Trip to Valencia 🇪🇸
Jan. 26, 2024 ~ Feb. 4, 2024
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Checkin to Tokyo International (Haneda) Airport (HND) (東京国際空港 (羽田空港))
BRB. Istanbul 🇹🇷 -> Valencia 🇪🇸. -
Glad I managed to finish this project before this trip. Weeks of entertainment in my palm.
An iPod Classic playing music in an airport. -
by James✈️ Nobody in front of me (exit row). Empty seat to my left. Empty seat behind me. I’ve won the lottery.
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Checkin to Tivat International Airport (TIV) (Међународни аеродром Тиват)
Arrived in 🇹🇷. Great flight ✈️ -
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Checkin to Valencia Airport (VLC) (Aeroport de València)
Made it. That was a long trip from Tokyo. -
Checkin to Tiki Taco
Taco time -
Checkin to Starbucks
Afternoon coffee -
Checkin to Font del Palau de la Música
Having a bit of an explore. There’s a guy near here setting off loud fireworks too. Super loud. -
Checkin to La Vita é Bella
Pizza pizza 😋 -
by JamesI made it until 10pm. Hopefully my body is in the right time zone tomorrow.
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by James
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Checkin to La Terraza De Santa Catalina
Coffee and a show. Feel like I’m in a Rick Steves program. I could get used to this. -
Checkin to Museu Sant Pius V de Belles Arts
Enjoying a bit of culture. -
Checkin to Dulce De Leche Boutique
Post lunch coffee -
Checkin to Boa Beach
Comms social -
The Week #187
by James- 🇪🇸 I'm in Spain and it's great! My flights were smooth as could be. From Tokyo, I went to Istanbul via Turkish Airlines (first time) and I think I wouldn't mind flying them again. The food on the plane was (steamed salmon, mashed potatoes, eggplant and such) and airport was beautiful. The planes were not parked next to the building, so all of the gates in our area were simply doors to outside and a bus would pull up and take the plane load of people out to the plane parking lot. It felt more like a bus station than an airport.
My ride to Valencia
Arriving in Spain and the airport was tiny. Like as soon as you get off the plane you walk downstairs and dumped directly into passport control / customs. We took the metro from the airport to the city center and it was relatively easy. Just buy the ticket and go.Morning in the city center
My first impression of the city is that, at least in the center area, there are so many American fast food / restaurant chains. I reckon that's partly because they're taking over the world, but also because they can afford the rent in these locations. I didn't expect to see a five guys and taco bell directly outside my hotel.Random alleyway
My hotel has been nice too, though it has probably the slowest lift known to man. Each room is themed different and mine is themed with a giant motorcycle in the wall.
For the weekend before work we mostly explored around the city, walking around and enjoying the city. The old town is as picturesque as you'd imagine. Sitting on the square, drinking coffee enjoying some cultural dancing is something I could see myself getting used to.People watching at one of the many squares
The food is all really good and affordable. I'm loving the availability of olives and ham.5.5 euro for coffee and a sandwhich - 😩 While I am in Spain, my AirPods are not. I was about to get ready for a run when I started looking for my airports and Find My shows me that they're in Haneda airport. Hopefully I'll be able to collect them on my way back. They must have fallen out of my pocket or something and as I was using my headphones during the trip, I simply didn't notice. Good news is that they're lost in Japan, so there's a higher probability of me getting them back.
- 😭 My last grandparent passed away. Thankfully it wasn't because she was sick, just because of age at 93 years old. It makes me reflect on the fact we're not here forever...and I should probably talk with my own parents more often....RIP Dotz.
- 🇪🇸 I'm in Spain and it's great! My flights were smooth as could be. From Tokyo, I went to Istanbul via Turkish Airlines (first time) and I think I wouldn't mind flying them again. The food on the plane was (steamed salmon, mashed potatoes, eggplant and such) and airport was beautiful. The planes were not parked next to the building, so all of the gates in our area were simply doors to outside and a bus would pull up and take the plane load of people out to the plane parking lot. It felt more like a bus station than an airport.
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Checkin to Tyris On Tap
Post escape room beer 🍺 -
Checkin to Torre del Micalet
207? Stairs to the top. Completely worth it. -
Checkin to Gelateria La Romana
Italian ice cream 😋 -
Checkin to ikore kofi
Whenever I travel, I always pick up some beans. -
Checkin to Gontier Bar
End of the week beer. -
Checkin to Casual Valencia Vintage
Last breakfast in Valencia -
Checkin to Mercat Central
All of the food looks so good -
Checkin to L'Oceanogràfic
I must come here again. Lovely aquarium. -
On the metro, airport bound. I’m gonna miss València.
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Checkin to Starbucks
Menu is a bit different. But I went with a latte because it’s late and familiar. -
Taxied for like 15 minutes to a parking lot and got on a bus. The airport in Turkey is like a mall that happens to have airplanes.
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The Week #188
by James- 🛬 I'm back in Japan from my trip to Spain. I haven't made a "summary" post about the trip, and I'm not sure I will. One thing I'm certain about is needing to visit Spain again for a longer period of time someday.
The food is soo good in Spain. How have I made it this long in life without making jamón and olives a regular part of my life? Walking around the market with a little cup of it was a treat. It's even better put inside bread as a simple sandwich (which sadly, I forgot to take a photo of before I ate it).Cruising with some jamon to nibble on
Paella from the birthplace of paella has likely ruined me. I have only ever had it before at home from a kit that was made for Japanese rice makers. And while it was tasty, the difference between that and the real thing is the difference between some cup noodles and a bowl of ramen from a good shop.A team-size paella
Visiting the central market was a treat. All of the food looked so good and fresh. Everything wasn't wrapped in plastic. I had orange juice (home of the Valencia orange). It was the brightest orange juice I'd ever seen and tasted off the charts. I played a sad trombone in my head when I drank some OJ on the plane home.Fresh huge veg
I adapted better to the Spanish meal hours than I had anticipated. Eating breakfast at 8am, lunch around 1:30 - 2pm and dinner around 8pm-ish was fine. While I appreciate I was only there for a week and had effectively "just the highlights" of the country/city I could picture myself living a (happy) life there for a period. Not making plans to move any time soon, but there's a seed in the back of my head... Very glad to be back in Japan and back into the regular routine with the fam. - ☃️ 3cm of snow fell in Yokohama starting about 12 hours after I arrived. Leo made a snow man and he seems to have survived the night. Really glad it waited until I got home, as there were heaps of delayed / canceled flights... and I'd likely been stuck at the airport in Turkey. That said, because I was already home, I missed an opportunity to get some fantastic "conbini at night in the snow" or "inviting bar on a cold winter's night" photos. Next time.
- 🦷 One of Leo's teeth is starting to wiggle around a bit. You leave for a week and the kids, they don't stop growing just because you're away. Glad I'll be here for the visit of the tooth fairy.
- 🏃 I got an email from Strava that, because I am the only user of my Strava integration, that I do not need to submit Tanzawa to them for review. I'm really glad that this is the case and that I put off doing any development work to bring Tanzawa into compliance with their requirements (mostly around branding). Procrastination ftw!
- 🛬 I'm back in Japan from my trip to Spain. I haven't made a "summary" post about the trip, and I'm not sure I will. One thing I'm certain about is needing to visit Spain again for a longer period of time someday.
