Man, I can’t believe 2008 is already coming to an end. In February, we moved to Valencia from Western Ireland, exchanging one the Europe’s worst climates for one of its best. We experienced our first Fallas celebration in March, and during the summer hosted a ton of friends and family, who were eager to explore [...]

Unlike in either of our home countries (Germany and the USA), New Year’s Eve isn’t an excuse for massive parties here in Spain. Most Spaniards celebrate the turning of the year, called Nochevieja, in their homes or restaurants. There are no public fireworks displays as the clock strikes midnight, at least here in Valencia. But, [...]

Mercado Central, Christmas Eve HolaValencia.net wishes everyone a great holiday season, weather you’re home or away! We’ve had a great year, both personally and with this blog. It was our first year in Valencia, and we’ve completely fallen in love with the city. We’d like to thank all our readers, and hope you stick around [...]

If you use Valencia’s metro system with any frequency, you’ll have noticed that the ticket readers are all getting an upgrade. With the new year, comes a new way of paying for public transportation in city. Gone are the disposable paper tickets of old, and in is Móbilis — an rechargable card with an electronic [...]

I’ve never seen anything quite like the drawing of the Spanish Christmas Lottery, popularly known as El Gordo. The drawing lasts for nearly 3 hours, and consists of two kids, one of which draws a winning number, and the other of which draws its matching prize. “Sounds simple”, you think. “How could such a thing [...]