Paella for 1 in Valencia

In my quest to travel around most of Spain in three months, Valencia was next on my hit list. I haven't exactly heard great things about the city from people who I've met in Madrid, but I've learnt not to put much weight behind the opinions of the Spanish when it comes to the best places to visit in the country, as they are all extremely bias towards their own birthplace!

However, there's nothing I love more than exploring new places and Valencia was no exception. Admittedly it's not my favourite city in Spain, but it still has the typical Spanish charm with the picturesque little squares and the big gothic Cathedral. It's also only a 2 hour train ride from Madrid, and is one of the closes cities that has a beach.

I arrived in the afternoon and after checking into my hotel went out to explore the city. This started with a long and laborious climb up to the top of the bell tower of the Cathedral for views over the city. If i'd known that those bells were going to wake me up at 9am each morning and ring incessantly for 35 minutes then I would have cut them loose there and then. For lunch I had some nice tapas at Las Cuevas before carrying on my tour of the city. I have to be honest, there's not really a hell of a lot to do or see in the city, which forced me to spend much of the afternoon drinking beer. What you gonna do?! That evening I took the metro out towards the coast where I had read about a popular tapas bar called Casa Montana. By the time I got there at 9 it was already heaving (fairly early by Spanish standards). I found a seat at the bar and ordered a really nice glass of Rioja (I've subsequently sent the details off to my dad who has already ordered some bottles off of the internet. I'm hoping that'll make my transition back to Scotland more bearable). To eat I ordered their famous stewed broad beans, which were extremely tasty, as well as tuna stuffed pepper and cod croquette.

The next day was spent at the beach. Although its aesthetically a nicer beach than Malaga, I found the water to be quite dirty and the one and only time I went in for a dip I found that I came out covered in debris. It was also very windy, unlike Malaga where there was no breeze. Don't get me wrong, I was grateful for this given how hot it was, but it meant that I couldn't use my parasol as the sand was far too fine to withold the force of the wind. Third world problems. For lunch I went to one of the many restaurants that lined the promenade. As Valencia is famous for paella, I figured it was something I had to try. Easier said that done since most restaurants prepare paella for a minimum of 2 people. Not much use when you're a sad and lonely singleton like me. Eventually I found somewhere prepared to make it for little old me. Usually I find paella to be quite bland, but it was actually rather nice. The traditional way of making it here is with chicken and rabbit, so it had more flavour.

That evening I had a couple of drinks in my favourite bar, La Estrecha, before going to Sagardi for a tapas dinner. This place is very popular in Valencia and is always packed. The bar is lined with all sorts of different tapas served on bread. The idea is that you just go up with your place and take as many as you like. They also come out with hot tapas, such as croquettes, chorizo etc. At the end of the meal, they tally up how many cocktail sticks are on your plate and give you the final bill (each tapa is 2 euros). I'm not quite sure what's to stop people from throwing away cocktail sticks so they pay less. However, I'm not a stingy bastard, just a fat one, and therefore the only reason I would have to throw mine away is so that I wouldn't be judged on the quantity I managed to eat!

I returned to Madrid on the Thursday and on the Friday decided to take a day trip to Alcala de Henares, which is only 35 minutes on the train. Its pretty small, and there's not much to see or do, but it's a pretty city to walk around. As the birthplace of Miguel de Cervantes, there are homages to Don Quijote all over the place, such as statues and plaques. My favourite place was the Convento de las Clarisas de San Diego, which is where the nuns sell homemade candied almonds. You have to order and pay for the almonds through a revolving wooden door, as you are not allowed to see the nuns. I can't imagine a life where no contact with the outside world is permitted. I may still be single, but I"m not yet ready to commit to a nunnery, even if it meant a lifetime of delicious candied almonds!

Gay old time in Madrid

This week I was visited by the GBF and his friend Paul for 3 nights. The best thing about their visit, other than getting to spend time with one of my best friends of course, was that they were booked into a rather swanky hotel with a rooftop terrace, complete with olympic sized hot tub. This hot tub became my second home for the duration of their visit, and we spent many an hour in it sipping tinto de veranos and playing Disney Top Trumps. Not in the slightest bit gay at all.

