Valencia - Foodies
Paradise
Louise Elgin visits Valencia during
Restaurant Week - very lucky girl!
As I cycled contentedly through
the city of Valencia on a bright,
sunny morning recently, I encountered
a small group participating in
happiness therapy. This sight had
to be the one great irony of my
trip, as I don’t think there
can be many cities in Europe that
exude such a natural feeling of
well-being as I experienced here.
Travelling by bike is such a fun
way to see the city as it is mostly
flat. This is partly due to the
fact that after the River Turia
burst its banks in 1957, (flooding
the old town in the process), the
flow was diverted elsewhere and
the town restored. The riverbed
was then turned into an enormous
green space, namely the Parque
Jardines del Turia, which is a
great place for all sorts of outdoor
activities including cycling.
Valencia makes for such a great
destination from London. For a
start you can get there cheaply,
with both Easyjet and Ryanair having
regular flights. I was also struck
by how un-crowded it was. After
the chaos and hectic pace of London’s
metropolis it really did seem a
peaceful and serene environment.
The weather is also fantastic -
the sort of place where you can
go out in the evening without a
jacket. It’s the home of
paella - and if you’ve never
tasted it where have you been?!
A wonderful rice dish cooked up
with chicken or seafood and is
a work of art when made properly.
Or you can just hang out and spend
your evening with several jugs
of sangria and plate after plate
of wonderful tapas for very little
money. It’s also a very young
city, with plenty of students and
a fun, upbeat kind of vibe. In
the evenings everyone hits the
town and I was so impressed by
the refreshing, café society
atmosphere, with groups gathered
round tables chatting and enjoying
themselves without overdoing it
(I saw very little drunken or aggressive
behaviour) well into the small
hours.
The reason for my visit was to
attend the first Valencia Restaurant
Week. This year it took place between
15th- 21st June but it now plans
to become a regular event due to
its tremendous popularity. During
the week over 50 restaurants (including
several with Michelin stars) throughout
the city offer tremendous discounts
- with fixed priced set lunches
at just 18 Euros and set dinners
at 30 Euros. I was lucky enough
to sample several of these throughout
my stay but more of that later.
So apart from eating and drinking
very well Valencia offers a whole
host of other activities and
interests. For a start there
is the City of Arts and Sciences,
with its captivating futuristic
architecture that includes a
very modern theatre/opera house,
the Palau de les Arts, an Imax
cinema and beautiful aquarium
(the largest in Europe to be
precise) with 45,000 living creatures.
There is also the historic old
city, with its wonderful Central
Market, an absolute must for
all foodie lovers like me with
around 1,500 stalls selling every
kind of fare and Mediterranean
gastronomy. Built in 1927 it
is housed in an attractive cool
and airy building with a vaulted
ceiling and attractive friezes
of oranges decorating it throughout.
When in the mood for a bit of
culture don’t miss the city’s
magnificent cathedral, with its
shrine believed to contain The
Holy Grail, as well captivating
Renaissance frescos and Goya paintings.
The beautifully restored UNESCO
Silk Market is worth a look as
is the National Ceramics Museum
with its outrageously opulent carved
exterior. Do also visit The Virgin
Square, this being one of the most
impressive landmarks in the whole
of the city and a must for a photo
stop whilst having a lunch or coffee
break.
If this all sounds a little too
like hard work and what you really
feel like is some R&R may I
suggest some less strenuous alternatives?
I spent an entirely relaxing afternoon
at La Alameda, a former monastery
which has now been lavishly transformed
into an urban thermal spa. The
1909 Art Nouveau building is a
labyrinth of low lit passages and
treatment rooms where it is possible
to enjoy a whole host of holistic
treatments. We tried the restoring
and therapeutic mineral baths which
made for a very relaxing couple
of hours, rejuvenating both body
and soul whilst enabling us to
treat any aches and pains against
the varying water pressures in
the 42 degrees warm water.
