O Valencia!

I've made it to the good ol' city of Valencia, Spain! Just got in and set up my comp.... so i'll inform you of my last little while in town!

Tuesday I went to the agencies, and although I didn't get to talk to anyone, it was just awesome seeing the offices in real life. I rented a bike making it extremely easy to get around.

You can walk everywhere, but biking is definitely the way to go; bikes outnumber cars in this city by a large amount. after a while of biking around and going to the agencies I made my way back to the hostel for a nap.

After my nap I decided to walk around again making my way out of the touristy areas and into an area they call Jordaan. This is west of the city center and the red light district. It is beautiful out there, lots of families and small businesses. it is actually where my favorite agency 72andSunny is. It was that part of the city that made me realize that I could spend a long time here, living here if I had the opportunity at any of those 3 agencies. But don't worry, I don't plan on calling up my parents to ship all my things here just yet.

I made sure to stay up until it was darker and ventured out into the red light district late night. It is crazy! The bars are all packed and the streets are even more crowded. The lights literally are red all over. The hookers are out in full force and the guys are creeping in full force as well. Watching creepy,dirty, tourist looking men walk up to a window, talk to the girl, walk in, and then see the curtain close is a sight that will haunt me forever. After a little bit of wandering, I made my way back to the hostel and slept.

(Ok, this is intermission. go get a drink of water if you need to, maybe some eye-drops if your eyes are hurting from staring at the computer screen for so long.)

Yesterday morning I woke up and had breakfast, this time it was fried egg with a slice of ham and toast. I had to quickly finish up in order to make my way to return the bike back at Centraal Station. From there I made my way to the city center where the National Monument is to meet up to take a tour.

The tour was about 3 hours long walking through the red light district, the city center, and then west almost to the Jordaan. The tour guide was alright, nothing to special. She told some interesting stories, but not too much history, nothing more than what I could quickly read in small pamphlet about the city. Of course she pulled all the "i'm gonna let you in a secret because I like you. (insert name drop of a restaurant) is the best place to get food" a few times. I'm sure that the company had to be getting some sort of kickback from taking us right by these restaurants and suggesting them, and making a rest stop at a typical tourist souvenir shop. The tour ended at the enterence of the Anne Frank Huis which is where I really wanted to go.

Three hours of walking left me with my feet hurting and parched. I grabbed a quick snack and then made my way back over to the Jordaan area. I can't really get over that part of the city. It is such a wholesome part of town, little kids riding their bikes or scooters eating ice cream or gelato, moms taking strolls with their babies, and beautiful buildings lining the bright streets. With such a dirty part of the city so close, it is awesome how safe and pretty that part of Amsterdam can be.

(disclaimer... don't judge my emo[tions]. the following paragraph is serious business!)

After I took a little rest I made my way back to the Anne Frank Huis. I can't say how touched I was by walking through that house and reading all the plaques, seeing all the pictures, and walking through the tiny rooms that TWO WHOLE FAMILIES had to hide in for two years. Her actual diary is on display there. I got the chills just looking at it. Just trying to imagine what it would be got me teary eyed. It made me take a look back at complaining about being stuck at home for a day, and made me realize how much I take for granted things as simple as walking down the street, or standing outside.

My next mission was to make it to the Rijksmuseum, but by the time I got there it was almost closed and they weren't letting anyone else in. Instead I strolled down the street to take a rest in Vondelpark which is just one of many large parks that are scattered throughout the city. With such wonderful weather the park was very crowded, tons of people walking, riding their bikes, having picnics, or just laying out and enjoying the sun.

After all of this, I made my way to a bar right across from my hostel to watch the USA vs. Spain game. It was awesome, the Americans were out in full force. I met a couple kids from the Virgina/DC area. One of them had bet the bartender €50 that the US would win, and long behold, WE WON!!!

So instead of doing what a lot of drunk young guys would do in Amsterdam and spend that extra cash on a hooker... he proceeded to buy us (4 guys) each a beer. Thank you Bobby from D.C. We walked around for a while and chatted it up with a few random people we met on the streets and in the bars until I decided I had to call it a night.

This morning, I woke up and caught my plane to Valencia. This is where I'll leave you, and I will update you all again when some more debauchery happens!

Coming Soon... More from the VLC.