Day 7 - A day in Valencia
We got up early today as we had lots to look at, on our way to the Oceanografic centre I was distracted by this ferris wheel. Sadly it was closed, my wife was delighted though!
After a flood in 1957 that damaged much of the city, the Río Turia (River
Turia) was diverted, now passing around the southern and western
suburbs of the city. The former river bed wrapping around the northern
and eastern rim of historical Valencia, now boasts what is easily the
largest urban park in Valencia, the Jardín del Turia. Stretching for an
impressive 10 kilometres. We walked through this towards the Oceanografic centre.
In need of some breakfast we stopped at this cafe, popular with workers.
My best discovery on this trip to Spain was manchego cheese, delicious between some bread with tomatoes. This with a coffee cost just €4.
We spotted quite a few orange trees.
I loved the shape of this building but better was yet to come.
Valencia Opera House takes your breath away!
The science museum is really impressive too.
This partially shaded walkway was a welcome relief from the sun beating down.
This is what we'd come to visit, Europe's largest aquarium the Oceanografic.
We visited the dolphin show first but a slow build up and a slightly tacky presentation left us feeling quite underwhelmed.
Walking through the large tunnels surrounded by sharks soon made us glad we had visited though.
The tropical birds were incredible colours.
The turtles lay in a line on the rocks enjoying the sunshine.
This chap didn't look particularly friendly.
We explored the different sections and came across these jelly fish, really mesmerizing to watch.
There were a number of different tunnels to walk through, all offering stunning views of the different aquariums.
When we walked back towards the old town the heat was almost unbearable, thankfully a Calippo helped to cool us down.
Some areas of Valencia feel like you're in the future.
We were heading to Mercado Central but misread the map and ended up here, it had a similar name and was an amazing building.
We continued walking in the right direction for Mercado Central. Many of the pavements in Valencia have marble paving slabs, very shiny and slippery if you wear flip flops!
Finally we found Mercado central, a huge food market.
A few places were still open but most had closed for the day, perhaps we should have headed here first.
It wasn't a wasted trip though as the building was incredible!
We had passed this restaurant last night and liked the look of it, we decided to stop for some lunch. Inside was air conditioned which was much needed after being outside in the heat for so long.
Soggy fish rice didn't sound too appealing!
We shared a Valencian salad as a starter.
The homemade samosa here were delicious. I ordered duck samosa with leeks, pears, plum and orange marmalade. My wife ordered goats cheese samosa with caramelised onion and tomato jam.
For dessert we ordered this amazing fruit coulis with ice cream.
We couldn't resist trying the homemade cheesecake too, delicious!
This 1950's style diner looked great, it was closed though so all we could do was peer through the window and admire the stunning interior.
The Quart Towers were a part of this old Christian city wall build in the 14th century but the towers are from the 15th century. We headed through the archway towards the botanical gardens.
The botanical gardens cost just €2.50 to visit, we had heard many cats lived here.
It was a peaceful and relaxing place to explore.
There's a large allotment area, had these tomatoes been ripe I may well have picked one, I love Spanish tomatoes!
The botanical gardens also boasts an impressive collection of different cactus.
As we made our way through the gardens we spotted around 15 cats.
Nearly all of them were really friendly and happy to be stroked.
Long after leaving the botanical gardens we kept spotting cats everywhere.
We were feeling exhausted so stopped for a nice cold beer.
This ice cream looked amazing, we had to get one.
I chose violet flavour, it tasted great but melted so quickly in the heat.
We had returned to the hotel utterly exhausted but couldn't resist one final look around the old town.
We stopped here for some food, the prices seemed insanely cheap!
My bacon, sausage and cheese baguette cost just €3.
Definitely worth the money and great if you're looking to eat on a budget. Meeting point had a number of restaurants scattered across Valencia.
Day 8 - The journey home
Valencia airport is really easy to get to, regular trains go there direct from the city centre.
The food options at the airport are not great though. This toasted bun served with a hot drink and orange juice was really bland.
My wife decided to liven things up with a farton and Horchata, a drink made from tigernuts, water and sugar.
I ordered a chicken salad baguette, fairly nice.
From the air we spotted the Oceanografic centre down below.
I was amazed by the colour of these lakes!
There was no way I was going to order Ryanair's cooked breakfast. Far better to play it safe with a cappuccino and some chips ahoy.
Rest assured Ryanair, your cappuccino really isn't that good!
Valencia, wow! Loving the modern feel mixed with the traditional architecture. Ooh and that cheesecake!!!
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