Rambles with Remus: Voyage in Valencia

17/12/2019

A blog by Zoe, a Reviewer Engagement and Outreach Coordinator at Euan’s Guide.

Valencia is located at the mouth of the river Turía on the southeastern coast of Spain. The city is located about an hour’s train journey from the city of Madrid and about two hours from Barcelona. Valencia is a city that has always been close to my heart as in 2009 I spent a year living there as an Erasmus Student. I will be forever grateful to the British Council and my University for allowing me to study abroad as part of my Modern Languages degree. The Erasmus scheme is run by the British Council in partnership with universities worldwide and enables students of all abilities to study abroad. I would thoroughly recommend the experience to any anyone who gets the opportunity to study abroad - you will certainly not regret it!

In this blog I will tell you about my last trip to Valencia which was in September. This was my second trip to Valencia since my year abroad in 2009.

One of the main reasons that I love Valencia is its level of accessibility. The city has a very strong community of disabled people who have worked hard over many years to raise awareness of the need for accessibility for everyone. I am pleased to say that their efforts have begun to take effect, which is fantastic!

I stayed in the city for two weeks on this trip along with my mum Barbara and my personal assistant Sandra. I was thrilled to be able to make this trip once again this year as I feared that some health issues would prevent me from visiting again.

Initially on this trip we stayed in a 3-star hotel called Ilunion Aqua 3 which is situated at the end of the city’s disused river bed of the river Turía. The main river Turía was diverted away from the city many years ago due to flooding. The hotel Ilunion Aqua 3 is situated right next door to Ilunion Aqua 4. Ultimately we had to move to the 4-star hotel due to a lack of hand rails in the bathroom of the 3 star. There are interior and exterior lifts to travel between the two hotels which are connected at basement level.

Beside the hotel is a big shopping mall, which is also known as the Aqua Shopping Centre. This boasts an array of shops, cafes and bars to satisfy even the most renowned of shopaholics!

One of my other favourite places to visit this part of Valencia is the City of Arts and Sciences. This is a complex of buildings which comprises a science centre (with an imax cinema, an oceanarium, and a musical theatre). As you can see from the pictures below, the architecture of these buildings is very futuristic and look spectacular. All of the buildings are accessible either on one level or via a lift, which in itself is a sight to be seen!

Image of City of Arts and Sciences with Imax cinema and an image of the lift from the science centre to street level

Images of: City of Arts and Sciences with Imax cinema and an image of the lift from the science centre to street level.

This area of the city is often used as an outdoor concert venue where the area of water in the middle is emptied to make way for spectators. There is always something to see and do at this side of the city. During this visit to Valencia, we went to watch a film at the Imax cinema, which was Apollo 13.

Another thing that we always really enjoy when visiting Valencia is walking along the disused river bed, which has been converted into an area for people to cycle, run and generally keep fit. There are some outdoor fitness facilities which are suitable for disabled people.

Image of the Turia river bed and an image of my mum and I walking in the river Turia

Images of: the Turia river bed and an image of my mum and I walking in the river Turia.

There are some cafe areas situated along the route of the river bed so there is always time to stop for a refreshment. One of the drinks that I particularly enjoy on a hot day is lemon juice with crushed ice, which is very refreshing. On the other hand, if you are a fan of coffee you could always have a coffee with ice cubes in it. There is always something happening in the river bed and it has become a communal area for people to gather so if you want to get involved in daily city life, it is always a good place to go. There are metro stops located within the river bed which are all accessible by lift. These provide good links to other areas of the city to go exploring.