The Signs of Things to Come...

After a little bit of a hassle with the train schedule and booking fees, we were not able to depart from Barcelona on the 9:00 am train as we had planned. When we first inquired about the train to Valencia, they informed us that there were no regional trains and that we would have to pay for the reservation fees. So when we arrived at the train station that morning, we stood in a very long line with minutes left prior to the train departing (it was not a pretty sight), only to find out that we did not need reservations after all. So we missed the 9:00 am train and had to wait for the next one, which was only a half hour later, but it took 5 hours to get to Valencia instead of the 3 hours that it would have taken the first train. At least we didn’t have to pay, so that was a bonus. We arrived in Valencia at about 2:30 p.m. with the threat of rain coming on at any time. We quickly ventured through town looking for some of the pensions that were recommended by the Lonely Planet, and to our disbelief they were all booked up. This was the first time that the Lonely Planet had let us down. We were a bit frustrated but persevered onwards, dodging in and out of every hostel that we came across. Most were out of our budget, and the few that we could afford were also booked. Needless to say it was a bit frustrating and not the greatest introduction to our next city.

We finally found refuge at the Hostel El Pilar for an incredible 30 Euros a night with a shower and sink but no toilet. We freshened up and gave the camera a well deserved break and headed out on the town in search of some good Valencian food (Home of the Paella – rice with seafood). Valencia is Spain’s third largest city with over 800,000 inhabitants who all seem to disappear around 3 p.m. and appear again around 6 p.m. We really noticed this as all of the shops were closed and the kitchens of restaurants as well during this time. I guess it must have been the siesta that everyone talks about, which was not that apparent in Barcelona. To our surprise, the city of Valencia was a beautiful place with great architecture past and present; we were stunned at how clean the city was and just how alive the city was with locals going about their daily lives and not catering to the tourists. English was really non-existent, in the restaurants, shops and cafes, even at the train station, and trying to find food at 6:00 p.m. was another challenge altogether. When they say that the Spanish eat late they really mean it, as none of the restaurants were serving food until 9pm, only drinks and a few things to snack on. We decided to have a couple beers while waiting for the restaurant to open. Unfortunately, that night we did not have any of the fantastic cuisine of Valencia that we had heard about so we decided to plan the next three days of our stay in Valencia.

We woke up to the dreaded rain, so that put a damper on the sight seeing plans for the day but at the same time was a bit of a reprieve for us as it allowed us some time to go back to the hostel in between bouts of rain and just relax. We ended up doing parts of 4 different walking tours that we had attained from the tourist office. Here is what we saw.

The train station minutes away from the city center. A great building that must have been renovated lately as the mason work is clean and looks new.

The Bull Ring – a distinguishing landmark as it stands out from the rest of the buildings in the city center. It’s circular form conjures up the images of a bull fight.

City Hall - a good looking building with a clock tower at it’s center. It would have pictured well, but the clouds and rain made it next to impossible to take a good shot as the building itself is gray in colour.

Across from City Hall is the Post Office that supposedly houses the American Express office, but we could not find it even after three visits.

I didn’t mind though as it allowed me to view the interior stain glass oval roof structure

Just an example of some of the architecture that can be found in the city center

How about this as your front door? Security guard and all. I don’t think that it is detailed enough.

Of course no visit to any city is complete without a visit to one of the churches. This Cathedral is said to house the Holy Grail. It was not that impressive on the inside and it appears to be more like an art gallery as fine paintings are on display.

The main entrance to the Cathedral with a Romanesque design. It has the look and feel of a place of importance.

The interior dome of the chapel next to the Cathedral. We visited this one during mass and were taken aback by the interior decor

The exterior façade of the Mercado Central Market - one that we frequented to enjoy some local produce, cold cuts, bread and of course the outstanding interior (which was covered with scaffolding due to renovations)

Don’t be put off by it’s name, the Colon Market is a stunning piece of Art Nouveau with iron and glass creating an open air atrium that houses another market. It was clean, bright and a great little find.

We ended the day with some Sangria (which we got for 1.90 Euros, not bad at all and NO, we are not turning into alcoholics, we’re just adjusting to what the locals do here and it appears Europeans love to sit back with a beverage or five). It put us out for the night as we prepared for the next day in Alicante.

Alicante was a two hour train ride away from Valencia and what awaited us there was the sun and the beach that came highly recommended by our good friend Wendy from back home. Well she told us about the sun and sand, but forgot to mention that you have to be at least 65 years young to be of average age. The two of us felt a little out of place as people in their 50’s, 60’s and 70’s were scantily clad walking around checking each other out. It was quite the social scene, and the place to see and be seen. To our surprise neither one of us got a glance (at least none that I am willing to write about), maybe that was a good thing. We lasted in dry heat for a couple of hours, taking the occasional dip in the cool refreshing water. After getting yet another tan, we decided to venture through town, but there was not much there. As far as we can tell, Alicante is a beach town with not much else to offer.

Chris at the promenade… feels a little like Cannes

Fortress overlooking the beach… thought we would climb it… but the sun said NO!!!!

Ya baby...going to the beach in Alicante

The beach and it’s inhabitants

Hey baby, how about some shade?

Can you see all of the naked peeps on the beach?

Valencia on the other hand was a great city, with a pretty good soccer team, a bull fighting ring, and a green belt that was created by re-routing a river in the city. The dried up Turia river is now a park that runs through parts of the city. Within the park are some world-renowned pieces of architecture. It is here that we discovered the 3rd Millennium Park, consisting of an aquarium, an eye-max, a Science museum and a new facility for the performing arts that is almost completed. It is the largest cultural and leisure complex currently built in Europe; a unique venue for learning about arts, science and nature in one gigantic complex. Through the designs of Santiago Calatrava and Felix Candela the buildings take shape. This is evident from the architectural white concrete depicting the sculptural yet functional forms found in most of Calatrava’s work, and through the light concrete parabolic structures of Candela. There is a definite unity within the overall building design. The conditions were perfect for photos, and there was hardly anyone else there. It was here that we spent an afternoon on our last day in Valencia enjoying the wonderful architecture.

L’Oceanografic - The Aquarium – a design with the signature style of Felix Candela’s parabolic concrete roofing structure

The unfinished sphere with the aquarium behind it, made us think of the Science World in Vancouver

Museum de les Ciencies – Science Museum. Designed to house both permanent and temporary theme exhibitions relating to the world of science and state-of-the-art technology

Reflection of the Museum in one of the many pools of water that surrounds it

One of many steel sculptures found around the complex

Architectural concrete displaying the magnificent structure of the building like the skeleton of a large animal

L’Hemisferic – Planetarium. Designed for the spectator to experience the exciting sensations of the latest sound and image technologies with a Planetarium, an Imax cinema and Laserium under one roof

Palace of the Arts – which will serve as a venue for the scenic arts. Currently under construction

A bridge linking and dividing the Palace of the Arts from the Planetarium allowing vehicular traffic to by pass the park. Definitely designed by Calatrava

Picture Post Card of the 3rd Millennium Park

This park was so amazing I even got to participate in a bullfight.

Chunger and the Stubborn Bull

We are now on an 18 hour journey to Granada tonight to see the infamous Alhambra - a Muslim Mosque built in the 16th century. We have spent the last two days, trying to find the right train connections to get to Granada. After some very trying times at the train stations we finally figured it all out, only to find out that there are no tickets available for the time that we wanted. So I hope that it will be worth the long overnight journey.

Chunger the Unemployed Bum…