Valencia: city of fine buildings, sunshine in November,

dark cobbled streets with dimly lit tapas bars, delicious red wine, and dolphins.

And of course, the most spectacular modern architecture…….

After booking flights for a winter holiday on the shortly to be defunct Spanair, we needed to take a different tack for our November break after the Spanish airline went into administration. We looked up where was quick and easy to fly from on an Ibicenco November Saturday, and for a bargain 15 euros later a flight to Valencia was confirmed. We opted to stay at the beautiful Palau de la Mar hotel, an impressive Valencian 19th century townhouse converted into a stylish hotel.

Exhausted from work and travel this was our first break since we got back from being married, and a chance to reconnect and rest. One thing we don’t get so much chance to do especially during summer, which is the busiest time for weddings, is to watch films together, and so we took a bunch of films with us. As confirmed animal lovers, we absolutely adored We bought a Zoo, a true story about an American single parent father that bought a home….that came with a zoo. Charming, funny, inspiring and heartwarming. We also watched Shadowlands, an emotional film about CS Lewis, the writer, and his falling in love with a dying American writer. Powerful and moving.

We also visited the city’s aquarium which I wholeheartedly recommend and saw a fantastic dolphin show. They really are amazing animals & so playful & fun. We hit the city’s many tapas bars and drank delicious red wine and ate some great authentic tapas dishes. There was plenty of room service orders placed and yes, that’s 29 degrees Centigrade on the thermometer you see in that image….um, 29 degrees in November…hello Valencia!!

This week’s glass of champagne goes to one of my husband’s clients who gave him the most incredible brief: ‘design a house that no one has seen before’. Let’s just say he got a ton of inspiration from these amazing buildings…..

This project was designed by the amazing Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava and went about 8 times over budget and quite possibly was part of the Spanish economic crisis. Calatrava himself was allegedly paid €100m for his work, and now resides in Zurich. Ahem.

Valencia’s government commissioned the project from the architect, who is from the region himself. It is Valencia’s large budget deficits which have helped damage confidence in Spain’s economy.

But if you are going to go into economic crisis, what a way to do it hey?! An incredible legacy…..