After three days at sea we arrived at the Spanish port of Valencia at 9.00 am local time. For the first time on this trip we found the table tennis free and decided to have a game before going ashore. I’m disappointed to report that I was soundly beaten by Sylvia who declined a re-match.
The weather this morning was a little overcast so umbrellas were packed as we then made our way to the shuttle buses to take us to the Old Town.
The architecture is quite stunning with churches and towers appearing at every turn in the road.
Our first stop was the Plaza de La Virgen outside the Basilica, which gave the first photo opportunity of the day.
No shorts today as we wanted to spend some time in the magnificent Cathedral, which was the next stop. The cathedral was built on the site of an ancient mosque after the Moors were defeated and is a truely stunning building. It consists of around sixteen small chapels built around a central cross shape with this ornate altar in the centre.
Each of the chapels contain priceless pieces of art in the form of sculptures and paintings, many from some of the Great Masters. In addition many ancient relics are visible such as the arm of a martyred saint and the highlight, the Holy Grail.
I would highly recommend a visit if you are in the area. After all this culture I needed to bring things back to my level so a visit to the Central Market was next. Like many of Spain’s markets this was a heady mix of fish, meat, various fruit and vegetables together with several specalist tourist stalls.
A cup of coffee with some traditional Spanish churros provided the energy to continue our walk…..
…. along the dried up river bed that has been made into a park virtually circling the old town. After which Sylvia decided to have a sit down.
While Sylvia and I concentrated our visit on the ancient side of this city Victoria, Oliver and the children went for the modern side. Valencia is home to an unforgettable example of futuristic architecture known as the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, the City of Arts and Science. These building include Europe’s largest aquarium …..
… together with theatres and museums.
The children, and Oliver, had a chance to play on a giant model of Gulliver that contained slides and climbing frames for them all to burn off some surplus energy.
We all returned to the ship in the early afternoon where I spent an hour on the phone to find out that my car has been written off. Car shopping begins on my return.
Curry night tonight and Barcelona tomorrow to look forward to.
