Stuff I

Life continues like normal.  We are attempting to speak Spanish with Marie Angeles, and she doesn't wince too often with our attempt to speak her language.  It feels like we are not progressing, but we are, and also getting more confidence to have a go.  The people here are usually very kind, they don't laugh often.

Unfortunately last week my back decided to go into total melt down and since then I have been doing a fine Quasimodo impression.  Don't know whether to stand, sit or lay down.  Doing all of them and taking medicinal alcohol as well!  We have been doing a lot of walking since we got here, and I wonder if I've just done too much of it.  Shame really as we are getting fitter slowly.

Well one thing we have completed  -  we walked the whole of the Turia right to both ends (9 kilometres).  Not all in one go of course but yesterday the last bit of it up to the Bio Parc. Won't mean much to you, but these guys were having a brilliant time doing group games and bursting balloons.  Felt like joining in.

Stunning bridges all along the Turia.

Letter Boxes at the Central Post office

Think I might have shown this door knocker before

Wall Mural

Door Plate

Letter Box

Every week there is dancing in the cathedral square, but today something a little difference.  The place was full of men, woman and children all dressed up.  Not sure if they come over from the Canary Islands to this event, or if they are Canarians living in Valence.  It was spectacular.  I started talking to a guide who confirmed that the Valencians take every opportunity to dress up and show off.

The pictures tell it all, and I am sorry if you are getting bored.  The events for Las Fallas are hotting up with a start ceremony this coming Sunday. 

And lastly the Women's Institute!!

San Juan de hospital

Marie Angeles suggested we visit this place, sat at the back of the Cathedral.  Again you wouldn't have known it existed as it isn't in any of the guidebooks. 

Most of the other churches are baroque, very colourful with lots of gold and glitter.  This one was just lovely, tranquil and simple.  As you walked off the busy street it became quiet.

Medieval murals

Inner Courtyard

Day Trip out to Sagunt

Today we had a day out of the city to a town about 30 minutes train ride towards Castillon.  We arrived about 11 o'clock into a rather drab looking town.  You could see this amazing medieval castle on the hill above, but no map to say how to get there.  We wandered around in circles in the narrow streets trying to find a way around, until a lovely old gentleman rescued us.  We obviously had that spaced out look on our faces of people searching for the castle, and he pointed us in the right direction.

By that point we were beginning to wonder why we had come to this town, which didn't seem to have any centre or anything of interest except the castle at the back which we couldn't get too.  But his help and some perserverence got us to the centre and what a lovely place it was.  Might suggest to the tourist office they put a map at the station.

Sagunt has Roman origins and there is a roman amphitheatre in front of the castle.  The castle is medieval and the walls a kilometre all the way around.

This is the entrance to the small Jewish quarter.

 Typical house

The roman amphitheatre has been restored and a modern backing has turned it into an arts space, where they hold plays and music in the summer.  It would be great.

Views into the town from the amphitheatre

Many of the houses have the original medieval bottom walls with new levels built on top.  I was quite taken with this one.

House Plaques

The church, unfortunately not open when we were there

Eating in the gutter again, as Roger put it!

Small but fabulous archeological museum

fabulous sculptures

Golden door of the church (I don't think it was real gold!)

We found this lovely small museum, housed in an old manor house.  It had one rather strange exhibition of Greek Theatre.  But.... it was fascinating.

Medieval Door

Unfortunately I had woken up the previous day and my back was in spasm.  Didn't know whether to stand up, sit or lie down.  We weren't able to get all the way up to the castle as it is quite a hike, and there were other lots of other sites not seen.   Sooooo... we are going to come back in a week or so and finish it off properly, so look out for Sagunt II.

Palau du Congress and Children everywhere

We decided to go a bit further afield from the centre of the city today, and crossed over the Turia and took a train out to the Palacio de Congress which looks miles away on the map, but only took about 10 minutes on the tram. 

What we found was a new area a bit like Docklands, but without the docks and good town planning.  It wasn't a particularly interesting area, just rows and rows of enormous new blocks of flats, a few restaurants, businesses and a wide road running through the centre.  Maybe it needs a few years to bed in, but we were glad that our apartment is in the centre.  It's difficult to tell whether there is any life here yet, nothing really happens during the day, but it didn't seem to have any centre to it.

The Congress Hall was new and contemporary but didn't have the style of many other new buildings in Valencia.  All in all, not very interesting at all, but it is good to see more of the city.

What was interesting was the journey through the outer suburbs to get there.  It is quite different from say London.  It is a sprawl of apartment after apartment blocks, all different heights and styles.  The outsides are drab and look uncared for.  But then is Spain a bit like France and Italy, where the outside isn't that important, it's the family inside.  It seemed a shame and makes me think it must be quite isolating here, if you have no family, but then is the UK any different.

Valencia seems to be besieged by schools trips this week. Usually in packs of about forty and screeching at the tops of their voices, as they do a crocodile across the Cathedral Square.  The younger ones are cute, the older ones like typical teenagers.  I'm sure their mothers must love them.

Today was Valentines Day and we decided to cook at home.  We went to the market first thing and bought calamari and prawns.  The prawns were enormous and we cooked them in a little oil, garlic and butter, the same with the  calamari, had lovely fresh bread and salad.  We splashed out and bought a bottle of cava for 8 euros, and to be honest couldn't taste the difference to the  euro 3.50 bottle we had last week.  I know philistines.

Spooky full moon

And now for a bit of colour.  These are murals outside of the Red Cross building around the corner from us.