Valencia (Terry)

There's a lot to say about Valencia, one of the most liveable cities we've encountered in our 5 years of travelling.  Big enough to be exciting and small enough to be accessible to the citizens. I've included a link to a superb Valencia blog by a Valencia resident - 

http://nothemingwaysspain.blogspot.com.au/
It is well worth reading. 

It is a remarkable city for many reasons, few of which are about excitement and spectacle and most of which are about a city which promotes modern living with great recreation opportunities.

It is also a favourite of mine because it was once ruled by El Campeador, Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (c. 1043 – 1099), also known as El Cid, or simply Rodrigo, one of my childhood heroes..

Marina

The Marina was built for the Americas’ Cup and is named for King Juan Carlos.  It is modern and well laid out, with a substantial breakwater which gives a great deal of protection.  We were tied up at the end of a pontoon with the Spanish training vessel Cervantes opposite us.  Being on the end gave us a view of the comings and goings on the waterway and as luck would have it we were only a short distance from the city's Youth Water Activities club (not sure of the translation)

Cervantes

Kids water club - The Optimists 

This looks like chaos but the kids are very skilled and rarely bump.  They race up and down the marina, as they do in numerous other European cities.  Often after a race down to the marina entrance they will tie one Optimist to another and sit in the first one to talk on the way back. (as I sit here in Cartagena on a Saturday morning in late April, the Optimists and dinghies are beginning to head out for a few hours racing)

                              

They do know what they are doing

The kayak races are conducted on the far side of the waterway and are full of spray and shouting.  At the end, all the kayaks tie bow to stern and they get a ride back upstream with the minder boat pulling them.  Easy way to finish the day.

Beach

To the east of the marina is a sandy beach which stretches for some miles.  While we were there, I was treated to a rare spectacle in the Med – surf!  Admittedly there was not a lot of power in it but nevertheless, it was rideable, shoulder-high, peeling, long and breaking over sand.  The swell lasted about 3 days, although it petered out completely on day three.  Lots of Valencians took advantage of it, and a huge number gathered on the breakwater to watch, as the walkway on the breakwater is well suited to walking and watching.

The beach itself attracts many locals and tourists, with a run of hotels immediately on the beachfront. The restaurant prices are a tad over the top for Spain so we avoided them completely.  Better value in the suburbs.  It is also the venue for some quite amazing sandcastle art.  The sand sculptors are similar to buskers, in that a stop and study and photo is meant to generate a donation. 

Cathedral

The view from the belltower.  The green belt of the parkways is in the middle of the city in the distance.

Water Court

The water court has been sitting in Valencia for a thousand years and was probably a Moorish institution.  It is the oldest continually sitting democratic institution in Europe.   Proceedings are conducted in Valencian and decisions are final.

Parkways

This was to me one of Valencia’s main attractions.  Formed from the old river course, it is an extensive run of cycleways, running tracks, walkways, exercise stations and relaxation areas.  One would guess that the opportunity afforded by many kilometres of inner-city land would have been given over to developers and big money anywhere else in the world but Valencia chose to make the city more amenable instead.  Francoist bureaucrats wanted to make the riverbed a motorway but local opposition stopped them.

City of Arts and Science

If Valencia has a spectacle, this is surely it.  The buildings are remarkable.  We visited the aquarium and also the Omni theatre.

I think he should have waited until the guy finished inflating it!

Aquarium

The city markets

The markets are in a spectacular building but in themselves are not particularly exciting.  Cartagena's are bigger, and Palermo's are much more extensive.  I think it is because Valencia does not depend on one location only and the choices are more widely spread.  There is only one place to eat, standing, alongside a bar and it is extremely crowded with city workers having lunch.  Once a bar stool is taken, it's out of circulation for about an hour as Valencians use all their available relaxation time to socialise and enjoy their lunchtime beer and wine.

The Booze Bit

You probably can't see this without a) a magnifying glass or b) an explanation.
This is a stack of beer cartons in Carrefours.  It is made in Germany for Carrefours.  It is 0.17c a can..  That's about AUD 0.23c a can.  Seriously, $0.23c a can.

Bad Idea!  You think you are getting a double treat, Tequila and Beer in one bottle, so you buy a bucket.  Not good.  What you get is sugar and beer.  Bad.  Undrinkable.  Well, almost undrinkable.  I forced it down but I must say I wasn't pleased.

The end of a hard day's touring in Valencia, one of Spain's most enjoyable cities.