WestiesGoTapas: 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.