Valencia, located on the eastern coast of Spain, is the third largest city in Spain after Madrid and Barcelona, with around 800,000 inhabitants in the centre. Its urban area extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of around 1.5–1.6 million people. The Port of Valencia is the 5th busiest container port in Europe and the busiest container port on the Mediterranean Sea. Valencia was founded as a Roman colony in 138 BC, and called Valentia Edetanorum. In 714 Moroccan and Arab Moors occupied the city, introducing their language, religion and customs; they implemented improved irrigation systems and the cultivation of new crops as well, being capital of the Taifa of Valencia. In 1238 the Christian king James I of Aragon reconquered the city and divided the land among the nobles who helped him conquer it.
We again had breakfast on the back deck and had our first view of the city. God has given us great weather this trip!
Today we were to meet the person who set up our day, Julianne, who is from Mt. Pleasant, SC, at 9 AM. Our tour guide, Marta, who is from Australia, but now lives in Valencia, had several issues, and did not arrive until 10. Our group today included Julianne , her husband Charles, and Bill and Jill from New Zealand.
We travelled 30 minutes into the city center where Marta dropped us off at the Mercat/Mercado. Because this is also part of the Catalan region many things are called by 2 different names. For example the market is either mercado (Sp) or mercat (Cat), streets are calle or carre, squares are plaza or placa, and of course the street names themselves can be spelled two different ways..very confusing when attempting to read a map in small print. People here speak both Spanish and Catalan, which is a mixture of Spanish and French, and they often mix the two together when speaking…again, very confusing.
Mercado Central or Mercat Central is a beautiful public market located across from he Gothic Llotja de la Seda (silk market) and the eclectic Gothic-baroque church of Sants Juanes.
In 1839, the spot had been used to inaugurate an open-air marketplace called Mercat Nou. By the end of the century the city of Valencia sponsored a contest for the construction of a new roofed market. The contest, in 1910, selected the present design by Alejandro Soler March and Francisco Guàrdia Vial, who had both trained at the School of Architecture of Barcelona. Construction began in 1914 and was not fully completed until 1928.
The style blends a modern Art Nouveau style but mirrors some of the architectural influences of nearby buildings such as the Gothic Llotja de la Seda and the eclectic Gothic-baroque church of Sants Juanes. It celebrates the power of iron and glass to permit the construction of large open spaces, but still utilizes domes at crossings.
Dome in the center of the Mercat
The Mercat is a popular location for tourists and locals alike. It is a beautiful, old building where the people come to buy goods – meat, fish, veggies, fruit, wine, etc. The specialties of the area are Iberian ham, olives, olive oil, fish, and of course, wine.
The market is open Monday – Saturday; we learned that the fisherman do not work on Sunday, so there is no fresh fish for sale on Mondays.
Some of this ham is very expensive. We tasted three types – from the cheaper to the expensive. The most expensive ham comes from the pigs that have to walk a long distance from the feed trough to the water trough to build up their muscle.
The area of Valencia only produces about 1% of Spain’s Olive oil but what it produces is exceptional. It’s not easy to find outside of the area and most is sold within the communities that produce it. What little does get exported is very expensive.
The snails were interesting. Marta explained that they feed them flour for two days and then wash them vigorously in water to rinse out the bile and slime (remember what snail trails look like). And then, cook them alive like clams and lobsters. Many different sizes are available. We do not have these at the Leesport Auction or Green Dragon.
After leaving the market, We visited the Silk Market. The Llotja de la Seda is a Gothic-style civil building – Built between 1482 and 1548, it is composed of three parts (plus the Orange Garden – a walled courtyard). The main hall, Sala de Contratacion(The Contract Hall) is a large lavishly decorated space supported by gorgeous twisted columns. This was the financial centre , where the merchants work out contracts. The side-wing is named the Pavilion of the Consulate, and this was the seat of the Tribunal del Mar – the first marine merchant tribunal to ever be formed in Spain. The first two floors were the main function rooms, with the upper one hosting a richly decorated ceiling. These rooms still contain some of the original furnishings. On occasion, the Tribunal would imprison merchants for debts in the central tower of La Lonja – the third part of the structure.
The structure is absolutely beautiful. You would have thought that it was a cathedral..
