Travel Day
We were, er … I mean, I, was up early. I never sleep well on days where travel is involved. I have too many things running through my head. What if the alarm doesn’t go off? What if the metro breaks down? How long will it take us to get there? Plus the fact that we went to bed on a Saturday night in Madrid. And I heard every single person coming and going all night long. And believe me … they absolutely came and went. ALL. NIGHT. LONG. I wish I had remembered about one of the 15 pairs of ear plugs I happened to pack but by the time I did, it was time to get up, so get up I did.
Most of our packing and been done the night before and truthfully, we’re traveling pretty light so there isn’t much to pack. We were up and out prior to my drop dead time of 8 a.m. I figured it would take us about a half hour to get to the train station (thank you. Google Maps). It was all relatively painless aside from the two drunk men attempting, and not succeeding, to stay vertical, empty beer bottles littering the sidewalk, oh and that pile of vomit we had to work at avoiding in the one block walk to the metro. The people of Madrid make my 21-year-old self look like a snowflake. I don’t know how they do it … lots of practice to build up that stamina, I guess.
So we made it to the train station, found where we were supposed to board and ate some breakfast while we waited for them to tell us what platform we would be leaving from. Met a nice young woman, Cozette, while in line to board and helped her out with which coach (car) and seat she had reserved. Turns out they ended up reassigning a few folks, us included, and I found myself sitting next to her for the trip. She was really lovely. Hailing from Dallas, she is a nanny with a teaching degree and we enjoyed sharing about our lives and travel experiences. Keith’s brother, nephew and niece live in a suburb of Dallas and I think there may be some potential to meet up with Cozette in the future. That would be really delightful. I am really grateful for the opportunity to make connections with people I would have otherwise never met. Such a blessing.
Cozette helped to pass the time and the trip was over before I knew it. It was a short walk to the metro that dropped us less than 10 minutes from our little apartment for the next 5 nights. We were able to check in early which allowed us to unpack, settle in, start some laundry, check out the television and scout somewhere to eat.
The building of our apartment looked pretty sketchy. And in fact, inside, just after entering, the building’s stairwell/public area was permeated with an odor that Reece and I both found pretty wretched. So wretched, we had to hold our breath as we made our way up three flights of stairs and then continued to hold as we figured out how to unlock the door. But once inside, our apartment is quite spacious and cute. In fact, we aren’t even using one of the 3 bedrooms and it is the cheapest place we will stay during our time in Spain.
Food was at the top spot of our agenda. We found an inexpensive restaurant, straight down the block from our building. It was fast and good and the menu had an English translation. They had a midday special so we actually got enough food into Reece between the double order of French fires, two salads, a burger and a big plate of pasta with pesto. Plus we had a pitcher of sangria which was deliciously sweet and refreshing. Reece helped drink half a glass and was quite pleased with herself. The real test came after the meal when Reece was “too full” to have dessert. That is NOT a usual occurrence. In fact, according to Reece, scientifically speaking, one always has room for dessert.
Our apartment is quite close to El Jardines del Turia which is 9 kilometers of green space that was created when the city redirected the Turia River from flowing through the city of Valencia and diverted it around the city after a major flood in 1957. The gardens were created in the former riverbed of the Turia River. We plan to explore that a bit more. Today we were quite content just to sit in the shade and watch a guy play catch with his dog.
The weather is supposed to be in the 70’s (!) all week. We are ready to put our hats, gloves and scarves away and wear something other than jeans and fleece. Tomorrow our plan is to visit Valencia’s Mercado Central … one of the oldest in Europe.
Valencia: Day One
We were up and out the door for a quick run in El Parque Turia. Well, Reece did the running while Keith and I walked. Here’s a little glimpse of what we saw.
Because it was a very warm day, we changed our plans and decided to find the beach. We hopped on the Metro and in only 7 stops and 30 minutes we were almost seaside. We found the water … but not the beach.
