Callie Wilkinson is a student at University of Michigan and an ISA Featured Blogger. Callie is currently studying abroad with ISA in Valencia, Spain.
Spaniards are lauded for eating somewhat healthily, thanks to the Mediterranean diet. I agree with this for the most part, as I have been eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, olive oil and rice. But there is one meal that puts the Mediterranean diet to shame — bocadillo de tortilla de patatas. This dish is literally carbs piled on carbs. Start with a baguette, layer it with tortilla de patatas (potato omelet), and voila! There you have it – un bocadillo de tortilla de patatas.
It’s a good thing I am exercising a lot to work off the carbs, which leads me to part two of this blog post: check out my ride.
Valencia has a fantastic bike system called Valenbisi. You can buy a week-long pass for 10 Euros, or a year pass for 24 Euros. Once you buy this pass, you have the ability to “check out” a bike from one of the hundreds of bike stations in Valencia. The first 30 minutes of riding are free, with a small charge for going over the time limit. If 30 minutes is not substantial time to get from point A to point B, however, you can always stop at a Valenbisi station and refresh your time at the kiosk.
Although biking around the city is convenient in many ways, there are some Valenbisi flaws. A personal problem I have with the bikes are my clothing choices. I love wearing dresses, and it isn’t exactly appropriate to be racing down the bike path with a skirt flailing in the wind. A more widespread Valenbisi flaw is that it isn’t always reliable. Each station only has about 20 slots and bikes, and there is no guarantee that a bike or slot will be available. For example, today, we rode bikes to the beach. As many Spaniards are on vacation in July and August, the beach is always a busy place. When we arrived at the Valenbisi station, there were no available bike slots, which forced us to sit and wait until someone checked out a bike.
Despite the Bisi’s flaws, biking around Valencia is not only fun, but allows me to work off the carbs on carbs on carbs that I have been consuming. Cheers to toned legs!
Hi there! I just came back from valencia last week! I am transferring to either UCLA or Berkeley in the fall and they only have programs in madrid, barcelona, or granada. I want to study in Valencia, but I also receive financial aid, how can I use ucla ‘ s or berkeley ‘ s financial aid toward isa?