Ronnie and Linda from Long Island in the Orange Garden – it seemed that we ran into them every day on our tours
View from the steps to the central tower, overlooking the courtyard
Gothic-baroque church of Sants Juanes across from Silk Market
After leaving the silk market we walked through the streets. I always enjoy the narrow stone-paved streets. The day was hot but the city was not very crowded. The city is trying to revitalize and restore some of the older parts and as we walk through those parts, it seems like they have a long way to go. Some buildings are very old, condemned, and have netting on, so that people are not killed by falling debris. That streets in that part of the city were very deserted. You can buy a house close to the water for 150,000 euros, and if you purchase a property worth at least 120,000 euros you are given Spanish citizenship. Maybe Jeff and I should retire here; his Spanish is getting pretty good.
Notice netting on the building; also note the very narrow brown building
A commercial building from 1878
We peeked inside this old church
One of the few existing gates and portion of the old Arab wall
Surprisingly, there is a large, well-preserved underground Roman ruin that contains the remains of the forum, a bath, and a cemetery This Roman city was started in 138 BC, then was destroyed by the Roman general Pompey during a civil war that devastated the Roman world in 75 BC. It remained abandoned and in ruins for 50 years before coming back to life.
We continued walking and passed…..
Jeff is suffering withdrawal, but he refrained from going in
We stopped at two churches: the first was the Metropolitan Cathedral–Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady of Valencia (commonly known as Saint Mary’s Cathedral or Valencia Cathedral), was consecrated in 1238 by the first bishop of Valencia after the Reconquista. It was built over the site of the former Visigothic cathedral, which under the Moors had been turned into a mosque. Most of Valencia Cathedral was built between the 13th century and the 15th century, and thus its style is mainly Gothic. However, its construction went on for centuries. As a consequence there is a mixture of artistic styles, ranging from the early Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical.
A supposed Holy Chalice is contained in one of the cathedral’s inner chapels; this chalice has been defended as the true Holy Grail. Huh, we thought Indiana Jones still had it!
Basilica de Nuestra Señora de los Desamparados or, loosely translated, “the church of our lady of the desparate causes”: The basilica houses a statue of ‘Our Lady’. She is the patroness of Valencia. She appears with a lily in one hand and in the other she carries the baby Jesus, who bears the cross in his arms. Her posture is characterized by a slight forward tilt, and hence, she is known affectionately as the Geperudeta (hunchback) of Valencia. The church was built on the site of a former Roman temple. A renaissance arch leads from the Basilica to Valencia Cathedral.
View of the churches from the Fountain of Neptune
The fountain has 7 water nymphs representing the 7 aqueducts of the city
Placa de la Virgen; note the orange trees that are everywhere in Valencia
On the way to the city gate, we saw the Muslim gate and an old Moorish building that is in disrepair on the inside, but beautiful on the outside. Notice the creepy figures coming out of the wall. These are on many buildings in the city.
Creepy gargoyles
El Miguelette Bell Tower
We made our way through the winding streets to the The Serranos Gate, also known as Serranos Towers. It is one of the twelve gates that formed part of the ancient city wall that was built in Valencian Gothic style at the end of the 14th century (between 1392 and 1398). It was the main entrance to the city and it was originally built with a defensive function, but it was also regularly used for ceremonies, such as official welcoming ceremonies for ambassadors and kings. After one of the main prisons of Valencia burned down in 1586, the towers were turned into a prison for knights and the nobility. It is an important landmark and one of the best preserved monuments of Valencia.
After arriving at the gate, we climbed up the stone staircases and had great views of the city and the greenway below, a dried riverbed which the city has converted into a park.
Views from the tower:
We then trudged back to the city center to get the car. On the way to our restaurant for a very late lunch, we passed the other preserved city gate on the western edge of the walled city, the Torres de Quart. The coolest thing about the Torres de Quart are the still-visible holes and craters in the wall made by Napoleon’s armies during the Siege of Valencia in 1808.
Our lunch restaurant was located in the only bit of “country” left in Valencia proper – a few acres of country right in the city. Quite unusual. kind of like stepping back into time. The Alqueria del Pou was a former farmhouse that was surrounded by an orchard. The house remains an island surrounded by orchards and small fields, not more than 1/4 mile from the edge of the city. The road to get there was very narrow and there were gypsies along the way.
The restaurant is known to have the best paella in Valencia. The sangria was excellent! Jeff and I also had grilled calamari that was superb – not just rings of calamari, IT WAS THE WHOLE SQUID! I so wish I had taken a picture.
The well-fed group
We made it back to ship in the nick of time and sat and chatted for a time with our new friends. After dinner, we sat and watched the sunset on our deck.
Buenas noches
