My Trip to Valencia for Football

Each day started with a morning jog along the beach and a traditional breakfast. Then, we’d have a work call with the team and head into the city. We arrived during the Falles festival, which happens once a year. Locals say many people avoid it, and I found it quite strange too. Every day for 19 days at 2:00 PM, there’s a fireworks show that echoes throughout the city, creating a lot of smoke and attracting many people who drink a lot of beer. I respect the traditions of every place, just sharing my thoughts.

On the first day, we needed to pick up tickets for the match from the fan club. Nearby, we stumbled upon a café on the map where we went every other day. They served delicious matcha lattes and freshly baked brownies. The café’s name is Fav Coffee. Highly recommend it. Sometimes I even had two lattes a day. The staff there were very pleasant.

My travel plan usually involves checking out landmarks and then exploring the city without a map. I observe the locals and their way of life, enjoying the overall vibe of the city.

The next day, we had the Valencia-Real Madrid football match. It was one of the best matches I’ve seen across various stadiums. Drama, intense atmosphere, clashes, and a strange decision by the referee that prevented us from taking three points. But it’s alright, we’re champions regardless!

The following day, we planned to dine at a restaurant recommended by locals for paella, but our reservation didn’t go through on Google, so we couldn’t get a table. However, we immediately booked for the next day. More on that later. Since we missed out on that place, we decided to find something else nearby and try paella. We found a spot, ordered paella and tuna tartare. The tartare was excellent, but the paella was strange, and the staff wasn’t very friendly. We were served by a man of Arab descent, and the funniest part was when he abruptly and roughly scraped the burnt rice off the pan without asking and served it to us. We rated the tartare 5 out of 5, paella 2 out of 5, and service 1 out of 5.

The next day, after strolling around the city and enjoying the weather, we went to the restaurant we initially missed. I’m glad we didn’t give up and reserved a table for the next day. As soon as we arrived, I felt so comfortable and happy. Excellent service, one of the best I’ve experienced. We ordered squid, which was superb, fish with peppers and tomatoes, and paella. By the way, paella needs to be ordered 24 hours in advance. Since we were in Valencia, we naturally chose the traditional Valencian paella. The name of restaurant is Raco del Turia.

As I’ve mentioned before, traveling has helped shape me, and I always find inspiration and motivation in it. I highly recommend visiting Valencia and want to express my immense gratitude to those who responded to my Instagram story from the locals and recommended so many great places to us.

P. S. In Valencia, I didn’t drink a single cup of espresso. People there drink coffee a lot, but it didn’t have the same atmosphere for me as in Italy. However, it didn’t spoil my impression of the city, and I’m glad I went there again after 10 years. Hopefully, the next time won’t be so far away.