More pictures of Valencia

As I was sorting through my pictures I was struck once again by the beauty of Valencia, Spain.  Here are some more pictures which I did not post previously...

 

The Cathedral of Valencia

 

 

 

The rose window of the Cathedral

 

 

One place that we visited, that I did not mention when we were there, is Valencia's central market, one of the largest in Europe.

 

One of the numerous stalls in the market selling Spanish hams.  I failed in my earlier posts to mention the wonderful ham in Spain.  It is deep red and flavorful... so unlike the pale stuff we buy in the supermarkets here in the U.S.   The very best, "bellota" ham, is expensive.  It comes from free range pigs whose diet consists of acorns from the oak forests of southern Spain.  Delicious!!





 

And of course, there are the oranges for which Valencia is famous.  "Naranja muy dulces"... "very sweet oranges".

 

 

Valencia's extravagant city hall

 

 

A street scene in the Old City

 

 

Looking through the portal of one of the surviving medieval gates of Valencia.

 

 

Valencia is located on Spain's Mediterranean coast, so, in addition to all the history, architecture and culture, there are beautiful, broad beaches.

 

Valencia is most definitely a city that I would like to visit again!



Farewell to Valencia

Tonight was our last night in Valencia.  As a change of pace we went to an Italian restaurant located near the Cathedral for supper.  We both agreed that it was the best Italian food that we have ever had (and Phyllis has been to Italy!).

 

Tomorrow morning we go to the train station to continue on the next leg of our journey...

Barcelona! 

The Other Side of Valencia

After three days of visiting historic buildings from Valencia's past, today we saw a completely different aspect of the city.  We went to the City of Arts and Sciences, a complex of ultra-modern buildings designed by Spanish contemporary architects, Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela.  It was built between 1996 and 2005 and includes a science museum, the largest aquarium in Europe, an IMAX cinema and planetarium, a concert venue and an opera house / concert hall.

 

The futuristic design is quite spectacular, and the complex has become a major tourist attraction for Valencia.  However it has been a center of controversy.  There have been charges of government corruption, and huge cost overruns have left the city burdened with debt.  We simply came to view the architecture, but some critics have complained that there is an enormous amount of wasted space and that the museum content is second-rate.

From the City of Arts and Sciences we walked back to our hotel by way of the Turia Gardens. The Turia River once flowed in a curve around the heart of the city before emptying out into the Mediterranean Sea at Valencia harbor.  However it was prone to flooding, and in 1957 there was a particularly damaging flood.  To eliminate future disasters, the river was diverted to the south of the city.  More than five miles of former riverbed were than converted into a sunken park that winds its way from the arts and science complex around the old city.  The park features ponds, fountains, gardens, modern sculpture, cyclist and pedestrian paths, playgrounds and sports facilities.  The bridges which once spanned the river, including a number of medieval bridges, cross over the park.

  

The City of Arts and Sciences may or may not prove to be a white elephant, but the Turia Gardens are undoubtedly a wonderful asset for Valencia. 

A Walk Through Valencia's Old City

We had already seen many of the historic sights within the Old City of Valencia, but there was still much to see.  Today we took a long walk of several hours and saw more of the incredible architecture of this fascinating city.

Our first stop was the Church of Santa Catalina.  The church was built in the 14th century, and the interior is Gothic with very little decoration.  The bell tower was not added until the 18th century and is Baroque in style.  The slender tower is one of the city's prominent landmarks, and is referred to as the "wife" of the stouter but equally tall Cathedral bell tower a few blocks away.

We then continued on to the Cathedral with its distinctive octagonal bell tower.  The Cathedral was begun in 1238 on the site of a Moslem mosque shortly after the Christians reconquered the city from the Moors.  The Cathedral was built in the Gothic style, but over the centuries many other architectural styles were added.  The main altar is exceptionally beautiful.  Of special interest are the paintings of angels on the ceiling above the altar.  For several centuries they had been covered by later decorations.  Recently they were uncovered and restored to their former glory.

We decided to climb the spiral flight of stairs to the top of the bell tower.  The tower is known as "Micalet", and provides a wonderful view of the city.  The largest bell, known as "Miguel", is at the top.  We were there at noon, and the sound of the ringing bell is nearly deafening.

(photo taken by Phyllis)

Just behind the Cathedral is another important church, the Basilica of "Nuestra Señora de los Desamparados" (Our Lady of the Helpless).  The Basilica was begun in 1652, and is dedicated to the city's patron saint.  The lavish interior is done in Baroque style.

