Spain, Chapter 3: La Ciudad de Las Artes y Las Ciencias and Valencia's Huge Park

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Note: All the events mentioned in this entry occurred back in April 17, 2007. For more updated entries and trips, please refer back to this blog at a later date. An updated trip or entry will NOT include a note like this. Thanks and enjoy!

Before traveling to Spain, even to the European continent, I knew one of the sites I just had to see was L'Oceanografic at La Ciudad de Artes y Las Ciencias after watching a program about it on the Travel Channel. I have always loved aquariums, even when I was a child because I loved to learn about whales and dolphins. I wanted to become a marine biologist and/or an animal trainer (and I will admit secretly I wouldn't mind becoming one if I had a chance to change careers) therefore I do enjoy visiting aquariums in order to see marine life. So, for my second day, I was determined to visit La Ciudad de Las Artes y Las Ciencias, the complex built in 2002 which houses a movie theater, an observatory, an interactive science museum, and the aquarium. Apparently it was designed by a local architect. I walked from my hostel to the park which where the old river used to be, towards the complex. I noticed a lot of people running and jogging past me along the many bike and pedestrian trails that existed. There were also areas of the park where there were soccer fields and also volley ball net I believe and tennis courts. I also remember passing by a symphony hall, which I found curious, especially considering my music background.

I finally arrive at La Ciudad de las Artes y Las Ciencias and head to L'Oceanografic first. According to the Travel Channel, L'Oceanografic is the largest aquarium in Europe to date. I noticed that the exhibits were divided according to ecosystems: tropical seas, open ocean, Mediterranean seas, Red Sea, wetlands, temperate, Arctic, Antarctic, islands and dolphinarium. I remember seeing a wide range of fish, crustaceans and sharks as well as an in depth description regarding the importance of each animal in the survival of the ecosystem, characteristics of each and also environmental concerns. I found it to be very informative-I learned about some marine animals I hadn't heard from, and the aquarium's approach to showcasing animals according to ecosystems rather than by species also enabled visitors to remember that these animals are needed to maintain their habitats.

I finished my day by touring the interactive science museum, which had lots of experiments, even interactive shows related to biological, physical, earth, astronomical sciences and also mathematical and chemical concepts. I spent only 2 hours, however you could easily spend two days here there is that much to see. I will mention that it's like most interactive museums, but it's definitely large and has a diverse array of interactive experiments that were pleasurable to play. I saw a lot of school kids on field trips there and I could see why because the exhibits do instruct on basic science concepts. However, the exhibits are pretty similar to those found in other interactive science museums around the world. I then walk through the grounds of Ciudad de Las Artes y Ciencias one last time, admiring the towering, white unusually shaped buildings and their setting along man-made pools. I have never seen structures like this anywhere, however I found them quite beautiful. I went home to my hostel for the evening, packed my bags and prepared for my trip to Barcelona.

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