Another water based activity I
enjoyed, without having to get
wet this time, was a gentle boat
ride down the biggest lake in Spain.
Situated just outside the city
and amid the atmospheric overgrown
rice fields, it is possible to
take a boat ride down Lake Albufera. I suggest the best time to do this
is after a long lunch with plenty
of wine so you can relax and doze,
admiring the bird life and the
passing peaceful scenery at your
will.
Of course the other marvellous
thing about Valencia is that it
is on the coast, with plenty of
restaurants right by the beach
to enjoy. Spain is a country where
you see whole families out together
- from grannies through to newborns.
They are such a close knit bunch
and I found the sight of large
groups of all ages eating together
a refreshing change from our culture
where the only time you see that
sort of behaviour is once a year
on the likes of Mother’s
Day. We took a catamaran tour out
to sea which was very relaxing,
especially with a drink in one
hand whist watching the sun set.
Valencia hosted The America’s
Cup in 2007 and it was interesting
to see all the buildings that had
been erected for the event still
standing like monuments to the
occasion.
During my stay, (which was over
several days), I checked out two
very different four star hotels.
The Barcelo Valencia, with its
bachelor pad style spacious rooms,
(that would have suited James Bond
very nicely), and slick ultra modern
interior with plenty of glass and
chrome, and the Holiday Inn Valencia
which was more conventional, highly
comfortable and hard to fault.
But I digress, what I was really
there for was the food. I recommend
that when you plan your trip to
Valencia do coincide it with The
Valencia Restaurant Week as it
is a golden opportunity to get
to try all types of cuisine at
bargain prices. There is a great
little booklet you can get from
the tourist office or online which
gives you all the menus in advance
that are on offer so you can really
plan your eating. Do book ahead
mind as it is hugely popular with
the locals.
My top tip
is get yourself to Seu Xerea
where
I had the most
sensational lunch. Owned by Steve
Anderson, a Brit with a Burmese
mother and Welsh father, Steve,
(who once was surprisingly a science
teacher back in the UK), has now
re-trained as a chef and a very
good one at that. The restaurant,
which is quite small, but spacious
and airy once inside, serves, like
Steve’s heritage, a mix of
Asian and European cooking. I began
with a totally knockout Thai style
fish soup, ingeniously served on
a bed of smoking dry ice. It was
ambrosial, wonderfully scented
with lemon grass, fish stock and
lime leaves and an accompanying
skewer of prawns. To follow I had
a paella a la marinara which again
was superb, cooked with a wonderful
stock which gave it a slightly
soupy base, the rice having plenty
of bite and taste. The rest of
my party opted for a plate of suckling
pig which looked and tasted divine
and something I would also recommend
you try if you go there. For pudding
I tried a totally indulgent chocoholics
delight - four textures of chocolate
served with a liquorish ice cream.
Throughout the meal we drank wonderfully
crisp white Valencian wine, a blend
of Muscadet and Sauvignon Blanc
which was just the thing on such
an extremely hot afternoon.
I really loved Valencia and I
think you will too. Just make sure
that if you do want to go to the
restaurant week next year you book
well ahead to avoid disappointment.
Louise Elgin. July 2009.
For more information
on restaurants and where to eat
in Valencia, visit
www.turisvalencia.com -
Valencia Restaurant Week website
Further information
www.lesarts.com - Palau de les
Arts opera/theatre
www.balneariolaalemeda.com - La
Alameda Thermal Baths
www.valanciabikes.com - Bicycle
hire Valencia
www.albuferaparc.com - Lake Albufera
boat trips
www.mundomarino.es - Catamaran
tour on the sea
www.barcelo.com - Barcelo Valencia
Hotel
www.valencia.holiday-inn.com -
Holiday Inn Valencia
www.easyjet.com - Easy jet
Seuxerea@hotmail.com - Seu-Xerea
Restaurant - Tel: +34 963 924 000