When I returned to Spain, I realized that these tips might be helpful for anyone who wants to visit a new place, whether it’s around the corner or across the world. And it is probably an application you already have on your phone, your computer, or your tablet: Google Maps. Gentle readers, let’s explore some great features that you may not have used on this handy little application.

I have used Google Maps to develop exploration lists, collate the restaurants I have visited or want to visit, and discovered out-of-the-way museums and shops. Let’s talk about five features I use the most that are available for free on this app!

1. Use Google Maps like a map and GPS.

To be honest, I’m not the best map reader. Sure, I will get there eventually, but connecting the map on my phone screen to my current experience of reality is not my strong suit. However, determining my location and where I am trying to go are so much easier when the map is “live.” With the “Directions” button, I can choose my mode of transportation (walking, driving, and public transportation) and follow the path. I will admit that in strangely configured streets, I will still get a bit lost. I may not be the navigator of my group, but I am willing to walk a few extra steps if I eventually get to my destination.

But wait, there’s more! By zooming in and out, I can see the names of different neighborhoods, which is pretty important when learning a new city layout. In Valencia, the neighborhood “zones” are mental milestones for where to find restaurants, shops, and cafes. Telling a friend that we are meeting for lunch in the Abastos neighborhood helps others navigate to the right location, too.

2. Figure out public transportation.

Public transportation on buses, the metro, and trains is so much easier because the timetables are uploaded automatically into Google Maps. This has been a lifesaver when I have had doctors’ appointments across town and need to take the metro to get there. Sure, I could take a taxi if I’m in a rush, but the ability to plan using the live timetable is often a big advantage. You can even set when you want to depart or when you want to arrive and Google Maps will calculate the best times and paths. It’s also great to know if there are still trains running if we ate dinner out and don’t want to walk home.

3. Build lists for interesting places. 

Gentle reader, I must be honest and tell you that I can’t remember everything I want to share with others. With Google Maps, I found that I can easily create lists and save my favorite places in categories that make sense. I currently have a number of lists that represent different places where I might be:

• Where I want to go (locally, like restaurants and museums)
• Travel plans (how to get to some of the towns or cities I’d like to visit)
• Food Valencia
• Madrid
• Points of Interest Valencia (places I can recommend for visitors to the city)
• Minneapolis restaurants
• Vacation – Alicante
• Vacation – Amsterdam

Any time we go to a new city for a multi-day visit, I create a list and take notes of where we have visited. This is great for returning to restaurants or attractions, and takes some of the guesswork out of “what do you want to do today?” type questions. Just open a list and see what looks appealing. If you use Google Maps on more than one device, your lists will sync across devices, so you always have your information available.

4. Share a location.

​I use the “share” button whenever I make plans with others. It’s so easy to search for the place (probably a restaurant!) and then click “Share” to send a link to the location through my I’m chat applications. If you are setting up an impromptu meeting, you can also send your location so others can join you. This is a great on-the-fly way to invite others to your location!

5. Download a city map.

This tip is perfect for when you don’t have strong internet connection for your phone, but still have a recently-produced cellphone. Many larger cities have a downloadable map option so your phone can have the map to the city ready to go when you are there in person. Even without internet service on, ambient WiFi will still provide your location on the map. For me, this has been remarkably helpful when visiting new cities. You’ll need full internet service to do more complex operations, but I’ve had good luck with downloaded maps.

I hope these reasons for using Google Maps are helpful!

She’s right, though. There is nothing quite like it, to be in Madrid and enjoying a coffee with friends, surrounded by the unique balance of city hustle-and-bustle and the Spanish tradition of pausing in a crystalized moment of human interaction over coffee.

This past weekend, we journeyed to Madrid with some friends. The excuse was to see the Spanish version of the musical, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Charlie y la Fábrica de Chocolate).” That was an excellent reason to visit Madrid. We decided

to take the train, which made the overall experience much less stressful. There are a few new high-speed train lines that have opened up in Valencia, and for us, that means price wars for tickets to frequent destinations. We ended up paying around $30/person for our round-trip tickets to and from Madrid.

Another bonus of Madrid is the metro, which is one of the best (and cheapest) I have ever ridden. We used the metro several times to get to our destinations, which is a good feeling in a new city. Apparently using the metro in Valencia is good training for other cities!

There are a few highlights of our trip, but one of the major bonuses was the fact that our Spanish has improved to the point that we felt quite comfortable in many Spanish-only environments. Whether it was in a restaurant, a bar, or even at the theatre, we were much more at ease navigating Madrid in a more “local” fashion.

While we were there, the Christmas shopping season was kicking off, with pop-up markets, or mercadillos navideños, appearing in several large plazas (including the one near our hotel and Plaza Mayor). The city center was full of shoppers, families enjoying the holiday decorations, and special events sponsored by major shopping centers. Hustle, meet bustle.

Definitely a great way to enjoy a weekend!

Want more hilarity? Ana Botella’s words to dance beats and much more!

