Travel to Valencia

-

Feb 1 2019


Usually I am the late one all unconcerned about time.  I am so anxious about getting on the train that I get Lorena to the train station two hours early.  We watch the people thread through the entry port for several prior trains till we start offering advice to other frantic English-speaking travelers.  It is such a boomerang between intense anxiety and cool confidence.

Waiting on Via 11


I purchased the train tickets online and at the time struggled with the various options.  Unbeknownst to me I obviously bought a first class ticket as they came around with champagne (it was  10:30 in the morning).   Lorena and I declined and instantly regretted as we realized that it was free. 


Seaside First Class 200 km


The pictures of the apartment do not capture its charm.  [Correction: we went back to review the photos and they are lovely and perfectly representative. I think the disconnect was on our side--maybe we're conditioned to expect that photos don't offer a true representation?]. So much thought has gone into the detail and every surface.  I have my kitchen.  I wrote a prior post about not needing a kitchen.  Now I take it back. This is a space that has been lovingly designed by a person who cooks and I am so excited. The stove top has convection plus gas.  The sink is deep with a rough bottom and all the appliances are Bosch.  I can’t get over the glass storage lids.  The spice drawer made me gasp. 

We decide to take a taxi to our apartment. The driver asks where--I do my best to say it, but he doesn't know it. Luckily, I have it written down. He still doesn't know it, and the driver's Spanish is on par with mine so his GPS doesn't get his pronunciation. I pull it up on maps and hand him my phone--he then proceeds to use that (unfortunately, directions are in English). It still takes us several false turns (I don't think he understands the English "Turn now!" At one point he stops exasperated in a big Plaça to ask if we want to get out there, but I have the sense to say "no." We do finally arrive and are greeted by Mariana, who introduces us to the apartment and offers information on the city. 


Kitty chose this place and it’s just beautiful. She was looking for three things: a good kitchen, desk and terrace and this has those and in great style throughout. We are besides ourselves with the comfort and details of the place: thoughtful lighting, quality appliances, clean and elegant lines. It’s lovely and comfortable. And having a good kitchen here does make sense, as Valencia does not begin to have the intense food scene and all the restaurants that BCN does. [Correction: now that we've been here a few days I would retract my previous claim--Valencia has tons of quality restaurants!].



We are exhausted from our long day. They have bought us a complementary bottle of wine, and we enjoy that with our sandwiches we’d bought early this morning on the terrace. The wind gusts terribly, but it is warm—I’d say low 60’s. We nap for our siesta and then go out about 7:00 to shop for supper. Kitty fixes spaghetti and a nice salad and we chat and Kitty tells stories of people she’s known. We are to bed by 11:00.



Location: Valencia, Spain

Comments

  1. worldinaroomFebruary 6, 2019 at 12:02 PM

    This sounds like a great place, too. I love all the photos and of course, I'm glad you have good restaurants.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Albufera de Valencia, El Palmar

-
Image
Wednesday 2/13/2019 We had long planned a day trip to a nearby region that balances rice fields, a fresh water lake, salt water estuary and bird habitats. The region is protected environmentally, and what tourism there is revolves around eating paella and slow motion boat tours through the wetlands. The bus ride takes about 40 minutes from our neighborhood. It's a dismal landscape, but saved for me by the extensive woodland near the shore. There are occasional modest condos, yellow and clustered in the pines. It recalled the coast of South Carolina. The day is sunny but with a light breeze. The town is sad, with algae-filled canals lined with little paella joints with plastic chairs set outside in the brilliant sun. It's warm enough to eat outside, so we head for the recommended "Bon Aire" restaurant for our required paella. Thus far we have avoided paella in our trips to Spain. Last year we had rice and lobster in BCN and then this year I had some amazing black...
Read more

Fire and Rain

-
Image
It's a rainy day, one of the few we've experienced in BCN. Last year it drizzled one evening. Prior to that, nada . My usual issue here is too much bright sun, which can make the photography challenging. But today we expect a steady rain through the day. This means we can slow down a bit and have a leisured morning. Kitty fixes French toast with our leftovers and we drink coffee and catch up on US news. Our plan had been to go to a flea market, but we decide to head to a museum instead. One would think after so many trips here we would have been to the big regional (Catalonian) museum. We've walked around it a few times--once on our way to the Botanical Gardens, again when we went to see the fountain show (pretty, but tacky with illuminated fountain play linked to a soundtrack), and last year to capture a beautiful sunset, but we never actually ventured inside until today. The Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya is housed in a beautiful palace, a centerpiece of the...
Read more

Valencia Cathedral, Jardins Real

-
Image
Monday, Feb. 11 2019 Micalet Tower We head out to see Valencia Cathedral and take a slow route on back alleys. When we get to the main square, there are emergent clusters of tour groups. I suspect cruise ships, but it might also be buses. At any rate, we are early enough to not feel that crowded at all. By the time we leave at 11:30 or so, people are lining up to come in, but the crowds are still largely focused on the Plaça Reina.  The cathedral is an interesting blend of Romanesque, Renaissance and Baroque. The site is quite ancient—developed over a temple and then church, mosque and now Cathedral. Its main boast is the Holy Grail (pretty good, I suppose). There are also some impressive relics and artwork, including one gruesome Goya. We take a stop in a café to have coffee and try the local pastry, fartons . They are roughly the shape of a straight cruller with texture of a French pastry. We take time to finally carry out ou...
Read more