As with any visitor that comes to see me, our agenda was driven by where we were going to eat and drink. I did, however, take the pair of them on a whistlestop tour of the city to see all of the main sights. This included a romantic boat ride for 3 in Retiro Park, where Paul (rather unwillingly) spent 45 joyful minutes in 35 degree heat rowing us around the lake. I sat up front and longingly gazed at all of the dreamy topless men with big strong arms and powerful strokes rowing their girlfriends nearby. The only problem was, my male companions were doing exactly the same thing. Not quite the romantic boat ride I've been hoping for since I moved here...

On the Friday night, we went drinking in Chueca, the gay neighbourhood of the city. We sat outside in the square drinking goldfish bowl sized gins and ogling the Madrid talent. After Greg got suitably drunk, we went for some 3am churros (the Madrid version of cheese and chips). The churros were rather disappointing, as I think they just sell the leftovers from that day. They're not fresh and they're not hot.

One of Greg's friends had recommended another food market, Mercado de San Ildefonso, which we went to on their last day. It's definitely one of the better food markets I've been to here, with each stall selling popular dishes such as croquettes, paella, patatas bravas. We shared a bunch of plates before spending the last few hours of their time here relaxing in the hot tub. That night I went out for dinner with a guy called Pedro who I met through salsa/bachata. It wasn't a date, just a friendship. He took me to an amazing place in Delicias where we shared a plate of 'tostas' which is basically crispy bread topped with various things (we went for goats cheese, smoked cod, duck pate and ham). We then spent the rest of the evening drinking wine and dancing salsa and bachata in his living room.

Tomorrow I'm taking the train to Valencia for a couple of days to see the city, eat paella and chill out on the beach. I can't believe how fast my time here is going. I only have 5 weeks left, and I still have so many places I want to visit!

Greedy in Granada

Words can't begin to describe how much I love Granada. What a city! Being the fat bastard that I am, the thing I love best is the tapas culture. With every drink you order, and it doesn't have to be alcoholic (although it usually is with me), you get a free tapa. Much of the time it's a pretty hefty portion, like a plate of paella or Iberian pork on a crusty baguette. Or mini hamburgers with a side of croquettes. Basically, it's fucking awesome and I've not had to pay for food since I've been here. They say nothing in life is free, but when you're only paying 2 euros a drink, I'd have to disagree! For anyone who is planning to go to Granada at any point, here are my must visit tapas bars: Taberna de la Tana, Bodega la Antigualla, Bodegas Castenada and Bar Poe.

The food aside, the city is beautiful. On my first day I had a trip to the Alhambra booked. I spent a good two hours wandering around the place, which for anyone who knows me, knows this is a long time for me to spend in a cultural attraction. I usually get bored and find the nearest pub. But the Alhambra is particularly amazing, and the countless pictures I took don't do it justice. It has to be seen to be believed.

That evening, I went on a date with a nice man called Angel who I met on one of the dating sites. We went to a few bars, had some tapas, chatted and then went our separate ways. Always nice to have some company when you're visiting other places. Especially when said company is 6"2 with arms to die for...

The next day was spent exploring the city. 15 miles of walking to be exact. There are two pretty amazing viewpoints which are worth the trek up the hill in 35 degree heat. The views of the Alhambra are something special. After wandering around the little cobbled lanes of Alabaicin, I walked to the small neighbourhood of Sacromonte. It's the traditional village of the Granadian gypsies and is filled with white washed caves housing bars, flamencos shows and dwellings. Set on top of the hill is the Abbey.

After hitting a couple of bars for some free tapas, I moved onto the Cathedral. Generally all cathedrals are pretty impressive, and they all merge into one. But I'll remember this one for the impressive organs. I'm sure going to mass in a church like this wouldn't be such a chore on a Sunday! 

