After checking out from our cabana in El Saler in Valencia, Patricia and I wheeled our luggage onto the bus and into a cab for a morning preview of the seaside Hotel SolPlaya, where two nights later I would spend my last few hours in Europe.
SolPlaya, which translates as SunBeach, has only a two-star rating, but the sole downside we found was that it had no restaurant or door to the beach. My room was clean and comfortable and cost $72 for the night.
The walk to the 2.2-mile-long stretch of Mediterranean sand that includes three beaches – Playa de las Arenas, Playa de la Malvarrosa and Playa de la Patacona – was literally one minute from the hotel door. Patricia and I strolled up the beach, sat and talked for a while, and then lunched at Destino 56, the hotel restaurant adjacent to SolPlaya.
***
The Playa de las Arenas’ beachside, nonmotorized, multiuse path is lined with hotels, restaurants and shops, which thin out as the beach stretches to the north to Malvarroso and Patacona.
Two nights later, feeling nostalgic on my last night in Spain, I strolled along the Arenas beach one last time, captured a magnificent sunset on my iPhone 14, dined again at Destino 56 and asked the desk clerk to reserve a car for my 3:30 a.m. ride to the Valencia Airport.
That bleary-eyed cab ride ended my three weeks in Europe, my four days in the world’s healthiest city and the second great travel adventure of my life.
