Active Sunday in Valencia

Sunday, June 11, 2017--Valencia, Spain

Our B&B does not make breakfast for guests.  Instead they provide vouchers for having breakfast elsewhere.  Usually, it is at a cafe downstairs.  But on Sundays, it is down the street at Pepe Pica.  It is a typical cafe.  We were served coffee, orange juice (fresh squeezed from Valencia oranges--maybe), and a choice of breads.  We chose the tostada con tomate (toast with tomato salsa and olive oil).  It was a light meal, but that is usual for breakfast in Spain.

Afterward, we walked through town where be discovered hoards of people.  Not only that, but most businesses were open.  That is unusual.  Almost all the other Sundays elsewhere on this trip have been quiet, mostly dead days. 

Lots of musicians were out.  We heard three excellent brass musicians playing a variety of songs from opera pieces to pop songs who were all three unbelievably good.  We encountered a drum corps dressed in white capes with hoods (most in black and one in a white one) who were fun. Another was an accordion player.  We also encountered dancers in native costumes.  All of this occurred as we walked through the Torres del Sorrans (one of the gates to the city),  Plaza de la Manises, Plaza de la Reina, and Plaza de l'Adjutament. We ended up at the Estacia de la Nord (the Northern Train Station) which is wonderfully decorated inside with tile ceilings, tiled walls, etc.

Along the way, we discovered that the battery on my camera was dead.  Somehow, I had failed to notice it was low on energy.  We returned to our room to recharge it enough for the rest of the day, and I am now finishing recharging it so that it will work for the rest of the trip.

We had planned to go to a couple of beaches on the edge of town today, but because the city was so active, we decided to postpone that and to just wander and enjoy the crowds in town.  We returned to the Northern Train Station area by going a different route.  On the way, we started comparing Valencia to other cities where we have visited.  We decided that beyond Madrid and Barcelona which are so much bigger than other cities, Bilbao and Valencia are the best cities in the country.  Both have wealth and size that many others do not have.  Bilbao may have the edge in terms of really elegant apartment buildings.  But Valencia is not far behind in that category, and it has the beaches and the warmer weather to give it the edge.

In the afternoon while everyone else was at cafes relaxing, we went back to the train station to take some photos.  Then we walked along a the beautiful Avenida del Reina de Valencia to see the City of Arts and Sciences.  It is a complex of buildings at the end of a nice linear park in the city.  The structures were all designed by Santiago Calatrava and Filex Candela.  Although the designs are quite exciting, it is unfortunate that all except the opera house known as El Palau de Arts Reina Sofia seem to be deteriorating quickly.  Buildings are dirty, reflecting pools are empty, the area is too exposed to the sunshine.  Furthermore, the various facilities all have admission fees that are too high to attract crowds.  Even the opera house has had cracks that are patched.  My guess is that it is maintained better than the rest of the complex is that local citizens go there regularly and complain if they see problems with the facility.  The rest of the buildings tend to be for tourists, and local citizens may not go there regularly.  In general, for me the complex was a disappointment--an area that will become greatly deteriorated over time and an embarrassment rather than the center of pride it was meant to be. 

We returned to our room by walking along a long segment of the linear park known as Jardin del Turia.  It was interesting.  People were sunbathing.  A section had lots of hippie types with tents and food stalls supposedly for some kind of protest.  Bridges had nice designs, including one with wonderful gargoyles.  Etc.

In the evening, we fulfilled one of Wes' desires.  We went to Taco Bell for their happy hour which includes 3 beers (total of 900 milliliters) and half a round (made with a large flour tortilla filled with cheese and chili con carne) of quesadillas.  Then we returned home for the night.  We sat on the patio having some more snacks, and now we are inside relaxing for the rest of the evening.