• https://youtu.be/aDfpBJhnZ5c
• https://youtu.be/5dbn82JJQWM
• https://youtu.be/-27R3fJDHhQ

Interesting cupola on a building in Madrid

Opening graphic of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Street decorations for the holidays

Street decorations for the holidays

Christmas lighting on Gran Via

Street decorations for the holidays

Christmas lighting in Plaza Callao

Interesting doorway

Cheese and cured meat vendor in the Mercado San Antón

Building mural in the Chueca neighborhood

Christmas art market

Christmas market in Plaza Mayor (yes, that plaza)

Window dressing

Three weeks seems like a really long vacation until you compare the time you have with the people you want to see and the places you want to visit. For us, the schedule said: BEACH DAY. So we took the metro to the beach, and ended up having a great walk. The sky was overcast, and there was a slight breeze that helped make the day even more enjoyable. We were at the north end of Cabañal (or Cabanyal), and spent some time walking through the neighborhoods in the area, too.

Being close to the beach in Valencia is unlike beach communities anywhere else I have gone. Most places prepare you for the coast long before it appears, with nautically-themed storefronts and vacation homes with unfortunately whimsical names (such as SanDee Toez, Passing Wind, and After Dune Delight).

Not so with Valencia. It more or less announces that the ocean is nearby when the roads turn left or right at the sand.

As a non-traditional beach day, this was an excellent way to spend the day. Maybe not so many stories or sunburn, but plenty of fresh air and lovely views.

The train ride to Riba-Roja is about a 30-minute ride (on Line #9), with plenty to watch on the way. We started at one end of the metro system and basically rode the train all the way out. I took some pictures (see below) but they are mostly through the metro car window. Gentle readers, please accept my apologies for any glare or other photographic amateurity that may impede your enjoyment of the photos. Once we left the train, we took an easy walk to the city square. In the picture below, that’s where you can see the blue dome of the cathedral.

As with many towns around Spain, the picturesque quality of the blue sky, the textures of the mountains and trees, and the sweeping horizon all make for a great day out. If you are so inclined, you can also walk or take a bike ride from Valencia, traveling along the river on trails through some beautiful scenery. If you are looking for an afternoon out of the city and some new places to walk, I do recommend visiting. There are new outdoor adventure businesses in the area, a very nice park to visit (Parque Maldonado), and really, it’s a very convenient way to see more of the local towns surrounding Valencia. There’s even a castle and museum, but I haven’t been to those attractions yet.

In the pictures below, you can see a sago palm farm, lovely homes, some neatly-organized farms, and what some of the Valencian countryside looks like. You might also note that the train looks super clean… which is actually pretty normal.

Alicante is accessible by train from Valencia, and since I used loyalty points for the hotel, this was a ridiculously cheap vacation. The hotel isn’t right near the beach, but a 15-minute walk put me in the center of city and many of the local attractions. Alicante is a lovely town, filled with parks, statues of historical figures, and trees, and the setting was the perfect week away I needed.

Inhabited for over 7,000 years, the Alicante region is rich with history that begins with Greek and Phoenician traders who found a great deal of value in this easily-accessible port region. Whether as a strategic defense area for invaders or a place to trade olives, grapes (such as in the liquid variety) or other produce, Alicante has prospered and has enjoyed recent popularity as a tourist destination for much of northern Europe.

Alicante is a small town, but densely populated. There are a number of scenic spots around the city, including the Castillo de Santa Bárbara, which overlooks the beach. I ended up going to see it late one evening, and it was raining a little, so my opportunity to take many pictures was extremely limited. The city hall area is gorgeous and worth visiting, as is the boardwalk and marina closer to the ocean. Lots of restaurants are prepared for tourists, so language is rarely a problem for most people. The restaurants are grouped down a few major streets, so figuring out where to eat is typically pretty easy, too.

Alicante is very walking-friendly. The streets and sidewalks are wide and easy to navigate, and there is a shopping zone, a restaurant zone, and plenty of large parks for recreation. The temperature, while a slight bit warmer than Valencia, is still pleasant in the shade, and the city provides a nice balance between traditional Spanish culture and touristic venues.

Definitely a place to enjoy if you are in the area!

For me, though, I have limited myself to modest getaways that are easy to reach and that offer much more local flair. In the Valencia region, there are many places to see and explore, and many are great day trips accessible by train or bus. So, when a friend suggested going to the seaside town of Cullera, I was more than happy to give it a try.

Cullera is unique in many ways: it has hosted a civilization that existed before historical records, and its name is derived from the words Colla-Aeria (High Summit) from the Moors (Hisn Qulayra) that inhabited the area after the Romans had founded a city here named Sucro. Prehistoric man (and woman) lived here since the prehistoric age, as artifacts discovered nearby attest. This area is also where some of the first open-air human structures were thought to have been developed.

