Right off the coast of Whitstable, you'll find the trestles where the oysters grow, but to see them, we had to wait for a day when the tide was in our favor.After putting on our waders, we walked out over the muddy sea floor.

The small Valencian town of Buñol is known primarily for its uber-hyped Tomatina festival. Actually, that’s not even accurate … outside of Spain, Buñol is known only for this festival. We’ve never been huge fans of watching drunk British people pretend they’re being cultured by smashing tomatoes in each others faces. It’s just not our thing… weird, I know. But what is our thing: traditional Spanish towns surrounded by beautiful nature. And this is what attracted us to Buñol; specifically, the circular trail known as the Ruta de Aguas.

Here a drone video featuring the Siete AguasSince we went in the fall, it was too cold for swimming, but in the summer, the ponds and streams are a great way to cool off when temperatures are much, much higher.Buñol is a short train ride from Valencia's city center, and we highly recommend seeking out the Siete Aguas hike as well.

That's exactly what we did, and the moment we got off the train, we knew we were in for an incredible day. After crossing through the old town, we found our hiking path marked as Siete Aguas, which took us past several waterfalls and small gorges. After our hike, we ended up on the other side of Buñol, rewarded with stunning views over the town - all captured in this drone video.

The chances that you would randomly come across Cervecería Daniel’s are pretty low. This little restaurant is tucked away between three parks (the Turia, the Viveros and the Monforte) and hidden among the towering apartment buildings of the Plaza de la Legión Española. Despite having lived close by for years, we only discovered it after taking a shortcut to the Avenida de Blasco Ibáñez. And we’ve been returning ever since.

The pictures in this post were taken from the days of the pandemic — well after the strict lockdown had lifted, but before life in Valencia had fully returned to normal. We were just starting to get back outside regularly, and it felt like the city was just waking up from a long, surreal dream.