We found the circus AND the carnival … but not the beach.
Finally we decided to go the other direction. Eureka!
And then we sat and rested a bit and took a few selfies to mark the occasion.
And, of course, had to catch some beach volleyball action. The sand was perfect.
On our walk back to the metro, I saw this cool building painted in a lovely green ombre.
I had to take a photo and it made me wish that all the buildings here were painted in a similar manner. Valencia, from what we have seen, is not a very picturesque town, though their beach is quite lovely.
Reece deemed it a successful day. Even when we got lost trying to find a supermarket … we ran across a little store that had everything we needed to fix a pasta dinner and salad. Clearly, the Spanish definition of supermarket … or ‘supermercado’ is not the same as it is for us. We found the ‘supermercado’ which turned out to be a mall. Great for any clothing, shoe, electronic need you might have. Not so great when you are looking for the prepare-your-own variety of food. Come to think of it, we had this same problem in Madrid.
Valencia: Day Two
Today was our day to go to the market. We decided to walk … the weather was gorgeous but about 8 degrees cooler and it made it pleasant though again, we didn’t traverse through a very picturesque part of town. The central market or El Mercado Central is a sight to be seen. Google maps led us without fail.
And we found our beloved pastries … the BEST chocolate de pain thus far, though they called it a Chocolate Neopalitan. Reece was, I think, regretting her choice of a plain bun sprinkled with sugar, being the fan of chocolate she is, but I let her have a couple bites of mine and then at the next bakery stall we stocked up for later.
We purchased a few other supplies and then made it back to the apartment for a siesta … Keith worked, Reece took a math test and I did mom/wife stuff. Even when traveling, it never ends. A couple of hours later we were ready to go back out and enjoy the sun so we headed, once again to El Parque Turia and walked the opposite direction. As I mentioned, the park was created when the city of Valencia diverted the Turia River around the city. It used to flow directly through the city, splitting the town in half, much like the Thames in London. So now it is this VAST park of fields and trails full of birds and, believe it or not, cats. LOTS of cats. Cats that do not want to be loved on by American tourists who are missing their own beloved kitties back in Juneau. Anyway, because this is a former riverbed, there are all sorts of cool bridges that used to span it, that are still there, that we end up walking under as we meandered along.
We were in search of the Museo de Las Bellas Artes or the Museum of Fine Arts. Along the way, we did find Los Jardines del Real. I would love to tell you more about that but the only Wikipedia entry is in Spanish. In English, it translates into the Royal Gardens but other than what that implies, I can tell you no more. So here are some photos.
We also successfully found our original destination of the Museo de Las Bellas Artes.
Another successful day spent in Valencia.
Valencia: Day Three
After some discussion we decided that a great way to see the entire Turia Park AND get back to the beach was to rent bicycles. Directly across the park from our apartment there was a bike rental shop, Valencia Bikes. We were up and out of the apartment by 10:15 and secured our bicycles for the day. We rode the ENTIRE length of El Parque Turia and ended up back at the beach. Reuben, the gentleman who assisted us at Valencia Bikes, was very helpful and spoke very good English. It cost us 45 euros for 3 bikes for the day, plus we purchased the tire puncture insurance at an extra 1 euro per bike, per hour, but I firmly believe that kind of insurance guarantees that you won’t run into any trouble … and we didn’t. There are A LOT of bike rental shops in Valencia … people, tourists and locals, ride bikes here. They even have city owned bikes and bike stations where you can basically purchase a commuter card (by the month or year) that allows you to use the city bikes … pick one up, drop it at a different station. There is still an hourly charge but the first 30 minutes are free and depending on the type of plan you purchase, you get a reduced hourly rate. It is a very cool concept.
