So Here's Our Vacation Blog...

I thought today was going to be a light day because we were only driving to Valencia and going to Mass after we checked in, eat, and be done.  HAH!  The drive was actually very boring; the road was smooth and relatively flat, not curvy at all, high speed limit, but the scenery was dull.  Lots of scrubby looking bushes and rocky red dirt, nothing but olive trees until we got close to Valencia and then there were massive orange groves.  Makes sense, Valencia oranges probably come from this area - duh!  The mountains/hills were uneventful, but as we approached Valencia we saw some of the largest factories ever - I thought they might be making airplanes because the buildings were so large.  We had to look them up to find out they were all ceramics conglomerates.  I guess that red clay is useful for something.  After checking in we walked around, and quickly realized this city is very different from Barcelona - newer, cleaner, wider streets, better organized (into a touristy shopping district, business district, way high end clothing store district, and such), but the icing on the cake is that architecturally it’s outstanding!  I thought I was going to run out of film (gigabytes, actually).  So let’s start.  There’s a central market as in Barcelona, it’s just not as large or busy.  They have all the same food items, plus kitchen goods (need a 4’ paella pan?), souvenirs, and the outside of it is quite interesting.

This chunk of beef was for sale, with an expiration date of October 12th.  Think you could eat 363 lbs of beef by then?

We had to walked over to La Seu de Valencia (Valencia Cathedral, or officially Metropolitan Cathedral–Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady of Valencia) to see what time Mass was. found out there’s one every hour from 8:00 am - 8:00 pm (except for 2:00 - 4:00, because even priests need a siesta)!  We had time for a quick paella before 6:00 Mass, right in the city square outside the Cathedral - how convenient.  In case you hadn’t figured it out yet, we’re always going to go for the restaurant or region’s specialties, so today it was paella Valenciana.  Who knew what we’d get?  No description.  Turns out it was very delicious, no seafood, but cut-up green beans on top and for a protein it contained left over chicken and rabbit parts.  I found several pieces of neck and back but they splurged and added a couple wings or something cut in half.  This took a little bit of effort to eat, and it got messy, but it was good.  Love that saffron!

The cathedral was taken over from the Moors in the early 13th century; but parts of it had been built by the Visigoths around the 6th - 8th century (that’d be a good assignment - read how they sacked Rome and took over half of the Roman Empire).  So when the Catholic church re=emerged in Spain, they spent centuries building this cathedral, constantly adding on, which is why the architecture is so diverse.  It’s beautiful - here’s the entrance.

Much more simple inside than the others we’ve seen, except for a magnificent altar,

and completely different colored stone and stained glass.  Check out the thin bricks used for the ceiling - thousands of them!

One neat architectural feature was the way the statues above the altar on the sides were nestled in the corners.  The front and side walls came to a square corner behind them, but above there was a 45 degree angle so the upper chamber became an octagon.  Check this photo against the one of the complete altar.

The other buildings in town were built over many centuries, their histories too diverse and complicated to note, so just enjoy these photos.  They’re just a small sampling of the many styles and beautiful facades.

This one is of the famous bell tower of Santa Catalina, a Catholic church from the 13th century.

Here’s the National Ceramics Museum, no idea of the building’s history but worth looking up, I’m sure.  The ornamentation on the outside of the entire building is beyond compare.

This one is a bank building now, extremely stunnig.  When the sun is going down you just have to stare at the shape.

And finally, the Post Office!  This one was just built in the early 1900s, but it is quite the sight!

Tomorrow morning I’ll have to get a few shots of the silk exchange.  We walked right by it several times today and it didn’t click that this was one that I really wanted to see, so check back tomorrow for those photos.  In the morning we’ll be driving to Los Alcazares, a former fishing village turned spa, with ‘healing waters.’  Maybe I can get a massage to relieve me of all the stress!