1ANDYP Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 Going to valencia for a weekend. Any pubs or restaurants worth paying a visit. Seems a nice place to visit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joecraigfanclub Posted April 16, 2017 Share Posted April 16, 2017 (edited) I really rate it as a place to go. The beaches, a bus ride from the centre, are fantastic. They also hosted the Americas cup a few years ago which led to a big improvement in what was on offer. Large expanse of sand stretching for a few miles. I would recommend a trip to Mastella (?) as its very central and an impressive ground when you are inside. Also near it is a bar that was or maybe is run by Manolo, the number 1 Spanish fan. The night I was there he was working behind the bar and appeared to be a bit of a character to put it mildly. You can buy bottles of wine with his picture on the label and in the pub there is a huge tiled frieze if him leading the Spanish fans, a bit like Mao Tse Tung with the red army. However, if you are a veggie don't eat there as he was a bit economical with the truth regarding the content of his dishes. Its a lovely city for wandering, they have turned a dried up river bed into a park. There re all a couple of stunning modern museums as well but never made it to them. Great for eating as its the home of paella. Hope you enjoy it as its got a lot to offer Edited April 16, 2017 by joecraigfanclub Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Micky Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 On 16/04/2017 at 8:06 AM, joecraigfanclub said: I would recommend a trip to Mastella (?) as its very central and an impressive ground when you are inside. Also near it is a bar that was or maybe is run by Manolo, the number 1 Spanish fan. The night I was there he was working behind the bar and appeared to be a bit of a character to put it mildly. You can buy bottles of wine with his picture on the label and in the pub there is a huge tiled frieze if him leading the Spanish fans, a bit like Mao Tse Tung with the red army. However, if you are a veggie don't eat there as he was a bit economical with the truth regarding the content of his dishes. Indeed Manolo is indeed a bit of a character. For the abandoned friendly game at the Levante ground a good few years back we took a couple of taxis down to his place. The bar was closed as the kitchen was getting a facelift. Our taxi driver knew about this but called him and the big man opened the bar for us anyway. Gave us a couple of beers each (which I don't think we paid for) and we got the tour - showing us all his framed photos and telling us stories. One of our guys was a fluent Spanish speaker fortunately. He gave us a bunch of Manolo 'branded' stuff to take away with us , piled us all into his massive car (dangerously overloaded) and drove us back to the centre. When he dropped us off he gave us his card and assured us if we have any 'problems with the police' we just had to call him and he'd fix it. Bit of an ego obviously but a good guy for going out his way to help some travelling fans. I loved my 2 or 3 days in Valencia. The dried river bed and science centre / aquarium was bizarre - hope they've found the money to finish it. It was a strange combination of ultra modern/futuristic and horrible building site when we were there. Nightlife was excellent. I've no idea where it was exactly but I recall going through wee streets with little squares and lots of bars. Streets were hoaching with student types all drinking and having a good time and v welcoming to the kilted stragglers still standing in the wee sma' hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1ANDYP Posted April 21, 2017 Author Share Posted April 21, 2017 I will have a look for his bar. Really looking forward to it. Think my hotel is near the aquarium which seems not far from the stadium. Looking forward to the paella. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joecraigfanclub Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 He is still on the go as I saw a tweet from someone who was in the bar last week and he featured in a photo. To continue with the kilted stragglers theme, when we were there last time, a group of Valencia slappers went up to a guy and asked him to show what was under his kilt. He politely refused as he was a bit bored with it all which was his choice. They kept at him and he was getting rather pissed off till another Scots guy said "He'll show you his if you show him yours". They said ok so the guy lifted his kilt at which point they all screamed and legged it about 10 yards away. At this point the guy who had brokered the deal shouted at them to honour their part of the bargain. Fair play to the girl, up went the denim mini skirt and down came the thong. We all said "Fair play" and both groups went on with the rest of the evenings festivities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andymac Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 Valencia was probably one on the most drunken trips I ever had ,however, I stopped there for a night on the way to Allicante.Really nice town to have a wander about with lots of interesting bars and restaurants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grantyboy1983 Posted April 25, 2017 Share Posted April 25, 2017 I'm going to Valencia on Friday for 3 nights, keep the tips/recommendations coming as we have never been before, looking forward to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shotts56 Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 I would agree with the comment about it being one of the drunkest away trips for a while. There's an old square (Place de la Reina, off memory) that we hung about a lot in. A good Irish pub, a few local bars, and also has a church that (allegedly) is where the Holy Grail is. We stayed in a youth hostel about 2 mins walk away from that square. Also agreed with going to the Mestalla - we went, there was no stadium tour or anything, but you were allowed to just wander in and take a few photos in the stadium yourself. Manolo's pub is just across the road, went in for a couple of pints and he was brand new. Loved Valencia, definitely a place I would like to go back to. We finished off our trip with the high speed train to Madrid (2 hours), a tour of the Bernabeu, and then a cheap flight home from Madrid. Great fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1ANDYP Posted July 6, 2017 Author Share Posted July 6, 2017 Just back and have to say it is a fantastic place to visit. Old Town was great with millions of restaurants in amongst all the little streets and lanes. Beach was stunning and the more modern side was lovely. Stayed in a newish hotel ( primus) between old town and beach and was great. Went to central market which was amazing and to mestalla and done tour. Also went to manolo del bombo Scotland bar which was great. Great guy who gave us some free food and drinks and just loves football. Would go back in a minute. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joecraigfanclub Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 On a separate note I was standing outside Dumfries station in pishing rain waiting on a taxi when a Spanish guy came up and asked me if he could get a taxi. I said I would call one for him and told him the driver would be 15 minutes and he would pick him up inside. I asked him where he was from and he went Valencia. My reply was a polite version of wtf are you doing here when he could be in Valencia. He was amazed I'd actually been there. He was going to work as a kitchen porter in a hotel in the wilds of Galloway having previously worked near Oxford. He told me there was no work in Valencia so here he was in pishing wet Scotland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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