Day 12 - Valencia

I slept well - Andrew did not! He hurt his back a day ago and was struggling to get comfortable. We got up and went for a quick walk to get him moving. Strong coffee from a roadside stall “holy coffee” and a quick pop into el Cortes Ingles, where Andrew bought some new shorts.

Back to the hotel to wake Oli up and we walked along the Turia Gardens into the old town. Seemed quicker than last night!

The park was busier with runners, cyclists and families.

The Turia river was diverted away from the town after a great flood in 1957, the river was diverted south leaving 18 beautiful bridges crossing this wonderful park.

Our first stop of the day was Mercat Central - the market. This is an indoor market selling fresh produce and drinks. I would say it’s 5 percent people buying and 95 percent taking photos! It is the largest market of fresh produce in Europe and its building is spectacular. It is iron and stained glass and certainly a sight to behold. There are over 1,200 stalls so the smells are quite overwhelming.

We found a cafe for some pastries for breakfast and then walked to our next sight - the silk exchange - La Lonja de la Seda.

It was free to get in, which seemed silly as it’s wonderful. The main hall has huge twisting stone columns up to a domed carved ceiling. It looked like a Harry Potter film set.

It was no accident or folly to make the room this grand - it was designed to convey a sense of prestige as Valencia really was a major place of trade in Europe. Two rooms upstairs were used as a prison for those that reneged on their debts.

It was a really interesting visit.

All of today’s sights are less than 5 minutes from each other - good planning for the weary and foot-sore.

Next stop was the cathedral. We are not church goers, and it feels a little odd, and even intrusive, to visit these places of worship. We can’t quite reconcile the apparent community of the church with the over the top riches it displays. Perhaps we miss the point. However, the cathedral is certainly a sight.

As you leave the cathedral there is an option to climb the bell tower. Fools that we are, we decided to have a go. It was 207 steps in a very tight spiral! Everyone seemed to be flying up them but us. El Miguelete is 50 metres high and gave us some great views over Valencia.

There is a one-way system on the stairs, which is really clever, so you wait at the top until you get a green light and then you all traipse down again. Worth every drop of sweat.

We got the metro back to our hotel and Oliver managed to connect the laptop to BBC so that we could watch the netball Commonwealth Games semi final between England and Australia. Unfortunately, England lost but it was great to watch it.

I had a dip in the pool while Andrew had a beer in the rooftop bar, and then we got ready for an earlier dinner.

We caught the metro to Maratim station - the beach! Even at 8pm it was still so hot. Valencia has a beautiful and huge sandy beach. We had a short walk along the promenade and found a nice restaurant for dinner.

Andrew and I shared vegetable paella and Oli had lasagne.

Paella (pah-a-ya) is a traditional Valencian dish. Usually chicken and rabbit with rice. It dates back to the Moors and is named after the dish it is cooked in. Paella is the Valencian word for “frying pan”. Eaten by farm workers for lunch, it now has varieties such as seafood and thankfully, vegetable. The restaurant made Andrew some fish to have on the side.

We caught a tram back to the hotel, because we hadn’t been on a tram yet. It took an age, was packed and hot, but still an adventure.

It’s been a really good day and night.