Valencia

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We were up early on Tuesday to walk to the bus stop. Our train left the station at 8:30 and it was a 30 minute bus to the station. We have the bus and train transportation down and we both are relaxed now. It's time for some stress to keep us on our toes. Maybe a bus strike would do the trick. The train from Seville to Valencia is about 8 and a half hours so there is plenty of time to read, and nap. We had lunch in the club car which consisted of a boxed sandwich, chips and a beer. The scenery along the way is unremarkable.

At the station, we were picked by our host, Carlos. This is the first time that we have been picked up by our host. Carlos is a great guy. In his mid to late twenties, he was born and raised in Valencia and actually grew up in the neighborhood where we stayed. He owns a condo about 100 yrds from the beach and his parents live across the hall from him. Carlos gave us a tour of Valencia before heading to the condo. This was a treat for us because we didn't have to find out much of the information on our own.

Valencia is a good prospect for our residency in Spain. It has all the qualities that we are interested in including a magnificent downtown park, vibrant downtown, modern city center with a significant history and old town. It is by the ocean and not far from mountains. It has a moderate tropical climate with an average high of about 80 and average low of 45. It gets about 15 inches of rain a year. Unfortunately, we only had one full day in Valencia so we had to make the best it. On Wednesday, we walk 27 kms from the beach to the city center and back. The majority of which was along the city park which is a green space converted from the river that made its way through the center of town. The river flooded several times and was eventually converted to a park. Within and along the park are several cultural buildings and museums. We ate lunch in the city center just before entering into the older part of town. By the end of the day, we were ready to be home. We decided to relax by the ocean and enjoy a couple of cold beers before heading home. All in all, it was a great day. The only thing missing was the ice cream...

We did not see our host during most of the time because, as we found out later, he was called to a late notice trip to Praque. Better thee than me. I think retirement is great! On Thursday, we caught the train to Barcelona and our final days in Spain.

There are no pictures for this segment of the trip. You will learn why later.... : )

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