We just happened upon a great article on Boston.com about Valencian paella, which could serve as an excellent introduction to anyone curious about the dish.

To the surprise of most visitors, classic paella Valenciana is nothing like the ubiquitous plates of orange rice festooned with shrimp and mussels. Valencianos call that dish “arroces con mariscos,’’ which translates as rice with shellfish. The authentic local paella comes from the garden, not the sea, even though this is a seaport city. Filled with fava beans, green beans, land snails, and pieces of chicken and rabbit, this paella is cooked in a shallow pan over a hot fire.

We’d also add that paella is considered to originate from Valencia, and is a mark of pride for Valencians. So, the seafood paella is actually a variant on the (superior, in our opinion) original paella Valenciana.

Naturally, the article highlights Valencia’s most famous paella restaurant, la Pepica (patronized by Ernest Hemingway). We’ve not had the opportunity to go there — does it really deserve the hoopla? In our experience, there’s not much difference between the quality of paella at a fancy or a budget restaurant because the dish is difficult to screw up.

Probably not how it’s made at La Pepica

Juergen and I have a special place in our hearts for Boston — we lived in Cambridge’s Central Square for a couple years, and is where we first met. It’s a wonderful city.

- Great Hotel in Valencia

We recently visited an exhibition dedicated to the 1909 Regional Expo’s centenary at the Ateneo Mercantil in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento (location) and found ourselves more fascinated by the building than the exhibition itself.

The Ateneo Mercantil was founded in 1879, to “attend to the cultural and educational needs of the employees of the commerce sector”, and it’s been a stable presence in Valencia for over 125 years. It helped to organize the Regional Expo in 1909 and was awarded a golden medal by the city in 1960. Today, the Ateneo Mercantil boasts over 3000 members.

Though such boldness might be frowned upon in its somber halls, Juergen and I left the public exhibition and thoroughly explored each of the Ateneo’s seven floors. Members have a lot with which to entertain themselves — a library, TV room, theater, billiard hall, restaurant, an internet station, newspaper library and more. And of course, the building sits atop one of the prime locations in Valencia, on the Plaza del Ayuntamiento. It’d be tough to beat the view from the Ateneo’s balconies for the mascletàs of Fallas.

Walking around, one is given the impression of an old boy’s club — the members are probably loaded with both money and connections. Though joining isn’t all that expensive (inscription fee of €500 and monthly dues of €16), you do have to be recommended by two current members, which probably precludes poorly dressed foreigners like us.

More information on their website (Spanish)
Location on our Valencia Map

- Hostel / Hostal El Cid Valencia

This is the our first hotel feature after a few hostels and B&Bs in Valencia.

The Vincci Palace located right in the center of Valencia, thus boasting a premium location for shopping, city exploring and festivities, like Fallas. Most of Valencia’s parades go along the hotel’s street, La Paz. Their rates are surprisingly cheap, starting at €52 a night for a double.

Located in the heart of Valencia, this Modernist hotel is just a few meters from the Plaza de la Reina and has been recently renovated with surprisingly modern and elegant interiors.

The Vincci Palaces’s impressive original façade hides the remodeled interior which celebrates both contemporary design and classic style. As you climb the central staircase admire the glass walls and breathtaking chandelier. Bedrooms feature luxurious fabrics and rich color schemes.

Dine in the Vincci Palace’s restaurant which has features more unique design and exclusive ambience. Explore the surrounding area of the Vincci Palace and discover Valencia’s exclusive fashion boutique stores.

More info: Vincci Palace Hotel in Valencia

With an almost 4 month delay they have finally started the deconstruction of Teatro Princesa, which was destroyed in a fire earlier this year. Making great use of the chaos, the city has turned Calle Murillo into Construction Nightmare Ground Zero — this week, they started tearing up the street for the fourth time. Of course, we understand that in the long term, it’s better to have repaired streets, but why exactly is it necessary to tear up, then pave over, then tear up, then pave over, tear up, pave over and NOW TEAR UP THE STREET AGAIN?! Within the time frame of about 3 months?! Man! If we could, we’d move out tomorrow!

Anyway, we heard that the crews claimed that the deconstruction of the theater would take about 2 days, starting Friday, finishing Sunday. My guess is it will take at least a month. Just look at this mess!

We live in a building right next to the Teatro (literally: I could reach out and touch it), and the city has provided us absolutely zero information as to the schedule of deconstruction, let alone what risks we run by staying in our apartment. All the information we’ve gotten is from asking neighbors, and the workers on the ground.

Oh well, at least we got some neat pictures out of it:

The street we live in

- Horchata in Valencia

During the month of July, Valencia really pulls out all the stops in an effort to help its citizens forget about the suffocating heat. The events which make up the Feria de Julio are almost numberless, and on almost any given day, you’ll be able to find something interesting to do.

There’s no way to delineate everything that’s going on, so if you’re in the city make sure and stop by a tourist office and pick up one of the festival brochures.

