THEGAYUK WINTER 13 /14 Issue 1
TRAVEL
The sun poured down upon me as I stepped
off the jet for my 36 hours, non-stop
whirlwind tour of Valencia, one of the most
gay friendly cities in Spain.
Even though it was the 1st of
February the temperature soared
above 26 degrees and even the
locals admitted it was a bit of a
rarity for so early on in the year,
however I didn’t mind having only
just hours before left the grey, dank
and ever so depressing 4.00AM
morning of Great Britain.
!
Almost a second home for us
Brits, Spain has it all, great
wines, rustic foods and an
abundance of sunshine and the
lesser known destination of
Valencia is an incredible jewel
on Spain’s eastern seaboard,
nestled a few hundred miles
below Barcelona. It has it
ever ything you need for a quick
getaway: azure seas, miles of
soft, spongy sands, bustling
cafes, shopping, culture and art.
!
First stop on my ‘gay in
Valencia’ was the iconic and
other worldly Ciutat de les
Arts i les Ciències (City of
Arts and Sciences).
!
Extraordinary in their design,
these incredible structures rise
out of crystal pools of water and
house an array of the weird and
wonderful. Take a moment to
just marvel at the sheer
engineering of these iconic
buildings, you could be on the
set of a futuristic Hollywood
blockbuster. The first of these
sheer enamel coloured forms is
the L'Hemisfèric which was
completed in 1998, it houses
Valencia’s IMAX, Planetarium
and Laserium, other buildings
include L'Oceanogràfic (the
largest open air oceanographic
park in Europe, and the
immense El Palau de les Arts
Reina Sofia, Valencia’s own
opera house, giving even
Sydney’s superstar Opera House
a run for its money.
After lunch, hot foot it over to the
Institut Valencià d'Art Modern
(Valencian Institute of Modern Art)
to catch up on the latest and
greatest from the world of modern
art, however if this is all too much
like hard work, you could always
grab a coffee at one of the many
downtown cafes and simply watch
life go by.
!
After a quick refreshment, off to the
shops to emerge yourself in the
many little boutiquey fashion
outlets, many of them carrying
some rare vintage pieces, and the
owners are always happy to help,
and even converse in English if
Spanish isn’t your strongest talent.
!
If you want to get trendy, then head
over to Ruzafa, which is the place
for all your exclusive, concept
shopping needs. You simply must
check out Caroline, one of the
coolest places in Valencia. The shop
aims to boost designers’ profiles,
but allows only products that fall
into Caroline’s ‘exclusive product
philosophy’. Whilst there check out
Garage Vintage for vintage 70’s,
80’s and 90’s clothing and Gnomo,
where you can find decor, lighting,
toys and all manner of gadgets.
However if you’re looking for more
recognisable high-street names then
head over to Colon, which is the
main shopping street.
!
The marvellous thing about
Valencia is that almost everywhere
is walkable and because the weather
is usually so fine, it’s lovely to
meander down the back streets of
this ancient, dusty romantic city.
!
So onto dinner, well Valencia isn’t
short of a few places to dine and if
you’re into extreme culinary
111