Thursday, March 06, 2008
Valencia, Paella e Sangria, wow!
Paella (IPA: [pa'eʎa]) is a typical valencian rice dish from Spain. The name paella is the word for "frying pan" in Valencian (from Latin patella). Paella is usually garnished with vegetables and meat or seafood. The three main ingredients are rice, saffron, and olive oil.
Legends about its origin:
* There is an old story of how the Moorish kings' servants created rice dishes by mixing the leftovers from royal banquets in large pots to take home. In the Arab countries, it is often wrongly believed that the word paella originates from the Arabic word baqiyah, meaning leftovers.
* The story about the word paella deriving from para ella (for her) is obviously wrong too, even though it is said that most paellas are made by men cooking once a week for their wives.
* It has been noted the similarity in name and method of cooking with the Pilaf dish. The word paella has amazing resemblance to other rice dishes made from Greece to Iran: Pilaf, Pilau, Polo. All prepared in similarly shaped cookware.
* Nevertheless, the origin of the name paella is in the Catalan word for frying pan. This word in turn derives from Latin patella and is akin to French poêle, Italian padella, Old Spanish padilla and New Mexican Spanish puela.
Playa de Malvarossa - City Beach in Valencia, Spain
Malvarossa is what the locals usually mean by "going to the beach". It is a full-flung city beach in all respects.
The water is decent and the fine sand is great. During the summer weekends the whole Valencia comes down on this beach. It is a noisy, busy atmosphere with people doing just about everything that can be done on the beach - sunbathing, playing games, socialising, eating, drinking, reading etc.
This is not the place for some desolate loneliness, but if a lively beach is your thing, this is a great place.
There are restaurants at intervals all along the beach but about them I'll tell later! :-)
This part of Malvarossa also comes deliciously alive in the summer nights. It hosts a potent cluster of nightlife which happily spills out onto a beach botellon (a piss-up with booze bought in a shop) until 4am. Although you are not advised to go too far into the beach and from the crowds at night.
Playa las Arenas / Cabanyal - City Beach in Valencia
This beach is the start of the beachline in the Valencia city itself. The beach joins with the walls of America's Cup Port, it is the closest, the most built-up and the most accessible to the city, and as such it is the official city beach for activities and events, so to speak. Meaning it is more of a backdrop for leisure activities and events, rather than the place for sunbathing crowds.
Whenever there is a sports event on the beach, or a public event (e.g. the Night Landing of the Moors during the Feria de Julio) it happens here.
This beachline is also popular with promenades - for a romantic sunset watching with a special one or socialising with a group of friends. The luxurious alley of Paseo Maritimo facilitates that. In the summer the alley also hosts a market to buy clothes, accessories and souvenirs.
The Playa de las Arenas is also a famous gastronomical reference point. A good half of it is lined with restaurants, typically Valencian to the bone. Here you find some names famous nationwide, like Pepica. This beach is where you are sent to try genuine Valencian paella.
Amonst the restaurants are also a few bars and cocktail lounges, such as Vivir Sin Dormir and Cabbana Beach.
Arenas.
Naturally, some people do choose to spread out in the Sun on the sands of this beach, but it is not as popular as further along. usually people choose this stretch for a walk or a game on the sand.
Las Arenas blends into Playa de Cabanyal. Here, you already notice the crowds. The Cabanyal beach, in turn, gradually evolves into the Playa de Malvarossa - the main beach of Valencia.
Valencia, Spain, modern and old city
UNESCO has recognised the Late Gothic silk exchange (La Lonja de la Seda) as a World Heritage Site. The modernist Central Market (Mercado Central) is one of the largest in Europe. The main railway station Estación Del Norte is built in art deco style.
World-renowned (and city-born) architect Santiago Calatrava produced the futuristic City of Arts and Sciences (Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències), which contains an opera house/performing arts centre, a science museum, an IMAX cinema/planetarium, an oceanographic park and other structures such as a long covered walkway and restaurants. Calatrava is also responsible for the bridge named after him in the center of the city. The Music Palace (Palau De La Música) is another good example of modern architecture in Valencia.
The Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències (Valencian), Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias (Spanish) or City of Arts and Sciences is an ensemble of five areas in the dry river bed of the now diverted River Turia in Valencia, Spain.
Designed by Valencian architect Santiago Calatrava and started in July 1996, it is an impressive example of modern architecture.
The "city" is made up of the following, usually known by their Valencian names:
El Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía — Opera house and performing arts centre
L'Hemisfèric — Imax Cinema, Planetarium and Laserium
L'Umbracle — Walkway / Garden
El Museu de les Ciències Príncipe Felipe — Science museum
L'Oceanogràfic — Open-air oceanographic park
Surrounded by attractive streams and pools of water, it and the surrounding areas of the "city" are typically used as a relaxing place to walk day or night, with an open air bar outside El Museu de les Ciències Príncipe Felipe during the evening (especially during events).
Our trip to Valencia, Spain, March 2008
Valencia is the third largest city in Spain. It forms part of an industrial area on the Costa del Azahar. The original Latin name of the city was Valentia (/wa'lentia/), meaning "Strength", "Vigor", the city being named after Emperor Valens, who ordered the foundation of a new colony in Hispania, taken care by later Emperor Theodosius I. During the rule of the Muslim Empires in Spain, it was known as بلنسية Balansiya) in Arabic. By regular sound changes this has become Valencia (/ba'lenθja/) in Castilian Spanish and València (/va'ɫɛnsia/) in Valencian. One possible pronunciation in Valencian /va'lensia/.
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