There are three public beaches in Valencia as you head north. Reuben suggested a place for lunch … Las Mas Bonitas which we eventually found after riding to the furthest beach and then turning around. Unfortunately, it happened to be closed for remodeling/upgrades so we opted for the 2nd recommendation El Malvarossa Restaurante. It wasn’t directly on the beach so it was less expensive. We each chose from the menu of the day, which allowed us a beverage, bread, a starter, an entree and dessert. All three of us chose from one of several salads they had. They don’t serve dressing here so we added a bit of olive oil and salt and were perfectly happy.
Reece and I ordered the paella which both of us INFINITELY preferred over the paella we ordered in Madrid. When you want the best, go to the place of origin. Keith went for the chicken with fritas (fries, basically) and vegetables. All three of us ordered the cheesecake for dessert which was not like cheesecake you think of from the states. It was really more like cake and I think it was probably made from a cheese that was not cream cheese … haven’t seen too much of that around here. Ordering from the menu of the day was 9,50 euros per person which was very reasonable. When Reuben asked us about where we ate, we told him we took his recommendation and mentioned the restaurant as the other one was closed. He had never heard of it and informed us that Malvarossa is the name of that particular area/beach. But he was happy to hear we had a good meal.
We eventually found our way back to El Parque de Turia (we did have trouble finding our way back to the entrance but after several false starts and wrong turns we eventually made it with a little luck and a lot of help from Google Maps) and headed towards our apartment, riding on the opposite side of the riverbed. What struck me is that while we could see across the riverbed to the opposite side (the side we rode in on that morning), the view was very different from what we saw on our way in. In other words, the landscape was very different from one side of the park to the other and it wasn’t something that I expected. It felt as if I was in a completely different park.
On the return, we stopped to check out the City of Arts and Sciences, an entertainment-based cultural and architectural complex that is considered the most modern tourist destination in the city and is noted as one of the 12 treasures of Spain. There are six buildings with a 7th currently being constructed. It is what the architects imagined the cities of the future to look like. And it is pretty amazing.
We spent about five hours riding bikes, which made for a long but worthwhile day. We had the added bonus of all of us sleeping very well last night. Which doesn’t say much for Keith and Reece as they typically sleep well, but for me it was an added perk.
Valencia: Day Four
It is our last full day in Valencia as we head to Barcelona, via the train, tomorrow morning. Because we are prepping to travel, we didn’t try to fit quite as much in today as we have the other days we have been here. Keith got quite engrossed in a map we found here at the apartment and discovered there was a section in Old Town (which we hadn’t seen too much of) that was strictly pedestrian. With Keith being highly adverse to noise and crowds, the idea of pedestrians only was attractive to him. We found a route that had us walking through Turia Park, keeping us off the main roads and allowing for conversation as we made our way back in the direction of the Central Market.
Reece and I were after some delicious Chocolate Neopolitins (which we found and they were SO good!). We also needed a few groceries for salad and there was a wish to walk around and see a little bit of old town Valencia.
It was a little cooler today and we were feeling the effects of our lengthy bike ride from yesterday. So we called it an early day and headed back to the apartment.
Our plan had been to partake in a late lunch/early dinner … we wanted to take advantage of El Menu de Dia (the menu of the day) now that we had figured it out but we were still satisfied from our ginormous pastries filled with chocolate that the thought of food wasn’t appealing. Reece had just received notification that she was enrolled in her biology course so she got right to work on that. And blogging, or more specifically, the downloading of photos, takes an exorbitant amount of time. Keith has been partaking in an afternoon beer but he had run out and was contemplating going out … solo … for one. I decided to join him so we set off in search of an establishment with tables in the sun. Facebook suggested a “highly rated” restaurant/pub near us but when we walked by, it had no outside tables in the sun so we continued walking right past. There are MANY such places and while we wondered how they all stay in business, we found one that met our requirements and had a lovely conversation while we enjoyed our drinks of choice … 3,30 euros (or $4.12) later.
Dinner consists of bread, salami, cheese and salad … and the evening will be filled with packing and laundry and school work. Off to Barcelona tomorrow.
Cheers!
Teresa