After the not-so-happy time we had at the show Michelle and I got in the Wookie van and high-tailed it the hell out of Toledo! We decided instead of driving straight back to Barcelona we would stop about half way and sightsee for a day or two in Valencia.
A good friend of ours from a previous visit - Carmen - was there to greet us and be our tour guide. She found us fabulous stables to put Wookie in - and he was the star attraction - a big ginger Hanoverian amongst all the Spanish horses. The stable manager Vicente swapped a ride on Wookie for two nights of stabling - I didn't refuse the offer. I also did an impromptu demonstration on him at lunchtime in front of the restaurant there - we drew quite a crowd!
With Wookie settled in we headed off with marine - biologist Carmen and her hilarious policeman husband Ernesto for sumptuous dinner of tapas and beef on the hot plate at a famed Cider House - the cider was a little bit of an acquired taste but you got to pour your own and drink as much as you wanted from 2m high barrels.
Valencia is home to over 2 million people in its greater metropolitan area. This makes it the third largest city in Spain behind Madrid and Barcelona. It boasts a huge port - the 5th busiest container port in the whole of the European Union.
Valencia like all of Spain is full of an amazing historical past that those of us from 172 year old New Zealand can only but contemplate. It was founded in the 2nd century BC by Roman soldiers who were fighting against the Iberian rebel Viriato. At this time the city stood on a small island in the river Turia - about 6kms inland from the Mediterranean Sea.
The climate in Valencia is sublime! It's classified as subtropical bordering on Mediterranean / semi-arid. The winters here are very mild and the summers long and warm - not too hot.
Another interesting fact is that the tradition Spanish rice dish of Paella originated in this area - so of course we had to make sure we got plenty of that in - for those of you unacquainted - it's a rice dish cooked in a special pan with chicken and seafood (mussels, clams and king prawns) and the flavours are amazing!
Many of us Kiwi's have heard of Valencia via the America's Cup - which was held here in 2007 and where Team NZL still has a base. I simply couldn't resist taking a photo of the Team New Zealand HQ with a beaten up old boat moored out in front of it.
Check out the photos below of Carmen's parents holiday digs that we got to stay in - they are the ones with all the bright coloured houses on the marina and with the huge swimming pool as part of the complex - it was some view to wake up to I can assure you - Michelle and I wanted to stay forever and a day.
We had a bit of a tour around "old Valencia" and looked in some fantastic churches and basilicas. This kind of thing is always interesting for me as an atheist - the haunting old buildings with intricate interiors, alabaster laced with gold. The stained windows are incredible and the expanse of what lays inside just blows you away. This particular one had confessional boxes with real live priests in them just waiting to be told your sins - I didn't partake - where would one start? And then it's back out onto the street with the beggars asking for spare change right outside the doors. The division between the haves and the have-nots couldn't be clearer. Maybe it would be better to be actively helping those in need, not leaving them outside the doors...
There is a photo down below of a mummified arm - it's that of Saint Vicente (Vincent) the Martyr and it dates from the year 304. It sits in a glass case in the Chapel of the Resurrection. The story goes that in the year 304 St Vincent, deacon of Saragossa was tortured in Valencia during the persecution of Diocletian. In about 1104 the Bishop of Valencia at the time went on a pilgrimage to Italy carrying with him St Vincent's mummified left arm. Unfortunately the Bishop died suddenly and the arm was left in Italy until 1970 when it was given back to Valencia together in a bronze case made in Venetian style. Fascinating!
There's a photo down below of some cut marks in a wall - that is apparently from the Spanish Inquisition where the axes where sharpened before being used to execute people - morbid huh?
The contrast between the old city of Valencia and the modern part of the city is astronomical. Down near the ocean is the futuristic City of Arts and Sciences. The buildings here were designed by world-renown and Valencian born architect Santiago Calatrava. It's like being on the set of some weird space movie - but these buildings actually house various things such as the arts and science museum, and IMAX cinema / planetarium and an opera house. The long stretch of futuristic buildings take in various shapes and forms such as a whales head appearing from the sea (well that's what we reckoned it was anyway), a Roman Warriors helmet and a huge globe which houses a free flight Avery of birds. What makes these buildings even more outstanding is that they are surrounded by water gardens - huge shallow pools of water whose reflections just add to the mystery of the place. It's like being on another planet.
It is on the very steps of this City of Arts and Sciences that the Global Champions Tour of Show Jumping takes place each year - apparently a false floor is put down over the water gardens and an arena placed on top - a more spectacular backdrop to a show jumping show one simply couldn't imagine. Another huge sporting event to take place here is of course the Formula One European Grand Prix for motor racing.
Another great thing I found along the beachfront is that there are free exercise machines - what a great idea to keep the community fit - the final picture shows Michelle ding her best Rocky pose!
I think after this blog I should get a job for the Valencian tourist board - but in all honesty - if you are ever travelling thru Spain its worth a day or two of your time!