Classy Valencia

Monday afternoon we are traveling to Valencia so Judy and I take inventory of her adventure list and discover that the one thing she hasn’t yet done and still wants to do is to see the Barcelona beach and have her first lemonade beer.  No more said, a great way to spend the early afternoon before we head to the train station.

Not everyone has loved the cava sangria but everyone has loved the lemonade beer and that includes Judy.  From her first sip she ewes and awes how refreshing it is.  We are at my favorite beach shack for lunch and maybe because it’s Monday and everything is slow on Monday’s in Barcelona our service takes longer than usual.  Judy entertains herself by watching the sunbathers when all of a sudden she goes, ‘Oh my gosh!’  She had heard there would be a lot of topless in Spain but she hasn’t spotted any until now.  I look up just in time to see her, there is always one every summer in Greece it was Heidi and now in Spain here comes Sophia (our name of course) all greased up and strutting across the beach.  As she struts the heads turns as you can see by the other two women in the picture.  This show is always something to behold and Judy’s mouth is just a little agape as we watch Sophia take command of the Barcelona Beach and us!!  Finally our lunch arrives and we return to more important things Sophia will simply have to find her audience somewhere else and I’m pretty sure she will!

Every time I go to the Renfe Train Station to buy a ticket somewhere the process is different.  You must know in advance if you need a ‘local train’, a ‘commuter train’, a ‘medium distance train’, a large distance train’ or an ‘International train’ because each one has different long lines.  I nail the International trains every time but for everywhere else it’s a guessing game.  This time it only took three different lines before I got to the right one.  It was about 3pm and the 4pm train to Valencia was sold out so we would have to wait for the 5pm.  Dying of thirst we headed to McDonald’s for Coke Lights and I taught Judy how to play Cribbage.  I won our first game but she’s a quick study and will be beating me hands down in no time at all.

Our hotel in Valencia is delightful.  Once again just on the edge of old town and near their famous cathedral Sant Maria.   As always it’s an extremely beautiful church.  I don’t actually think it is possible to find a hotel in Spain that is not right next to a beautiful church!  Dinner is delightful but quick at the hotel café as we are beat and ready for an early day tomorrow.   

We only have a couple of days in Valencia so figure the best way to see a lot of things quickly is a day on the ‘Valencia Tourist Bus’.  This bus has two different routes that they call the ‘Historic Route’ and the ‘Arts and ‘Sports Route’.  We opt for the Historic Route first.  Valencia is different that Barcelona, more beautiful buildings, lush gardens and parks, more space and larger streets, there is a refinedness here that doesn’t exist in Barcelona, we start to call it ‘classy Valencia’. 

It’s hot in Valencia with temperatures right around 100 degrees so we are delighted we selected the bus and that they pull the roof over the bus in the early afternoon.   After lunch at a cute little Mediterranean place in the old town we return to the bus and the Arts and Sports route.  This route presented a different side of Valencia because several of their music and sports venues were very modern and artist buildings.   We don’t actually get on and off the bus much but decide about 4pm that we need a cold drink and want to see the Valencia beach so we hop off.  The beach turns out to be very beautiful.  It is extremely large, maybe the largest beach I have ever seen and don’t forget I’ve lived in Florida!  Because of the high heat the beach wasn’t that crowded but it did give the impression that it might have a terrific nightlife after the sun goes down.  We enjoyed lemonade beers tucked under the awing of one of the many outdoor cafes that ran along the sand.  But even here there is beauty.  Between the sand and the cafes were well tended blooming gardens.  This is sophisacated!

When Spain is faced with difficult problems they often find very creative solutions.  I hope this will be true of the current financial struggles they are having.  One of these types of problems that Valencia had was that their system of water supply was developed long ago by the Arabs and it consisted of canals running throughout the city.  When this system was no longer adequate for the city and a new system was developed this left all of the canals dry and unsightly.   So they made them all green spaces with lots of playgrounds and sports fields and facilities.  It is a great compliment to a city where almost the entire population lives in high rise multiple family buildings.  Some of the large sculptures in Valencia are as strange as the ones in Barcelona but I continue to be impressed by the way Spain includes art in everything!  I think this will be one of the take-a-ways from my summer in Spain that changes me……..there will be more art in my future life!

A couple of days ago Justin started sending me emails about Hurricane Isaac which was most likely going to hit New Orleans directly on Tuesday.  He’s never been through a hurricane before so I’ve been sending him instructions on how to prepare the condo and keep himself safe.  We’re as well prepared as we can be but I’m still grabbing time to check out the news on the internet every chance I get.  Since this is projected to be a Category 1 hurricane it is not getting much play on the local news here expect for the fact that it coming only 1 day from the anniversary of Katrina.  I’m lucky to have my friends and neighbors Sue and George who have both reached out to Justin and are providing him with the on the ground support he needs.  Mucho gracias mi amigos!!! 

Judy and I finished the day with another memorable dinner at an absolutely charming restaurant that had been recommended by our hotel named La Cigrona.   I wasn’t all that hungry so we shared one of the most gorgeous salads I have ever seen or tasted.   On the surface it appeared to be a salad both Judy and I were familiar with, greens with pear and roasted goat cheese but it just goes to show you that surprises await you around every corner.  Instead of chopped up pears it had large slices of pear, the goat cheese had been caramelized and it was all severed in crispy filo dough.  It was amazing and so was our main dish of duck, rice, mushrooms and truffles.  It was all in the sauce!

A couple of classy dames we had enjoyed a classy day and a classy dinner in classy Valencia!