During our first summer here, in 2008, the Estrella Damm lounge overlooking the America’s Cup harbor was one of our favorite hangouts. Hip staff, good drinks, comfortable seats and an unbeatable sunset view made it a great place to take friends.

Well, that’s apparently a thing of the past, as we learned while trying to show off Cool Valencia to our latest visitor. The lounge looks like a ghost town — everything’s been cleared out, the counters are covered in dust, and I’m pretty sure I saw a tumbleweed blowing through.

What happened? Here we were at the harbor on a beautiful Thursday evening in the middle of summer, and apparently the only people within a kilometer’s radius. It wasn’t just Estrella Damm, but all the other bars around the Veles e Vents building were completely desolate. Not just a lack of visitors, but of everything — nothing open, no people, not even security. It was depressing.

When it’s not falling over itself to impress the high-stakes crowd that accompanies the America’s Cup, Valencia seems content to let its harbor fall into complete disuse. One needn’t look too closely to discover rust covering everything metal and huge weeds poking up through wooden planks. The Veles e Vents building itself looks dirty and old. It’s a terrible waste of what could be a beautiful location.

But the death of Estrella Damm lounge really has us puzzled — after all, there was no America’s Cup last year, but that place was always packed. What happened? Could any of our readers clue us in?

TIP: If you want a substitute bar with a great ocean view, you probably can’t do better than 30°27N, which can be found here. A little pricey, but really lovely in the evening. (location)

Update – Reader freshwater left a comment noting that the Estrella Damm Lounge didn’t abandon Malvarrosa, just the America’s Cup Port. It’s now situated where the former Cafe del Mar used to be, approximately here. Thanks!

- B&Bs Valencia

Sala El Loco (location) is one of the top concert venues in the city. In addition to music, they feature theater and comedy acts.

This Friday night, you can check out the Friki day of pride party, for just a €5 entrance. “Friki” is the cute Spanish translation of Freak. Bands like Rajoy Division and Ligres will be performing for what’s sure to be an interesting crowd.

If freaks aren’t your thing, still make sure and check out the other events on their funky website. Their concerts and events are pretty eclectic; the emphasis seems to be on “cool”.

Location on our Valencia Map

Flamenco en Valencia – Café Del Duende from Valencia Blog on Vimeo.

On Friday night, we checked out Café del Duende, which is a small flamenco bar on the western outskirts of the city center (location).

The bar is so small that you might have trouble believing that any sort of show could possibly take place — let alone a full performance with dancing. But the small stage, closely packed tables and the smoky, crowded atmosphere lend the performance a wonderful intimacy.

Friday night’s performance started at 11:30. By showing up nearly an hour early, we were able to claim the last open spots at a table, which we shared with a friendly Spanish couple. They weren’t the only locals in the place — only a small number of tourists seemed to be present.

The show was great; extremely lively, and the crowd was encouraged to participate during some of the more uptempo songs. The raven-haired woman sitting directly in front of the stage clapped along to the music the most insistently, pausing only to take another drag off her cigarette. But if a tourist were to clap, let alone shout out “¡Vale!”, she would spin around in her seat and punish him with a devastatingly haughty glare. Clapping and yelling was her domain! The Flamenco Queen!

We loved her.

Café del Duende offers a couple performances every week, so make sure to check their website if you’re interested. Entrance was €7, and drinks are modestly priced.

Café del Duende’s Website
Calle Turia 62
630 455 289
Location on our Valencia Map

Right before sunset you can witness huge amounts of birds gathering over the city’s rooftops before they start their journey to a warmer place. Comparing the weather, though, between here and Germany I don’t understand where the birds want to fly to. Winter in Valencia is just perfect.

It kind of reminds me of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds!

Here are a couple of images I took of the bizarre and noisy sight:

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Jeff Tweedy in Valencia from Valencia Blog on Vimeo.

Last night, we went to see Wilco’s frontman Jeff Tweedy put on a solo show at Heineken Greenspace (location), one of Valencia’s top concert venues. It’s the first rock concert I’ve been to since moving here 6 months ago. Well, we did see Dover’s free show during Fallas for about 5 minutes, but I’m not counting that.

Wilco are one of America’s best bands and are incredible live. Solo, Tweedy was a lot more mellow than in one of his band’s raucous, high-energy shows. It was just him and an assortment of about 8 guitars on stage — no other accompaniment. The track list he chose was like a greatest hits tour through his career. He played songs from all of Wilco’s albums, and even one or two from Uncle Tupelo (arguably the founders of alternative country).

Greenspace as a venue was good, if not great. It’s quite large, and this was too intimate a show for such a spacious area. It wasn’t nearly full, which turned out to be a good thing, given the heat and utter lack of air circulation. Poor Tweedy was completely drenched in sweat during his entire performance.

This was the first stop of his tour through Spain; he’s also appearing in Mallorca, Altea and Murica. If you’re a fan of Wilco, you really should go. It’s a shame Valencia doesn’t attract more high-profile international acts… any ideas why?

Wilco’s Website
Location of Greenspace on our Valencia Map