A quick hello from Valencia...

Hello from sunny Valencia, Spain's third largest city.  Sorry to rub it in to the folks back home but first impressions here are of heat - a balmy 25 degrees - which was just what our bones needed after chilly Santiago de Compostela.  Valencia has a tropical feel to it with lots of palm and orange trees.  For a city it is very green - the old riverbed has been transformed into the lungs of the city - a lush corridor running through the centre of the city, parts of which are a very popular athletics club, a rugby pitch (we watched two local teams today).  At the sea end is the Mediterranean, marina, Americas Cup Village and commercial port as well as the architectural gem, the Ciudad de Ciencia y Arte (Arts & Science City but more of that in a separate post).

The orange tree, another Valencia speciality

Being a city Valencia has lots of flats/apartments, many of which outside the historic centre were built around the 30 years ago and rarely higher then 8 floors - it is quite symmetrical and easy on the eye.  In the midst of all this is the historic centre - beautiful plazas, buildings, a market, cathedral and landmarks - all in all a very attractive city.

Waterfall in Plaza de Ayuntamiento (town hall square)

Thursday 7 November
After checking into our apartment (no problems fortunately!) we wasted no time in hitting the town and sourcing a Valencian speciality, paella.  I used to think it came from Andalucia so I was surprised to learn that one of my favourite dishes originates from here.  Mick isn't a rice fan per se but likes paella.  We chose Paella Valenciana which combines chicken, rabbit, green and white beans; other variations are black rice or the popular vegetarian paella.  I'd also heard of Agua de Valencia which is a beverage that is anything but water - the local take on Bucks Fizz with the added bonus of a shot of gin and vodka - very drinkable!

Saturday 9 November
We spent today familiarising ourselves with Valencia which, at first glance, isn't that easy, even with Mick's map reading prowess!  Eventually we sussed that it is split into the historic city, the marina/beach complex with the converted riverbed running through the centre as well as the Science & Arts City.  We did, though, manage to find an Irish pub in time for today's rugby match.   It was great to meet Bob & Margaret from Cambridge, straight off of a cruise ship and who were also looking to watch the match somewhere - don't forget - Spain is obsessed with football, tennis and motorcyling.  We promise you that this is the first time we've actively sourced an English-speaking pub ... not something we'd normally do but we are talking about England rugby ...

A bit of news about the Motorcyling Grand Prix: at time of writing, Spain's Marc Marquez (recent world champion) is in poll position - you can imagine the party if he wins (which is very likely).  The only guy who could feasibly challenge his lead is fellow Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo, former world champion so Spain will by partying tomorrow night!

That's our brief news.  We'll write more soon as we travel in and around Valencia but we just wanted to touch base.  So, until the next post, hasta pronto y pasatelo bien.