Make a Memory With Me: my girls’ trip to Valencia

Turning 30 is a big milestone, and it can be surprisingly challenging to decide how you want to celebrate it. A quiet dinner with family? A big party with friends? For our 30th birthdays last summer, my best friend Georgia and I chose to mark the occasion with a trip away together. Our holiday to Valencia would not only symbolise us both entering our thirties, but also serve as a nod to the decade we’d spent as friends.

Georgia and I try to go away together every year, carving out time for each other amid the hustle and bustle of our busy lives, while exploring somewhere new. Last year, we settled on Valencia. I’d heard good things from friends and colleagues who’d visited, and it ticked every box on our holiday wishlist. We wanted somewhere we could lounge on sandy beaches, mocktails in hand, while also soaking up a vibrant food and cultural scene. Valencia fit our brief perfectly.

Exploring the city

We’d planned to spend four days in Valencia at the end of August, basking in some much-needed sunshine, feasting on delicious food and drinking in culture. When it comes to our friendship, Georgia is very much the planner of the two of us. She booked us into a gorgeous hotel in the Benicalap district, which was ideally located close enough to the city centre, yet tucked away enough that we could enjoy the peace and quiet of its rooftop pool.

With only four days to play with, Georgia created an itinerary that struck the right balance – structured to give our days shape, but flexible to keep a slower pace. Mornings started with a hotel breakfast before grabbing our towels and iced coffees and heading up to the rooftop pool for a swim and a sunbathe. Once we’d had our fill, we’d freshen up and go out to make the most of the afternoons.

On a few of the days, we hopped on Valencia’s metro and made our way to Malvarrosa Beach. Being August, it was busy but not overwhelmingly so, and we always managed to find a good spot. Some of my favourite moments from the trip were spent breathing in the sea air, soaking up the sunshine and getting lost in our books side by side.

Our love of the sea led us to organise a sunset boat trip around Albufera National Park, which was nothing short of incredible. We navigated an accidentally Spanish-speaking guide (my Spanish is non-existent, and Georgia’s stretches about as far as Duolingo allows), but the views more than made up for any confusion. Back on dry land, we explored Valencia’s Old Town, which was just as beautiful. Our evenings were spent on the beachfront, grazing on local tapas and exchanging low-stakes gossip.

Capturing it all

When it comes to photography, Georgia is far more skilled than I am – something I’m particularly grateful for on our holidays. Through online videos and social media, she’s mastered her camera settings, understanding the best lighting conditions and knowing how to make use of the self-timer. Many of our shots from Valencia have a soft light – golden hour was a firm favourite – and that’s entirely down to Georgia’s care and patience in capturing our trips. We ended up with a lovely mix of considered shots alongside more candid, silly ones that immortalised moments we’ll want to revisit for years to come.

Turning our trip into a Popsa Photo Book

Valencia was an important trip for both of us, and it was a chapter I wanted to properly document so we could easily return to our photographs and memories. That’s exactly why I turned our trip into a Popsa Photo Book.

The process was simpler than I expected. I uploaded photos straight from my phone, and from there it was a case of curating rather than cramming – selecting the images that best told the story of our four days. I arranged the book chronologically, giving it a natural rhythm, with lazy rooftop mornings giving way to sun-drenched afternoons at Malvarrosa, the golden light of our sunset boat trip, and long beachfront evenings over tapas. Georgia’s golden hour shots deserved full-bleed pages, while the sillier, more candid moments felt right as smaller details alongside them.

When the finished book arrived, I was transported straight back to Valencia. There’s something about seeing your memories in print – the tangible quality of it – that a phone screen simply can’t replicate. It no longer feels like a holiday slipping further into the past, but a memory we’ll always be able to return to. For a trip that marked both a decade of friendship and the start of a new one, that feels exactly right. If you have a holiday, a milestone or a friendship worth commemorating, I couldn’t recommend Popsa enough.