August 31st, Thursday: Day 2

Today we started the morning off later than we planned for after the La Tomatina festival took us late into the night, but we were still hungry for breakfast that the hotel provided us. We wanted to start the day off by visiting the beautiful Valencia Cathedral. 

Artwork inside of Valencia Cathedral

We left for the Cathedral around 11am, planning on eating a late lunch that day. History: As we reached the Cathedral we were not disappointed at all by what we saw, the artwork and views at the top were magnificent. The artwork inside was mesmerizing, while the view of the city and plaza below was just as great. We purchased tickets for the entrance into the cathedral for 6 euros, or roughly $6.63. As we passed the booth, we looked up to see the beautiful stone statues of angels and all sorts of holy figures important to the Christian faith. As soon as we passed the giant solid wooden doors lined with solid iron, we were greeted by halls of sculpted stone and great paintings on the ceiling and surrounding walls. We progressed through the church and reached the hall containing the shrine that was the Holy Grail. It was a beautifully crafted small cup embellished with gold and gems, exactly what one would think of if they heard, "Holy Grail." As we were viewing the intricate paintings on the walls and the ceilings, I decided to whip out my Nikon 3200 camera and snap a flash photo of them. A friendly officer saw this and came over to us. He asked us to leave and escorted us out, seeing as the rule was no flash photography in order to protect the sensitive paint. Everyone was mad at me, so I apologized, and everyone seemed to forgive me. After getting kicked out after a few hours at the Cathedral, we decided to stop for a heavy lunch at a nearby place. Our next stop on our list was to visit Torres de Quart,

Front side of Torres de Quart

but we decided to take a siesta back at our hotel since we were reaching peak heat hours. History: Around five in the evening we decided to head out to Torres de Quart, as we did not want it to get too dark before we visited this historical site. Once there it is was mind blowing to see the building still standing from the early 15th century with damage to a cannon, which we heard from another tourist that it might have been caused by Napoleon! We wanted to go inside so Andre could get his Instagram picture that he has been insisting on ever since we arrived in Valencia, so we paid a cheap price of €2 or $2.20 per person. Once there the climb to the top was exhausting as we had not been prepared, but luckily the heat factor had died down a bit when we went. The top had amazing view on the city, but the inside was a bit disgusting on the inside from the fact that it was previously used as a prison. The towers were a great way to cap off our day of sightseeing. We then decided to stop at a local restaurant for tapas instead of a full dinner, as we had heard many great things about them before and were not as hungry after a heavy lunch. The tapas we ate was delicious, and would definitely recommend to others who visit Spain. And before we knew it the night came before us, and we decided to take a stroll along the streets to explore what would be around. If you ever visit Valencia, these places are must visit. 

Indigenous Meal (Tapas): Tapas are a specialty food to the country of Spain.

Some of available tapas options

It is found at almost every restaurant or bar, and is basically a wide range of appetizers/snacks. Unlike the United States that is not able to portion food, Spain gives just the right amount of an appetizer to fill you up. And they can be served hot or cold. So if you are ever looking for a small meal or a snack, just go to a nearby restaurant and other tapas to try a variety of foods.