We have a lot of good memories from our month in the Russafa neighborhood.
Just about anything we could possibly need could be found within a few blocks, including two large grocery stores and dozens of restaurants and bars. And just one block away was the Mercat de Russafa, with its colorful concrete façade, where we found all manner of food items including fresh strawberries, passion fruit, Valencia oranges, artichokes, Padrón peppers, and Spanish bull nose pepper (which are slightly spicy and sweet), plus freshly sliced jamón, cheese, and baked goods.
On top of all that there is an abundance of high-quality bakeries – we loved the pan de cristal at Levaduramadre, the croissants at El Pan de Estellés and The Baker, plus the cakes at Crème Brûlée.
We were also quite fortunate to have an excellent gelato spot, Antigua Lechería, just around the corner from us – the chocolate and coconut were great!
Parc Central was our closest park and we visited multiple times during our stay.
While not as abundant as in the Ciutat Vella, we did find some other murals and street art scattered about.
On Monday mornings the streets around the Russafa market are turned into a flea market — we didn’t know this, and our first two Mondays were holidays (so they were canceled). Leandra was very surprised to walk out our building to a full out clothing market right in front of her!
The Parròquia de Sant Valer is a neighborhood church with a beautiful tower, plus a mural.
And being Spain there were religious processionals including St. Vincents after Easter, a small play at the San Valer church, and finally a procession that stopped directly under our apartment.
Miscellaneous memories:
- Given public holidays, family events, and who knows what else, we were often surprised to see businesses suddenly open even though we had walked by the same spot a half dozen times already.
- The scent of orange blossoms and other flowering trees on multiple street corners.
- So many dogs! Lots of terriers, including schnauzers, and a surprising number of greyhounds.
- Garbage is more complicated than in the US – there are at least five different bins on the street, separating into paper, metal, glass, organic, and everything else.
- Russafa is a little dirtier than neighboring Cánovas, which has more trees and a more mature feel to it, but we generally preferred the restaurants and overall vibe here.