VALENCIA

Returning the rental car on time, thus arriving at the airport several hours early.  Meet a lovely Spanish businessman heading home from Majorca to Valencia.  Good conversation plus tips of what to see in Valencia ... then his card with phone number.  If we need him for any reason ... call.  Yet another kindness from a stranger.  Thanks, Alejandro.

Arrival time in Valencia is near midnight so we grab a taxi.  Thought our hostel was out near the airport...roll out of bed the next morning and amble down the street looking for breakfast and we're right in Old Town by Mercado Central which, as the largest market with fresh produce in Europe is a major tourist attraction.  Bonus!!  It's in a beautiful modernistic building, all steel, stained glass and ceramic tile and is spotlessly clean on the inside.

You could spend a day here just enjoying the colours and smells, tasting, investigating all the various products on offer in addition to fresh fruits and vegetables and enjoying drinks and tapas at the Central Bar.  Needless to say, we had a great breakfast of whatever caught our fancy.

Time to move on to our Airbnb.  Our host (Isabel) in Valencia is one of a kind.  Originally from Columbia.  She is present, in-the-moment, exuberant, funny, generous and kind.  We have a great time with her, including lots of acting and laughs with our limited Spanish and her limited English.  The apartment is within walking distance of everything we want to do, another bonus.  Gracias Amiga.

The first day, as usual, starts out exploring Old Town, getting lost, admiring buildings, statues, etc.

The bull ring.  Nope can't bring ourselves to see a fight

Posters of matadors like this one are posted all around the ring.  I suppose the locals know these names as sports fans in North America know the names of their favourite hockey or football heroes.

The Valencia train station looks like it should be a palace.  The mosaics are such works of art.

... and the outside of the building is as beautiful as the inside. 

Random photos of buildings in and near Old Town:

The towers below were used as both defences for the city and as a triumphal arch.

The medieval towers of Quart and Serranos

We are curious about the tapestries, flowers and other adornments hanging from balconies and even one church, but do not get an answer.

Our Palma airport friend Alejandro suggested that we rent bicycles and bike Valencia's "Green River".  In 1957 the River Turia that runs through Valencia badly flooded the city and many people died, so the council of the day decided to divert the river around the city.  The next plan was to run a highway through the city ... but the citizens said, "The bed of Turia is ours, and we want it Green!"

So Valencia has an amazing ten km linear park at its heart, now called the Jardin Turia.  Its average span is 600 meters, so plenty of room for all the parks, flower gardens, skate parks, soccer fields, statues, fountains, beautiful bridges, cafes, park benches, public art, little stages here and there for performers, a big space for community celebrations, numerous children's playgrounds and near the far end, the amazing complexes of the ultra-modern science, marine, hemispheric and other museums (known as the City of Arts and Sciences).  Bicycle paths run the full length of both sides of the park.

Random photos from the complex of museums in the park:

An attraction for the kids near the science museum is a Harry Potter exhibit, including the flying car:

In the community space of Jardin Turia is a festival with food booths, tents with arts and crafts, flamenco dancers from very young to the elderly.  Then there was the show ring for the dancing "Charro" horses,  for horse and carriages to do a show around barrels, and for the Spanish women riding side-saddle in their beautiful riding gear.   I read of cruelty to some horses to teach them to dance and other articles that say this is not the norm.  All of the horses, after their show were led to a shady area where the public could chat with the riders and pet the horses.  We did not see any signs of abuse.

Can you spot the blue-eyed horse above?

It was a great day of cycling, very relaxing, warm, sunny weather with lots of stops to see and do.  From walking around we can see that overall, Valencia has a great network of cycling paths throughout the city, not just by the "Green River".

We are doing research to decide if we will bus or train from Valencia to our next stop when Isabel intervenes and insists that we try BlaBla Car, a ride-share service throughout Spain (and other parts of Europe).  Before we can blink, she has found us a ride for the next day (which saves us about 70 Euro and 3 hours in time) and has made arrangements with the driver.  When its time to meet our driver the next day, Isabel walks with us to ensure that all goes smoothly since Roberto speaks no English.  An amazing host and an amazing program.  We will use BlaBla again when we can.

We enjoyed our three days in Valencia.  The story goes that Ernest Hemmingway felt he could relax and write here and would come often to work (and to watch bullfights).  We experienced a peacefulness,  openness and friendliness in Valencia and appreciated the green spaces here.   We've learned however  that Valencia also has a reputation for how to party and for two weeks from March 1 to 19 it hosts one of the biggest parties in Europe, described in this blog: Las Fallas  

Random Photos:

One of those tough travel decisions has had to be made again and we eliminate Madrid from our itinerary, so it's on to Granada.