Valencia

June 24, 2018

Travelling to Madrid from Valencia

I was sad to be leaving Valencia- and more particularly our friends, Silvia and Pedro. They are excellent hosts, and made my short stay in their city and home a great experience. We visited places that we had not seen in our previous visit. We also went to Javea, a beach town where they are renovating an apartment.

Pedro came to the Joaquin Sorolla train station, to farewell me this morning. The train trip in this very fast train – which travel at a speed of 340 Kms per hour only takes 1.40 to the centre of Madrid.

I arrived at the Mexico hotel, a place here we had stayed on 3 previous occasions, after a short walk from the Atocha train station. The temperature is hovering around the mid 30s today, but feels hotter.

Afterwards I had a nice log lunch at the Museo del Jamón, – where they tell me they don’t have WIFI as they want they patrons to enjoy good conversations and also to both enjoy the meal and have it whilst it is hot.

Following lunch I walked around the Retiro park, went to the Thyssen-Bornemisza museum as I believed that on Saturday afternoon the entrance was free, not the case, as it is Mondays afternoons. Later walked to the Puerta del Sol- the km 0 of Spain, and also looked for more presents in El Corte Inglés, a well know Spanish store – similar to David Jones.

It took m a while to get back to the hotel, as I discovered other areas on the way back – got lost.

Spent some time on the internet looking at the opening times of the museums – and the free times.

June 23, 2018

Trip to the Albufera Natural Park and exploring Valencia

Albufera

This morning during breakfast Silvia suggested that I visit the Albufera Natural Park, which is he largest lake in Spain, and where the paella was invented. It is situated about a 30 minutes bus ride from the centre of Valencia.

Getting there was easy from Pedro and Silvia’s home. Once I arrived there, I visited the local tourist centre to obtain information about the park and also the boat rides available in the lake. The staff there suggested a walk around the park which last about 1 hour prior to taking the boat ride. According to the brochure that I was provided, the Albufera Natural Park, is a Mediterranean ecosystem with unspoilt dune beaches, forests, rice fields and a huge lake where you can enjoy boat trips.

I completed the trail, in about 50 minutes and have included here some photos of this wonderful place.

Afterwards I joined other people – a mixture of locals and tourists- for the 45 minutes boat ride around the lake. The pescador – fisherman and guide, provided an excellent commentary along the way. He told us that this place has a great ecological importance with rare species of birds and a rich variety of wildlife. Its waters have been traditionally worked by fishermen and rice growers, supplying ingredients and for many of the regions most succulent dishes.

He also spoke about the meaning of the word Albufera, according to its origin al-buhayra, derives from the Arabic word small sea. Furthermore he said that in 1986 this area was declared a Natural Park.

The fauna of Albufera includes a variety of species of fish, such as the tooth carp, eel, grey mullet and sea bass. However, Albufera National Park is known for its rich diversity of birds, including the red-crested pochard, Northern shoveler, heron, common tern, white stork and gulls.

The guide also spoke about Cañas y barrio, a celebrated novel by Valencian writer Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, which was set in the Albufera region during the beginning of the 20th century. The story accurately portrays the social reality of this time in a countryside setting. This novel was produced for a TV series in the 1980s and was shown in SBS at that time.

I returned home to Pedro’s and Silvia’s place in time for a late lunch.

We ended my last full day in Valencia by going to a well known Argentinian restaurant in Valencia. This place is well known fo its sweets – similarly to a Melbourne’s Brunetti. The main ingredient is “dulce de leche”, condensed milk. The place was packed with tourists ass well as locals, all of whom have a sweet tooth like us.

We finished the day with a stroll around the city, and a drink of Clarita – beer with lemon at a local bar. It was by now 11 pm and the cit was packed with people having dinner on the many open restaurants with outside tables, Pedro indicated that as it was Friday night many of the shops are open late and then people just stay around and join family and friends for dinner, to see a movie or to go dancing.

I will be very said tomorrow to leave my friends Pedro and Silvia, as well as this vibrant Valencia. I will travel to Madrid in the morning..

June 21, 2018

Trip to the Costa Blanca, and town of Javea

Europe, Javea, Spain, Travel

Today we started the day early, leaving Valencia at 7 am on route to the town of Javea, a small town on the Costa Blanca, south east of Valencia. It is situated about 110 kms from Valencia.

We arrived in the port of Javea- where Pedro and Silvia, are renovating a seaside apartment, at around 9 am.

Whilst we waited for Ikea to deliver some furniture Pedro and I took the opportunity to start exploring the port area. This area known as Aduanas de Mar, it has a nice promenade and numerous fish restaurants advertising the catch of the day.

There seems to be a lot British tourists and residents in this part of the Spanish coast, as many of the signs are in English; as well as a few English looking pubs. There are also a number of fish and chips shops, where all the menus are in English as well.

As the workers doing the IKEA delivery and assembly where going to take until evening time to complete the work required to assemble the wardrobes, Sílvia and I, took the bus back to Valencia later in the afternoon; whilst Pedro stayed overnight in Javea to supervise the work.

It was a very please day and trip to Javea, although it would have being good spend more time in this lovely area.

June 20, 2018

Exploring Valencia

Spain, Travel, Valencia

Today was a day when there was a bit of further exploration of the centre of Valencia, as well as helping our friends to pack for the setting up of their beach house.

