We returned to Valencia by train and arrived Monday morning at 5 am. We began our final week of classes at 9 am. It was a busy week, because we had final exams. We still managed to do a good amount of sightseeing though.
We visited the Museo de Bellas Artes, which contains an impressive collection of early Christian art and a few paintings by the great Spanish artists Velázquez, de Goya and El Greco. There was also a temporary exhibit of more contemporary Valencian artists. We were glad to see a few paintings by Sorolla, the impressionist artist famous for his paintings of the beaches of Valencia.
There was a film festival going on in Valencia, with films from directors throughout the world. We saw a series of short films by Valencian artists. Not all the films had subtitles, which created a bit of a barrier, but we enjoyed them nonetheless.
We also spent an evening at the beach. We shared a bottle of wine with two friends at a cafe on the boardwalk and walked along the shore for a while. It was too cool to go swimming, but it was really nice to see the beach at night.
Our stay in Valencia has been a wonderful experience. Academically, we have developed a solid foundation in Spanish upon which we can continue to build in the future. We received certificates at the completion of our course with our level, B2 on a scale from A1 to C2, C2 being the highest. We were also able to feel at home in a foreign city by living and communicating with a family on a daily basis, taking in the culture, and visiting the top sites.
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