was hard to see anything. At the front of the car there was a display that showed the time, temperature, and speed. During the course of the trip I noticed the speed topped out around 250 km/h which is about 150mph. We were surprised at how smooth it felt. It was very similar to an airplane in relatively smooth air and a lot quieter than I expected.

I tried to nap as much as possible to catch up on my sleep before we arrived, but I wasn’t very successful. By the time we were approaching Valencia the sun was starting to poke through the haze. We arrived at the Valencia station about 10:05 which was 10 minutes late. My wife an I were joking that in the US that’s right on time. In Germany that’s a national emergency. In Spain it seemed like something in between.

We were off the train within a couple minutes and in a taxi within 5. The trip was quite pleasant and drama free despite the delay. It’s no wonder so many people use the train to get around rather than flying between the major cities!

Out Next Hotel

The taxi took us to our hotel which was the A.C. Valencia, a Marriott property. The A.C. chain is one that Marriott acquired several years ago and it’s one I have avoided mainly because the chain doesn’t provide free breakfast as an elite member perk. This time we had booked a rate that included breakfast to get around that. The rate we booked was actually cheaper than the rate that didn’t include breakfast.

We were surprised that even though it was early in the morning, they did have our rooms for us. They had even found us connecting rooms, though they were unable to upgrade our rooms because of our connection request. The connecting rooms was much more important to us so we had no complaints.

As part of the checkin they gave us a map of the city and showed us where the highlights are and gave suggestions on how to get around. For us the easiest thing was to take a taxi since it would cost about the same amount as public transport and be much faster.

Checking out the City Center

We quickly went to our room and dropped off our luggage before heading out to catch a taxi to the city center. Our first stop was the central market. It was very similar to the one in Barcelona only smaller and much less crowded. It was also a Monday instead of a Saturday so the crowds would be smaller anyways. We walked around and immediately decided to get a smoothy like we did in Barcelona. The boys and I got a pineapple strawberry one and it was yummy. My wife tried a strawberry mango version which was also good. We walked around checking some places out before decided on getting some food for lunch.

After lunch they found a churro place that made them nice and fresh. They were apparently as good as the ones from our previous Christmas trip in Long Beach which is the highest praise from the boys.

We walked around the city center some more and took pictures of the market from the outside and the neighboring church. The boys wanted to go to the beach because the weather was the warmest it had been on our trip so we found a taxi stand and headed back to the hotel to get our stuff.

Beach Bound

The boys grabbed the football, soccer ball, and frisbee as well as their bathing suites before we ventured out to catch another cab. It’s as a quick 10 minute ride that cost less than 5 euros. The driver dropped us off at a playground next to the beach. The boys made a beeline to the playground as they spotted a small zip line. They love those things! They played there for about 30 minutes before we found our way to the beach across the street.

The beach was HUGH. From the shops we could barely see the water. We walked towards the water for a full 5 minutes before reaching it. The sand was really fine and soft. It got windier as we got closer to the water but the boys didn’t seem to mind. They passed the football for quite awhile before our youngest decided to test the water. He said it was cold, but quickly ventured in up to his knees and out to a small sand bar. Tomatico then joined him. They weren’t all that interested in going swimming so they decided to go back to passing the football.

Tomatico finally convinced me to pass it which him while his brother decided to build a fort in the sand. My wife rested on the sand while we passed the ball and kicked the soccer ball. It’s as too windy to do much with the frisbee. We were there for about an hour and a half before we finally got tired. We took a taxi back to the hotel to get the sand out and figure out what we were going to do for dinner.

Back to the Beach

We decided to go back to the same beach for dinner since it was so close and there were many restaurants to choose from. The boys wanted to play in the playground some more. We spent about an hour at the playground before they started complaining about being hungry. It was about 6:00 which is an odd time in Spain to be hungry. We found it to be less of a problem in Barcelona but there are definitely fewer options for dinner at that time. It’s too late for lunch and much too early for dinner, but we did find a place open by the beach.

Dessert

Back at the hotel we felt like something sweet so we asked the front desk for suggestions. They pointed us to some nearby places and we walked around trying to satisfy our sweet tooth. We found a few places that were interesting in general, such as a store that just sold cereal, but nothing that we wanted for dessert. We ended up in the bakery department of a grocery store, which wasn’t one of the places that was recommended but the piece of cake we had was surprisingly good.

Back in the hotel they boys wanted to check out the gym on the top floor. The hotel has two elevators, but only one goes to the top floor so we had to wait an extra turn to get it. When we arrived we found that it didn’t have many machines. It had only two exercise bikes and a tread mill to go with a few weights. We didn’t see an ellyptical machines, but Tomatico still wanted to go to the gym in the morning. We’ll see how that goes.

In the room we got ready for bed and watched tv for a little before calling it a night. With two rooms there are two TV’s so the boys got to watch some Spanish cartoons that they really enjoyed. It had been a long day to it ended up being an early night.