Valencia

---

Valencia day 12-13 (July 22- July 23)

It was a long day of travel to get to Valencia, 9 hours by bus. The bus had a no eating or drinking policy and only planned one stop after about 4 hours. There was no toilet on board. However, the reality was that the stop was after only 2 and a half hours, and there were several 5 minute stops at bus stations along the way.

The trip was less painful than anticipated, bus usually being not as comfortable as a train, but it was highways most of the way and having the ipod fully charged the hours passed quickly enough.

The olive groves became less frequent as oranges became more prevalent. Toward the end the ground became more like slate and it was amazing how the oranges would be planted in small valleys between the rocky hills.

There were also some interesting small platforms built in the midst of each field, maybe 4 or 5 feet high. It looked like they were for viewing over the tops of the trees, perhaps to look for fire (but maybe not). It may have been coincidence but there was a small fire in one field and a fire truck heading towards it. The temperature was hot, and I assume that the orange trees could easily be lost if a fire started.

We got into Valencia earlier than scheduled and caught taxis in peak hour to our hotel, which was modern and located near the modern buildings of the Opera House, Aquarium, Science Museum and Imax theatre. These were very impressive buildings that had been built in the old river bed, surrounded by large pools. The river had been diverted outside of the city after a very bad flood, and parks and venues now occupied the space.

We ate tapas locally as we did not feel up to a trip into town. Next day we caught a bus into the heart of the city, and visited the market to try out our Spanish and buy some supplies for a picnic. Two of us were tasked with buying the cheese, which was fun especially when we tried to ask for a taste. The girl serving us was excellent and with her little English and our Spanish and hand gestures we purchased some good cheese, a soft white goat cheese and also a yellow sheep milk cheese called Manchego(definitely worth trying).

The buildings in Valencia were really nice, Baroque, Art Deco and Classical. Valencia is the third largest city in Spain and I really liked the feel of the place. A pity it was so hot, the temperature heading fast to 40. We visited the gothic cathedral, which holds the holy grail (or so they claim) and had an audio tour through it. I liked the underlying gothic architecture but the later more ornate additions seemed out of place.

We caught the bus back to the district around our hotel which was in easy reach of the science museum, and found a park to sit and enjoy our picnic. It was nice to do something different for a meal instead of the usual restaurants. We walked to the Science Museum walking past the Opera House and the very tempting pools surrounding it and the Museum.

The museum was very interactive and if I hadn’t been so tired out already from the heat I would have spent more time there. They had an interesting special exhibition on the science related to the Marvel Superheroes which would have been great fun if we had some kids with us.

Dinner that night was paella on the beachfront. A huge pan made for 7 of us, while we looked out over the sand and ocean. Really worth the extra effort (and cost) to get down to the beach. Valencia is a place that I would like to spend more time in (perhaps Spring or Autumn though).

---