I arrived in Valencia by train around 1130pm on the 22th of January. The station provided a great first impression of the city with its platforms housed beneath an striking, open-air, beautifully-constructed pavilion (please excuse the architecture student in me). I hopped (easily that is, as I was, alas, without my luggage) into a cab and directed the driver toward Hostal Purple Nest, located in the beautiful historic center of Valencia. On the way, my tired, heavy head came alive, swiveling from side to side to absorb the bustling night activity and beautifully-lit white carved stone of the city center.In 5 minutes we were in the Plaza Tetuán, at the door of Hostal Purple Nest. Not only was it ridiculously precious (the name "purple" being no misnomer) but I had somehow lucked out selecting the only hostel in Valencia with its own bar. For backpackers in nearby hostels, Hostal Purple Nest is the place to party. More importantly, the atmosphere was therefore one of making friends. Within my first 20 minutes there that night, I had made seven new friends from Ohio and plans for the next night (that night the priority was sleep). Throughout my stay there I met people from Australia, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Holland, England, and Italy.
My primary purpose at the hostel, however, was to locate an apartment. I had booked five nights at the hostel to do this. At first my plan of attack was to exhaust the online apartment postings, but I soon learned my luck was better when I ditched those ads and simply went out, making new friends and telling them about my situation. In the end, my hero was Matteo, a precious Italian exchange student who was the guide of the organized pub crawl in which I participated. He is now my neighbor. On day four I met his friends (my current roommates), on day five I informed them of my decision, and on day six I moved into my new home!
