…and how was your day?

May 17, 2014 / 0 comments

…and how was your day?

Today we went to Peñíscola, which was about a 2 hour drive from Valencia. IT. WAS. BEAUTIFUL. We climbed up to the top of the Castillo de Peñíscola (castillo means castle), where a pope once lived (I’ll spare you the history lesson because I don’t really remember it..oops) and it was stunning. As I’m sure you were wondering, Peñíscola is not pronounced anything like “Peninsula,” and if you pronounce it like that, Spaniards will look at you like you’re an idiot. It’s pronounced “Pen-ees-coh-lah.” Say it with me! “Pen-ees-coh-lah.” Now stop saying it an American accent and say it with a Spanish accent. “Pen-ees-coh-lah.” Ehh…close enough. The hike up to the castle was a quite steep, and then the steps up in the castle were even steeper. It was such a beautiful place, I was speechless all day long. After we finished up in the castle, we headed down the beach for an afternoon on the beach. I bought some gelato (or helado) and I ordered it in Spanish..i know, i’m talented. The helado was only 1.50 euros…that’s a heck of a lot cheaper than the gelato i’ve had in the States (and a heck of a lot better…sorry!). Being on the Mediteranean Sea was incredible. That water is so clear and so beautiful, and there were practically no waves, so we could enjoy being in the water without being knocked over.

When we arrived back in Valencia, the bus dropped my roommate and I off on the side of the road, and we magically found our way back! We then walked around the city center, and walked into a couple of shops, and started to get the feel for this city. I can’t believe we’ve only been here for 2 1/2 days, we are really starting to the get the hang of things!