Day 11 - Murcia - Valencia

This morning we packed up and got ready to leave Murcia. Andrew and I went for a walk in search of breakfast and found a shopping mall that sold great coffee and some pastries for Oli. We packed up the car and left the hotel and Murcia. Just as we were leaving and following the signs for Alicante, we saw a huge statue of Jesus on a mountain side, like a smaller version of the Christ the Redeemer in Rio, so we stopped for pictures.

The monument is called Christ of Monteagudo. The rather powerful figure has been there since 1926 but was demolished in the 1930s during the Spanish Civil War. The son of the original artist rebuilt it in 1951 and there it stayed quite happily presiding over the people of Murcia until some lawyers tried to have it taken down in 2010 as they felt it was too religious (!) for what is public land. They lost their case, so there it stays, although he is now in a state of disrepair (apparently - we couldn’t see that from the road).

We had originally planned to stop enroute to Valencia for another seaside lunch, but I suddenly remembered that we had booked to drop the car back to the hire company at a certain time in Valencia. Lots of panic and checking of paperwork and we realised that we would never make it for the time we’d agreed to. We called them and they said it would be a EUR 50 penalty and another day’s hire EUR 100.

This meant that we had lost the enthusiasm for the seaside and just wanted to be in Valencia with the car back.

We passed Benidorm on our way to the airport and Andrew could now see why I didn’t want to stop there! It is way more built up now than ever, and that is just what we could see from the road.

Apparently Benidorm (which translates as ‘sleep well’) is just as popular with the Spanish as the Brits, due to its beautiful beaches and incredible climate. Not our cup of tea, but each to their own.

We soon arrived at Valencia airport and dropped the car in to the car hire office. The very nice man asked me what time we were supposed to be back and I explained that we had tried to call. We were two and a half hours late. He looked at me, and I must have looked pleadingly back as he just said “ok, you can go”. Relief!

We jumped into a taxi with a grumpy driver and soon we were at our hotel. Again, we had changed this hotel. We originally had a beautiful hotel in the old town, but switched to this big ugly one further out as it had a pool. I admit to feeling a bit disappointed, as this is our last stay and it would have been nice to have something traditional.

We put our cases in the hotel (after changing one of our rooms twice as they smelled of cigarettes) and set off for the old town. We bought a three day metro ticket each, as we have tired legs now!

We waited for the metro train and got on to a nice air conditioned carriage bound for the centre. Masks are compulsory on the metro. We got out at Xativas station next to yet another bullring! I’m collecting them!

We ate a light lunch at a cafe and wandered around for two hours. It’s my second time here and it’s so nice. A bigger feel than Seville. More chains such as Starbucks and Burger King.

Returning to the metro station we looked around the magnificent mainline Valencia Nord station. The interior artwork is beautiful.

Back at the ever so slightly crummy hotel, we went up to its roof-top pool for a dip, which felt pretty good after another day of 36-39C heat.

A swim and a shower, then, after an hour or so of rest, we set off again for the centre of the city for a meal; this time by bus. The bus was very modern, complete with USB charging points!

We found a ‘make your own burger’ burger bar, which filled whatever space inside us we could find, and then explored the city for an hour or so. Being Friday night it was probably busier than usual, but we think Valencia is in any case bigger and has more of a younger crowd than any of the other cities on this trip. There are big, busy plazas with fountains and light shows, and bikes and scooters whizzing around, but all surrounded by beautiful churches, hotels, restaurants, theatres and bars.

We chose to walk back to the hotel this time, strolling through yet more places thronging with people, but, for the last mile or so, through the almost deserted park stretching around the northern part of the city, which follows the dry course of the River Turia since it was diverted in the late 60s due to flood-risk. It is a good 100 yards wide and stretches for several miles. All of it is planted with trees and shrubs, and, with many lit walking and cycling paths, it was quite an experience at midnight, with almost nobody else around.

Back at the hotel we nearly fell asleep in the lift.