Spain - Valencia

2nd-4th May 15

Baza to Valencia: 3:47hr

We arrived into yet another beautiful Spanish city ‘Valencia’. Much smaller in size than Madrid and much less of a narrow warren of lanes than Granada it still proved difficult to locate our apartment. Set in a one way street in the center of Valencia our apartment for 2 nights was on the 8^th floor of a classic ‘bow’ fronted building. Both floors(spiral stairwell leading to the master bedroom on the top floor of the building) had terraces surrounding it with wide rooftop views of the city. In one direction you could see the roofs of monuments in the other all the lower ‘well utilized’ rooftop terraces of neighbouring appartments. This was probably our nicest apartment yet, the only problem being the poor Wifi . Chris's office was the closest Starbucks.

Apartment rooftop view.

Apartment rooftop dining.

We got straight into it following a recommendation from the apartment owner for dinner at a nearby tapas spot. Like other Spanish cities, Valencia uses its wide pedestrian lanes for dining and entertainment. We sat outside and enjoyed the best potato bravas yet, this time unbothered by people trying to sell us ‘tissues’, bracelets, phones, bags or flying objects. We finished as others were just starting. 9pm onwards is the expected time to start dinning . As they say  a large part of Spain doesn’t begin until the sun sets or end until it rises again.

The next day we set out to explore the 'old town' of Spain's third largest city. Why is it that you hear so little about Valencia, it is truly magnificent, grand contemporary buildings and futuristic masterpieces, great innovative public spaces, delicious food and all experienced with such ease. It appears as a very liveable and thriving city.

On first entering the old town, only a few hundred meters from the appartment, we came across the Santa Catalina Church and it's bell tower. 

Sadly the bell tower was shut so after a quick look at the church we crossed the lane to the Horchateria store in the city just opposite. 'Santa Catalina' is the oldest Horchateria store in the city, proudly confirmed with it's sign stating "Casa con dos siglos de tradicion" (House with two centuries of tradition). We all gave the Horchata (milky sweet drink made from tiger nuts, water and sugar) a go even though we had no idea if we would like it.
We purchased a few fartons (light, soft breadstick dusted with icing sugar and an unfortunate name) designed to be dunked into our Horchata. Just as well, they slightly lessened the overly sweet impact of the Horchata. Far too sweet even for Lachlan.

Two nights only really allows for one day of exploring so we didn't get to many other sights other than the 13th-15th century Cathedral.

Baroque Style Main Door (1713-1728)

The inside of the Cathedral had been restored back to the original Gothic style. The Capilla del Santo Cáliz (Chapel of the Holy Chalice) supposedly housed the 'Holy Grail', thought to have been bought to Spain in the 4th century. It arouses much admiration and skepticism at the same time.

The chalice Jesus is believed to have used at the last supper.
http://www.catedraldevalencia.es/en/index.php

Is this the Holy Chalice?
defended to be the true Holy Grail?

We made the 207 step climb to the top of the octagonal tower, El Miquelete, built in 1381 with it's final spire added in 1736. From here we enjoyed a terrific 360 degree view over the old town, with the sea in the distance. It is said that from here you can see 300 belfries, we didn't confirm it.

View over belfries and terracotta rooftops. 

We got a bit of a surprise when the bell donged a little too loudly for our precious ears.

We all love paella so it was great to try a paella in it's birthplace, Valencia.


To Valencianos, the paella is part of their culture, it is one of their identifying symbols.

The original Valencian paella recipe consists of white rice, meat(rabbit and chicken), snails, green beans(tavella and bajoqueta), white beans(garrofon) and seasonings (typically saffron and rosemary). We opted for a paella without the 'snails'.

Covered in ceramics and stained glass windows
it is said to be a modernist masterpiece.

A little exploring on my own took me past the stunning Mercado Central. This modernist masterpiece, is considered one of the oldest European markets still operating and is the largest fresh food market in Spain. Designed in 1914 and opened in 1928, it contains over 1000 stalls. Sadly it was closed so I just visualized all the delights and atmosphere inside.

Placa de l'Ajuntament.

Sunday dancing in the square.

On leaving we drove alongside the green park which winds its way through the city. This was once a flood-prone river, the Turia, which has been transformed into a wonderful public space. Crossing it are the graceful bridges that once crossed the Turia. On it are the spectacularly futuristic Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències (City of Arts and Aciences), mostly designed by Valencian born architect Santiago Calatrava, it is compared to a stretched out giant whale, .

What a shame that we didn't have the time to visit this, but it does give us a good excuse to return, not that Valencia needs any excuse.