Spanish Dispatch
Cool and Creamy: This Tiger-Nut Drink Is the Hidden Gem of Valencia
Meet horchata, a centuries-old Valencian plant-based drink
As the sun rises over Valencia — the capital city of the Valencian province and Spain’s third largest after Madrid and Barcelona — you’re greeted by palms that sway softly to the salty breeze, and orange trees that cast shade over centuries-old buildings and worn stone sidewalks.
It’s a beautiful sight. A nostalgic one, too. It has this strange, almost mystical way of etching itself into your mind. The details blur over time, but somehow, that imprint remains as vivid as the day you were there. Like a postcard stashed away in the back of your drawer that you keep coming back to again, and again, and again.
Spain transports you to a bygone era when life was simpler, if harsher. People favored peace and lull over interruption and thrill. A time when an ordinary, uneventful life was an achievement — not a prison to break free from.
Nowhere is this more observable than in Valencia, a city well over two millennia old; one of Spain’s oldest.
Travelers flock to this city for all sorts of reasons.