The evening was a bit of a dud. I found a language exchange online but when I arrived there was literally nobody in the pub. Later that evening I checked out two salsa joints my friend had told me about, and also found them both to be empty! However, Granada is a massive student town, and I'm told it's so dead because all the students have now left for the summer. So it's hope to bed in anticipation of the 4.5 hour bus journey back to Madrid in the morning 😒

Malaga

I've been pleasantly surprised by Malaga. It's not at all what I expected. For some reason I assumed it would be a bit dirty, very touristy and full of stag/hen parties. I mean, it's still a massive tourist city, and there's a fair few stag parties, but it still has a lot of really pretty sights and cultural attractions. It's actually a really beautiful city. It's a bit of a contrast, like Barcelona. On one hand you have the ugly sky rises that line the beach and port, but looming over that are the city’s hilltop citadels, the Alcazaba and ruined Gibralfaro, remnants of Moorish rule. 

The first day was spent exploring the cultural side of the city. Although cooler than Cordoba at 28 degrees, the humidity makes it even more uncomfortable and you sweat way more than in the dry heat. That's especially the case when you're hiking it up the mountain to the castle ruins. However it's worth the trek, as the views from the top are amazing. For lunch I went to the infamous El Pimpi, which is a huge establishment with numerous rooms and a big courtyard, where I sat and had a nice glass of chilled Verdejo and some tapas. 

Later that afternoon I checked into my hostel. I found Malaga to be really expensive for accommodation so I ended up booking a room in an 8 bed female dorm. So I was a bit surprised to walk in and find two men in my room. Apparently the hostel had sold out of beds so started selling female beds to men. Not that I was too bothered, but it was more the principle. The room itself was nice enough, but the one bathroom thing started to be an issue early on. 

That evening I checked out some of the local bars before going to El Meson de Cervantes for tapas. I mistakenly ordered the sardines (I was recommended the special and turns out there was more than one). I was actually rather surprised to find it rather tasty as it was served with mango and tomato salsa. That said, I wouldn't ever order sardines off a menu again! I also had the house croquettes and some kind of stew, both of which were very good. After dinner I had a walk around the city at night. I had packed my dancing shoes with me, but unfortunately couldn't find any proper salsa places on the internet. I was a bit gutted the next day when I met someone who pointed me in the direction of a great salsa bar, but at that point it was too late. 

Feeling knackered, I went to my dorm around 1200. That's when the fun started. Due to the constant comings and goings of people in the room and the sweltering heat, I couldn't sleep and at around 3am I sat on the stairwell outside and called a friend back home. As I sat there chatting I look through into the hallway and see an extremely inebriated man come out of the room next to mine. He is only wearing underwear, however his rather unattractive todger is hanging out over the top of it. He finds a bin at the end of the hall, picks it up and carries it to the corner of the hallway beside his dorm room before spending the next two minutes pissing into it. Bearing in mind there are bathrooms in all dorm rooms (not to mention bins) I can't begin to imagine what was going through his head. But the whole thing was rather amusing.

As I retired back to my bunk to try to get some sleep (it's 4am at this point), the door to the dorm opens and in walks a guy looking for his bed. Turns out someone else is sleeping in it as the hostel had double booked it. After a lengthy discussion between the two, the man eventually leaves and, I presume, is allocated a bed elsewhere. However, 20 minutes later, the same thing happens with a different girl and a different bed. Needless to say, I am fuming! The next morning, the poor girl on reception is on the end of my rage after a sleepless night. I ask for a refund for my second night and find another hostel where I had my own room. 

The second day was spent lying on the beach and baking in the sun. I bought a cheap parasol and sat under it the whole day  drinking beer and eating cheetos, and occasionally going for a swim in the sea to cool down. Pure bliss. That evening, being a Sunday, most of the restaurants I wanted to visit were closed so I ended up going to a place called Noviembre and had some deep fried goodness. I hadn't eaten all day,  other than the Cheetos. Given there wasn't much else to do, I booked into see the stage version of Dirty Dancing. It was a good thing I knew the words by heart as obviously the whole thing was in Spanish! Not as good as the time I saw it in London, but Spanish Patrick Swayze was HOT! Next stop, Granada.