An early start and four hour bus ride brought us to Valencia. Our first impression was that the city has a more militaristic feel than Barcelona. We had seen from the bus hill top forts on the city's outskirts and the remains of impressive defensive works. Having stepped off the bus into brilliant sunshine, we quickly realised that our hostel was on the opposite side of the city centre from the bus station. Our long, sweaty walk took us past enormous remnants of city gates and moat - more evidence of a turbulent past.

We made it to our hostel by 3pm (pausing only to replace our sweat sodden t-shirts with fresh ones and to admire the view from our tiny balcony over a busy plaza complete with fountain) and went in search of lunch. We didn't have to search long. A pub around the corner was the first place we stumbled across that wasn't called "pizzeria" or "American Diner". We sat down at one of the outdoor tables and ordered a jug of sangria while we surveyed the menu.

Dale and I had just decided on what we would order when the friendly Spanish publican came over and in broken English recommended the specials to us. We abandoned our original selections and went for the calamari and pork specials with a tomato salad. The tomato salad came out first - sliced green and red tomatoes with a Jamie Oliver sized drizzle of olive oil and sprinkled with salt. A refreshing way to start the meal and we were already half way through when the squid arrived. The Squid. Yes, not just calamari pieces but an actual squid. Laid out on the plate was the body, sliced with beak etc removed, tentacles slightly crispy at the ends. A light herb sauce had been spooned over it and arranged around the squid were cooked baby green capsicums. Despite its alien appearance, the dish was beautifully cooked (fresh and not chewy) and the flavour was amazing - slightly smoky tasting, like it had been barbecued, with the sweetness of the peppers and the zingy herbs - I was in foodie heaven! Finally, the pork arrived. Slow cooked pork loin sliced into large-coin sized rounds smothered with a gravy-sauce and accompanied by thick golden hand-cut chips dusted with paprika, garlic aioli on the side. We were very happy customers!

Feeling sleepy from all the food, sangria and sunshine, we decided that the best cure for our lethargy was a walk around the medieval heart of the city. Fighting the urge for siesta we strolled along shiny marble streets, down cobble-stoned alleyways, and around tidy squares taking in our new surroundings. We paid 2 Euro each to climb to the top of one of the remaining medieval city gates - the views over the city were worth climbing for.

Despite all the serious news stories about Spain's precarious financial position, we have not yet seen any signs of public anxiety. Judging from the large numbers of tourists everywhere, it doesn't seem like visitors have been put off either.

For our second day in Valencia we decided to make the most of the sunshine and head to the oceanographic centre and then the beach. This required us to navigate the incredibly complex bus system. Overconfident after our successes with the transport system on Barcelona, we stared in confusion at the bus schedule and map full of red lines and arrows. A lengthy google maps session later, we figured out what bus would take us there and decided to worry about the return trip later.

The oceanographic park was not the educational experience into marine conservation that I was expecting. It was like a theme park with fish. After paying theme park sized entry fees to enter the impressive looking complex we found ourselves walking around the swimming-pool-blue tanks and seeing majestic marine mammals confined in spaces that allowed limited room for swimming and nowhere to escape the public eye. Visitors crowd around trying to get as close as possible and using camera flashes despite the clear signage prohibiting flash photography. Dolphins, sea lions, beluga whales and walruses swam circuits around their sterile tanks. Penguins tapped against the glass that separated them from the outside world, delighting the viewers who eagerly pressed their cameras even closer. Huge spaces were dedicated to gift shops, restaurants and burger bars selling overpriced food and drinks. The whole place left me feeling depressed. We didn't wait around for the dolphin show.

We escaped from the aquarium and crossed the road to a giant shopping mall in search of bottled water and food. In the food hall Dale opted for McDonalds and was excited to discover that not only was there a self-service machine where you could order and pay for your meal on English, but Maccas in Spain serves beer!

We walked from the shopping centre to the marina area where the 33rd America's Cup was hosted. It was a ghost town. Big shiny buildings seemingly deserted, wharves almost empty of yachts, huge walkways where we stood alone - it was weird, like a scene from the walking dead! Eventually we climbed a staircase and heard Frank Sinatra singing "my way". We headed in the direction of singing and came across a waterfront restaurant full of lunchtime diners vigorously clapping for the guy on the karaoke machine (admittedly he was very good, but still pretty random!). As the singer then launched into another crooning number we crossed the formula one track (again, random!) and climbed another staircase to find ourselves with a perfect view over the expansive Valencian beach dotted with sun umbrellas and sunbathers.

We spent some time doing some sunbathing ourselves and at 5pm sat down at a beachfront bar for agua de Valencia, an orange-juice based punch (as recommended by the lovely Emma Blackman), and sangria.