We can, however, make a note of some of the highlights:

Migues Bosé, Amaral, Anastacia and James Taylor are just some of the big names which will be performing in the Viveros Gardens. Tickets are around €18 and can be bought in the Corte Ingles.

This is one of the stranger Valencian traditions, in which falleras on floats, armed with tennis rackets, are assaulted with heavy little flowers hurled by the crowd. Really. – July 26th at 20:00 on the Paseo Alameda

Every Saturday night, between the Playa de las Arenas and the Veles e Vents building. These are pretty impressive fireworks, and they get underway at midnight.

This was one of our favorite events from the past year — ballrrom dancing at the Plaza de la Virgen. It’s a real competition, and the skill on display is incredible. – July 11th at 22:00 in the Plaza de la Virgen

Again, these events barely scratch at the surface of everything that’s on offer. What are you most excited about? Leave a comment if you know of another event which deserves to be highlighted!

- Hostels in Valencia / Bed & Breakfast in Valencia

Valencia is full of surprises. Turn a corner and you’ll always see something new. Enjoy another set of random Valencia photos:

– Great all you can eat Sushi in Valencia

Earlier this week, Juergen and I celebrated my 14th birthday with a trip to Malvarossa beach. It was a beautiful sunny day, I was away from my computer and I had just turned 14!! Full of a youthful zest for life, I squealed and ran into the water, completely ignoring the red flags and stepping directly into a nasty, sticky splotch of oil.

Oil?!

On Monday some ship outside of Valencia’s harbor spilled a bunch of oil, which made its way to the beach and stained the feet of anyone who stepped on it. The mess spread all the way down to the beaches of El Saler. There was no real danger to bathers, who continued to swim despite the red flags, but man was it messy. My feet were completely blackened, and if you dared to touch the gunk (as I did before I knew what it was) you came away with oil-slicked fingers. The stuff didn’t come off easily.

I haven’t heard yet if there are going to be any repercussions for the company responsible for this mess — it didn’t sound like it from Levante’s article on the subject (and the reader comments are appropriately indignant).

Thanks a lot, toxic polluters. A kid only gets to turn 14 once in his life.

- Hostal El Cid Valencia

During our first summer here, in 2008, the Estrella Damm lounge overlooking the America’s Cup harbor was one of our favorite hangouts. Hip staff, good drinks, comfortable seats and an unbeatable sunset view made it a great place to take friends.

Well, that’s apparently a thing of the past, as we learned while trying to show off Cool Valencia to our latest visitor. The lounge looks like a ghost town — everything’s been cleared out, the counters are covered in dust, and I’m pretty sure I saw a tumbleweed blowing through.

What happened? Here we were at the harbor on a beautiful Thursday evening in the middle of summer, and apparently the only people within a kilometer’s radius. It wasn’t just Estrella Damm, but all the other bars around the Veles e Vents building were completely desolate. Not just a lack of visitors, but of everything — nothing open, no people, not even security. It was depressing.

When it’s not falling over itself to impress the high-stakes crowd that accompanies the America’s Cup, Valencia seems content to let its harbor fall into complete disuse. One needn’t look too closely to discover rust covering everything metal and huge weeds poking up through wooden planks. The Veles e Vents building itself looks dirty and old. It’s a terrible waste of what could be a beautiful location.

But the death of Estrella Damm lounge really has us puzzled — after all, there was no America’s Cup last year, but that place was always packed. What happened? Could any of our readers clue us in?

TIP: If you want a substitute bar with a great ocean view, you probably can’t do better than 30°27N, which can be found here. A little pricey, but really lovely in the evening. (location)

Update – Reader freshwater left a comment noting that the Estrella Damm Lounge didn’t abandon Malvarrosa, just the America’s Cup Port. It’s now situated where the former Cafe del Mar used to be, approximately here. Thanks!

- B&Bs Valencia

Jozy Alitdore (AP)

Sorry for this bit of non-Valencia related celebration… but WOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

The USA beat Spain 2-0 in the confederations cup semi-final last night, and we’re headed toward our first FIFA Final ever! I still can’t believe it.

Fine, it’s just the Confederations Cup, but what an incredible result. It was the first time in 35 games that mighty Spain was defeated. And I guess you can consider it marginally related to Valencia — David Villa and Juan Mata both were playing and got to taste the power of los EEUU first hand. Haha! That’s for giving us such a stupid abbreviation!

Sorry boys! (As.com)

- Great prices on car hire in Valencia

Tonight, on June 23rd, the beach buses and metro will be running all night, facilitating revelers in attending the fiestas for San Juan at Malvarrosa beach.

Source: El Mundo

We’re not going to make it down this year to the party, which is known as much for its all-night drunken bonfire jumping as for the shocking amount of trash left on the beach the next morning. But if you do go and manage to take some pictures, please share their location in the comments!