Tourists don't know where they have been, travelers don't know where they are going...

Valencia has so far been a place where I've learnt so much about myself, why I travel and why others travel.

It all started at 8am lined up waiting for my bus to Valencia. A blonde girl came and sat beside me looking a little worse for wear and sorry for herself. She was over friendly and we connected straight away. The bus trip to Valencia went quickly as we talked the whole way, we are two peas in a pod. Everything she said I felt the same about. Needles to say we spent the last few days together in Valencia and have planned many meet ups for the future.

We met two other solo travelers and spent our first day bike riding through a massive park, which was once a river! It flooded the city and so they diverted to water and made the left 15km canal into a beautiful park. We had lunch in a traditional part of town where tourists don't reach, they spoke no Spanish and so I had to get us by with the very limited vocabulary I have! We sat in a park and spoke for hours, about our experiences, our opinions on travel and what it's like to do it alone. I learnt so much, I realized how material objects have lost the importance to me. What do I really need? What can't I get by with? Others said their camera, for the memories, their journal, for all the time spent on it. But to me there is nothing I couldnt bare without. My memories are inside I don't need a photo to remind myself what amazing places ive been. It's good to come overseas with the understanding that anything could be taken at any time, once I came to terms with that I began to relax at the idea of being left with nothing. It feels refreshing.

I loved distinguishing between a tourist and a traveller. I spend so much time with people site seeing and taking copious amounts of photos; I've been asked a few times why don't you take photos! I explain I don't want to experience this looking through a lens, people get so caught up trying to preserve the memory that they don't actually live it at the time. I don't want a thousand photos of that old building or that thing I was "meant to be travelling to see". I'm here to see another culture, another lifestyle. Tourists rush through a country so they can say they've been somewhere, they go put every night and spend the days hungover. I like to find a famous site and then turn and walk as far a way as possible, that's when I get to see what I'm looking for.

So there is my reflection post inspired by some inspiring solo travellers.

After a very in deth convosation we attempted to find a local market and again pedaled beyond the tourist tracks and spoke with locals in the various languages we had between us. We cycled for hours and never found the phantom market but had an awsome town in the real spain. That night we cooked an awsome meal with a few more Aussie boys back at the hostel. Then with a 1.50 mojito in hand we played drinking games and got ready for a big night in Valencia!

Next day I was extremely hung over, to the same degree as I was in Barcelona (I thought I promised myself I wouldn't drink!) so spent another day feeling sorry for myself in bed. When I finally pulled myself from my bed I found my Aussie guy friends and we went out in search of pizza. We found the coolest, edgy, Indy restaurant and had delicious gourmet pizza. Later that night we wandered through the park scaring ourselves as dodgy characters walked past. And then played cards to early hours of the morning in the shoebox hostel room. They were hilarious, we laughed all night! It was one of the best nights I've had in quite a while.

On my first night in Valencia Tash and I took some other friends out to try our first ever tapas! Tapas are a traditional way to eat in Spain, they are a little different to what we get back home. We found an amazing places its the most gourmet options, pretty much you get a plate and the choose what ever you want from selection of tiny stacked goodies and then pay for the amount of tooth picks you have. It was a cool way to get into the culture.

So today I say goodbye to all my new friends as they go off on their separate paths and I head to my hostel to meet Annie, my friend from home and prepare for the la tomatina festival. Cannot wait to get amongst the tradition!