Valencia (8/24-8/27)

Well after I escaped unscathed from the almost robbery, we took a bus down to Valencia with high hopes.  A little town just outside Valencia called Bunol has an annual tomato festival, called Tomatina, in which tons and tons of over-ripe tomatoes are poured into the streets and a gigantic food fight ensues.  We were advised to wear white shirts and goggles.  However, the festival was not until the next day and we needed to get to our "hostel" first.

We quickly found out that we had been deceived by the internet ad for the hostel when we booked it.  This "hostel" was a house 30 minutes outside the city, in a residential area, owned by the scariest woman I've ever laid eyes on.  She had some sort of bubbly rash all over her face and chest and didn't seem to know anything useful, like if there was a market nearby or how to get to the train station.  The house itself was filthy, the beds were dirty, the bathrooms had snails on the walls, a window had been shattered (replaced but the broken remains from the other one were still there).  We were officially creeped out.   Luckily Whitney had brought her own sheet and Jenna Whitney and I all squeezed into one bed (very sweatily I might add) and Jake dragged his mattress into the same room as us.  We spent 2 nights there and really just made the best of it.  At least we had each other to make jokes about our unfortunate situation.

Tomatina was insane!  Everyone was completely covered in over-ripe tomato slop.  The streets were jam packed with people, and at the end we went down to the river to rinse off.  It was quite a smelly ride back.  After our 2 nights in the "shit hole" of a hostel we stayed at we went into the city to stay another night in Valencia at a different hostel.  Red Nest Hostel was a God-send and we took much appreciated showers sans snails, and went to Valencia's famous aquariam and saw an IMAX film.  We had paella for dinner and then awoke early the next morning to part ways with Whitney as she flew to Granada to start her program and Jenna, Jake and I flew to beautiful Mallorca for 6 days of much needed r&r.

The IMAX next to the aquarium

Jenna, Whitney and I in Valencia

Paella!