From the Basilica we continued on to the Torres de Serrano, one of the medieval city gates which once provided access into the walled city.  The gate was built in 1394.  It later was used as a jail, and for that reason it was not torn down along with the city walls in the 1800s.

Beyond the gate an old bridge crosses the former course of the Turia River.  (I will discuss in tomorrow's post what happened to the river.)  Yet another lovely church, the Church of Santa Mónica, beckoned us to cross to the other side.

It was extremely good luck that we happened to go over to the church at that moment.  A high mass for a religious feast day had just concluded, and there were musicians and dancers in traditional Valencian attire performing in front of the church.

Valencia at Night

Last night, after our supper of paella, we took a stroll around the city.  A number of buildings were beautifully illuminated.  I don't know if they are lit up every night or only on weekends.

The Cathedral of Valencia

The City Hall

The Post Office

Last night there was also a nighttime 10K run held in Valencia.  Several streets in the city center were closed to traffic, and thousands of participants were finishing the course around eleven o'clock.

 

Paella!

Valencia is known as the "Garden of Spain".  The area around the city grows not only the famous Valencia oranges, but all kinds of fruits and vegetables.  It is also Spain's main producer of rice, and that rice is the main ingredient of Valencia's most famous dish, paella.

The paella with which we are most familiar, saffron rice with a variety of shellfish, was not invented until the 1920s at some of Valencia's seafront restaurants.  The original paella contained chicken and rabbit.  
  
We both wanted to try paella while in Valencia.  I do not care for shellfish, but there is also a vegetable paella which I was interested in tasting.  So we set out yesterday evening seeking the city's classic culinary creation.  We stopped in a restaurant called Vicentino that we had noticed previously.  While looking at the case filled with tapas, a local patron who had just finished eating, told me that the fried codfish was very good.  I asked her how the paella was. She said that she had not eaten the paella there, but since the food was very good, she suspected that the paella would be good too.

With that recommendation from a resident, we decided to eat there.  The paella is served for a minimum of two people, so Phyllis was kind enough to forgo the shellfish, and we ordered the vegetable paella.  It also takes 25 minutes for them to prepare the paella, so while we waited we had a tapa of fried codfish.  It was indeed very tasty.

    
The paella comes to the table in the large pan in which it is prepared.  I am no expert, and I can't judge how this restaurant compares with other places.  All I know is that this paella was scrumptious!!!  Phyllis had a couple servings, and I devoured the rest.
 

Going "Baroque" in Valencia

OK, my title is a corny pun, but the city of Valencia is filled with extravagant architecture, not just baroque, but everything from Gothic to contemporary.

Yesterday afternoon, after settling into our rooms, we went to the National Museuim of Ceramics, which is located a few steps from our hotel.  The museum is housed in the Palace of the Marquis of Dos Aguas.  It was built in the 15th century and then remodeled in 1740.  The exterior of the building is quite impressive, especially the alabaster carvings which surround the doorway.

We didn't find the displays of ceramics to be especially compelling, but a number of the palace's rooms have been restored with the original furnishings.  They provide a glimpse into the "over-the-top" lifestyle of the Spanish aristocracy in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

We continued walking around the city into the early evening.  We saw that the door to the church pictured below was open, and we walked in.  The simple facade gave us no clue as to what we were to see inside.

I later did some research, and discovered that we had visited the Church of the Royal Seminary of Corpus Christi, which was established in 1583.  The interior is richly decorated with sumptuous altarpieces and fresco paintings on the walls and ceiling and in the dome.

Today we saw a few more architectural gems in the city.  The Royal Parish of Santos Juanes is located next to the central market.  It was built in 1240 on the site of a Moorish mosque.  The church was later renovated and baroque decorations were added to the facade.

A block away is "La Compañía", the former Jesuit church.

 

In between the two churches stands "La Lonja de Seda" (The Silk Exchange), one of the finest examples of civil Gothic architecture.  It has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.  In the 1400s Valencia was a rich center of commerce, and its most important product was silk fabric.  In 1493 this building was begun as a center for commerical transactions.  The Hall of Columns, a large room with rows of towering pillars, was where commerce was conducted.

 

An intricately carved wooden ceiling in another room of the Lonja.

Valencia holds many more treasures awaiting our exploration in the next two days.