MadridWaites: Beautiful Valencia

Beautiful Valencia

Last weekend we were able to take a very fun 3 night trip to Valencia. It is located on the Mediterranean coast almost straight east of Madrid. We took the bullet train, called The Ave, as in Ave Maria. But it actually means, bird, and it really flies low. It runs 200 miles an hour and we were in Valencia in one hour and 20 minutes with one stop. The trains are so nice and we really enjoyed the trip. We stayed in a brand new hotel that had only been open for 3 days. They still hadn't worked out all the kinks, but it was a very nice hotel and we enjoyed our stay. We walked our legs off in very hot humid weather, but it was well worth it. We just love this city, and would highly recommend it to anyone visiting Spain. I would recommend the fall or spring, however. We had the best meal we have had since arriving in Spain, here in Valencia, that will live in our memories The pictures that I am posting are not at all in the order I want them, but I don't have enough technical knowledge to fix them, so they are really mixed up. I have also posted way to many, but it is still less than 10% of what I took. Feel free to move on when you get bored, but this post is really for my future benefit, and you just get to eavesdrop, or take a peek.

This is part of a large complex of buildings they call The City of Arts and Sciences.
The "harp-looking" structure is a bridge.

This is the planetarium in the complex.

This was the original warehouse for the old docks.

This picture was really hard to take out of a moving bus, and I only got one shot, so it isn't very clear, but it was really neat double-decker carousel on the beach.

This is a police car. I'm thinking it would only be able to chase bad guys who are on foot, maybe.

Just an interesting sculpture in town.

Another view of the same sculpture.

This was an old abby.

This is one of the few "wide" streets in town. If you look closely you can see the iron balconies on all the buildings. Spain reminds me much of Paris, mostly because of the iron balconies everywhere. The tower at the end of the street is the Santa Catalina Tower, a baroque clock tower. It originally was part of the Santa Catalina church that was built by the Moors around 1250 A.D.

This is the Valencia Cathedral, built around 1238. The inside is very impressive! It is a combination of Romanesque, Gothic, and Baroque.

This is the tour bus we took to see the city.

This is a shot to show you how one building just blends into the next with very different architecture. The more salmon colored one is very morrish looking. Again, the iron balconies are so pretty.

Another church.

This is an average size of the streets, with so many lined with al fresco dining.

A very cute little English fellow got quite the kick out of the name of this shop.

At the end of this street is an original old city gate and tower.

This is the other side of that same gate.

I have no idea what this sculpture represents, but it definitely captured our attention.

This cross once marked the edge of the city of Valencia. The city has grown a bit since the few hundred years this cross was placed here.

The interesting thing about this building is a little hard to see. On top of that first floor roof is a cactus garden. It just seemed out of place to me.

This is what is left of a very old Roman wall.

This is the main city market for produce, and various merchandise. We visited it and had a great time. I will be posting pictures of it a bit further down.

There were many horse drawn carriages ready to give people a tour o the old town, but this one got a little carried away with the flowers.

This is one of my favorite buildings in Valencia. It is a bank. This picture cannot begin to do justice on the details. It is so beautifully decorated with tiles and artwork.

Im showing you this shot for a couple of reasons. One, I want you to notice the floor of the plaza. It is all in marble, I believe. Most of the sidewalks in Valencia are marble, and many of the small streets or lanes. It's amazing. The ones that aren't marble are interesting tiles or bricks in nice patterns and colors. The other interesting thing about this picture is that it is completely deserted. It is in front of the basilica, and a cathedral, and it is Sunday. The night before it was a real hopping place, but Sunday there is not a soul in sight.

This is the cathedral.

This is the basilica beside the cathedral.

This is a funny old man that I have become very fond of. He is standing in front of a nice fountain, on from of the basilica and cathedral. Someone showed up and spoiled my picture.

Same shot without the funny old man.

Another deserted street, but you can see the marble floor.

Sunday morning outside the cathedral. It includes the two towers you see as well as the main entrance on the far left.

the cathedral continues with these two towers on the left.

Pinoccio found his way to Spain.

This is the opposite end of the cathedral.

This guy managed to make himself comfortable on a park bench.

The train station.

The train station with the bull ring to the left.

Part of this beautiful train station.

What do you think?

More of the train station. It is really beautiful inside with lots of tiles, mosaics stained glass windows etc. on the ceiling, walls, floors and pillars.