This morning after breakfast I took the local bus to get to the city, a short 10 minutes ride – to visit the city’s central market. Information in the market walls indicates that the idea for this – Mercat Central – was first developed in 1839. The present market was completed in 1928. It has an art nouveau style. It is one of the largest food markets in Europe. Pedro was telling me earlier today, that there is quite a bit of disquiet about the number of tourists attending the market over the last few years. It would seem that many tourists walk around the market, take photos and videos, but rarely buy any products from the market’s stands.

So on my visit to the market this morning, I ensured that apart from taking photos, I also bought items from the stands. This place is massive, clearly is a place where many local residents as well as tourists enjoy visiting as well as purchasing the grade variety of produce- including ecological products- as well as a terrific variety of jamón, prosciutto, from the 4 corners of Spain.

I enjoyed walking through the many plazas in this city as well as visiting a few churches. As mentioned in yesterday’s blog, Valencia is a city with vitality and a clear commitment to its arts and sciences. There is an area known as the -Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, which was designed by a local architect, named Calatrava. Pedro and Silvia have indicated that there has been a lot of controversy about these buildings- due there size and cost. Nevertheless they seem to me beautifully designed, in a very striking sort of way.

As Pedro was going to prepare lunch for us today, a fish dish, I took the opportunity to visit a vinacoteca next to the central market. The wine maker recommended a local white wine. Of course I couldn’t leave the market without buy a baguette and also croissants.

Lunch was great, and gave us more energy for the packing, which we did after the siesta.

Late in the afternoon, Silvia invited me to visit the port area of Valencia. Afterwards, whilst she visited her dentist, I watched Uruguay win the fútbol match against Saudi Arabia.

Just before dinner we went out to drink orchata. This is a drink made from a tiger nuts, it is found mainly in Valencia, and only available in summer.

We ended today by having dinner at home – a pumpkin soup and tortilla made from eggplants and eggs, prepared by Pedro; whilst watching the Spain and Iran fútbol match. Great game with the final score in Spain’s favour.

Tomorrow we will go to the beach house, in Javea, about 1 hour from here by bus.

June 20, 2018

Travelling from Córdoba in Spain to Valencia

Spain, Travel, Valencia

In spite of the high temperatures experienced in Cordoba over the last couple of days, were really sad to be leaving this charming city this morning. On the way to the train station we heard a great story about transport and politics from a local taxi driver. The story relates to the positive contribution that h fast train has made to Cordoba and a number of other Spanish cities. However it is not always like this. He made reference to the situation in Granada, the place where the Alhambra is located. Some years ago a number of local politicians lobbied the central government for the fast train to go via Granada. A few years later this was approved and constructed. The deal was that the state government was to build the special station required for this type of train. By then a new government was elected and their political platform did not include a train station. So we have the fas train passing close to Granada, but not able to enter the city or stop as there is no train station. The closest station is 60 kms away. Funny story but true.

Our train on route to the third largest Spanish city of Valencia would take us about 6 hours today. The journey proved to be very pleasant, as on these trains one can move around and also visit its cafeteria and dining room. The train travelled through similar territory as the meseta up north, an area once covered by us on our Camino Frances. Large areas of orange and olives trees are found in this part of southern Spain. The Valencia oranges, as the name implies, originates from this area.

Pam and I had stayed in Valencia in 2015, and I have fond memories of this place from then. Once again our friends Pedro and Silvia- are hosting me whilst here in Valencia. On our arrival in this city at around 4 pm, the temperature here was a pleasant 26 degrees. We took a local bus for short ride to reach Pedro’s house.

Last time Pam and I were here, Sílvia and Pedro’s apartment was not yet finished. Today this place looks great, they have transformed this place into a lovely home that together with Sílvia’s home decorating and hosting skills make this a very welcoming house.

After having something to eat, I help Pedro and Silvia pack – as they are setting up a beach house, which they have recently renovated. Later in the afternoon- evening-, we decide to stroll to the city, via the old river bed. Valencia had a river, the Turia, which used to go through the city, similar to the Yarra river in Melbourne. The issue was that it used to regularly flood the area around the city. In the 50s the local government decided to change is course, so now the old river bed is now a great park, with both bicycle and jogging paths. This evening many people are making used of this area, including some groups having picnics. This area is referred as the Turia gardens.

There are also many great buildings around this area. I have included some photos in today’s blog, which this area.

We saw a number of great buildings, during this stroll, including Valencia’s cathedral, which similarly to Cordoba’s was built over a mosque after the 1238 reconquest. Its architectural style is mostly Gothic, with neoclassical side chapels. It has a museum, with rich Italianate frescoes above the altarpiece, and some paintings by Goya in the Capilla de San Francisco de Borja.

We also went pass the building housing the government of the regional government of Valencia. As we were passing the president was coming out of the building, and we had a short chat with him. A very interesting and very casual event.

Afterwards we went to a restaurant which used to be a cinema. One of the interesting facts about this place are its bathrooms. They look like the changing rooms of a theatre. I have included some photos here.
It is 11.30 pm before we start heading home, and this city is full of people either having dinner or strolling around the place. A very European thing, according to Pedro and Silvia.

Whilst Silvia and Pedro will tomorrow continue to pack for their trip to the beach house I will go to the Valencia market and see other interesting places around the city.