The Moors built a castle atop the nearby peak, adding to the presence of the mountains surrounding the city. As a trading center, Cullera was also famous for its agricultural resources, and was a strategic fort conquered by Jaime I, who also saw the value of its ocean port, agriculture, and trading opportunities.

Ahhh, but with honey come the flies, and Cullera was a target for piracy, too. The Barbary Pirates attacked the city in the 16th century, and there is even a museum dedicated to the pirate Dragut, who was a key figure in the attacks. This guy was the nasty lieutenant to Barbarossa, and in 1550 Dragut gutted Cullera, making away with a huge amount of goods and captives that left the town deserted for decades.

Due to these attacks, the entire area developed a military-esque approach to building fortifications to defend and control the coast. Smaller forts and castle structures dot the coast to present a strategic face to the ocean. Now that the pirate approach has been gentrified and supplanted by tourism, there is plenty to see and enjoy, and in August, this town swells to its limits as people visit from all over Europe.

Quite historic, this little town.

This pueblo is easy to reach by train or bus, and relatively inexpensive to visit. Great for a long weekend or even a day, Cullera is a history-rich place to relax! I definitely recommend taking the tourist train or a car up to the castle (check out the tourism office on the beach), but there are still things I would like to see if I go back. I visited the Castle of Cullera and the Santuary of the Virgin of the Castle, both of which are interesting. The historical museum in the castle is especially worth seeing.

While Gandía has a beach much like Valencia’s, filled with sand and lots of people who had the same idea as we did, going to the area of Dénia and Playa Las Rotas featured a beautiful scenic route and plenty of sights to enjoy along the way. The beach there is much like the beach in Moraira, filled with stones, natural caves, and a very different beach view than what I see most often.

I must say that the entire day was beautiful, but these shots can only give you a rough idea of how gorgeous the environment really was. The water is incredibly clear, and there are lots of places where you can swim and enjoy the breeze and sun by the water. The mountains were a lovely contrast to the gorgeous setting at the beach.

Eventually, we made our way back to Valencia, but only after a delightful and unexpected trip to a new area nearby!

If you’re new to the party or are interested in some of the experiences I have chronicled in the past, the links in the text below will take you to more posts!

Positives:

• Scenery. The experiences of Spanish life, from the setting to the culture, have been very meaningful. I have learned to appreciate so many new things. The nearby mountains and ocean provide a backdrop to an area with a great deal of ecological diversity and history. Let’s face it: Las Fallas is an incredible spectacle any way you look at it.
• Language. Ugh. There are so many things about Spanish that I just don’t get yet, although I have made great strides toward conversational fluency. I have high hopes that the upcoming year will see a significant increase in my ability to speak and write Spanish.
• Work. I am really lucky to have a job where I am able to work here in Spain for an American company. Since my visa is for residence and not work, I would have a hard time even applying for a job here in Spain. However, my work in the States has been keeping my busy, and when you combine that with my PhD work, I definitely spend a lot of time reading and writing!
• People. My expectations of people here in Spain was very close to my actual experiences. The Spanish people are warm, gregarious, feisty, funny, engaging, and interesting. I enjoy speaking with taxi drivers and waiters in restaurants. This is a social environment, and to be part of the experience, I often have to take one small step outside my comfort zone.
• Travel. In one year, I have been able to travel significantly, usually on a very small budget. For example, I have been to Germany and Strasbourg, Africa, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, Teruel, and several cities and towns along the way.
• Fitting In. Lately, I feel as though I am better suited to this environment after a long period of adjustment. I have a better sense of what to expect, which allows me to make better use of my resources and act more like a local. I have found stores where I prefer to shop and routes I prefer to walk and ride. I have made friends in restaurants and have run into friends on the streets. In short, I am transitioning from a visitor to a local.

Negatives:

• People. Leaving family and friends has been hard… really hard. While I have had a few visitors from the States, and visited my daughter in Africa, there are still so many people that I wish I could see. I know that feeling separated is a normal state of affairs, and I have worked hard to stay in touch with many people. Oddly, I think it is a good thing to miss people sometimes, because it reminds you that there are people who love you from a distance.
• Comforts. Let’s face it, I am very American, and I am quite accustomed to a few creature comforts. Unfortunately for me, a few things that I can find in the States simply are not available here. Most of those items are small but significant: American-style extra crunchy peanut butter, the spices and herbs section of Wal-Mart or Kroger, and knowing where to buy exactly what you want. What I am getting in exchange is ridiculously inexpensive fresh fruits and vegetables, an opportunity to get off my rump and walk or ride my bike to the right store for the right thing, and a city that is safe to walk in alone in the wee hours of the morning. I still miss good peanut butter, though.

So, beginning today, I have been in Valencia for a year. I am still waiting for the acceptance of my residency application, but I have done what I can to make sure it will be approved. I feel so very blessed to be here, and I am still enjoying the adventure. I hope you have enjoyed the “virtual ride” that I provide on my blog, and if there is anything you want me to cover or include, just let me know in the comments.

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