Back to Valencia we go again. This time without a tour or anything specific really planned for the day. We’re just taking the shuttle into town, then wandering about. I’ve researched some off the beaten path places, but we’ll see what we manage to accomplish today.
We had toyed with buying a Valencia Card again this trip – which would give us public transport into Valencia, free admission to some museums and free tapas and wine in certain places. But it is a hassle to get to the main port facility as we are docked in no man’s land, about a 5-10 minute drive from the port entrance – and we’ve been to the museums we wanted on our last trip, so we opt for the shuttles being sold on the pier where we dock. The shuttles are lined up outside and waiting to go. Unfortunately there is also a line to buy the shuttle tickets, with of course someone at the front asking all sorts of inane questions. Finally, they buy the tickets and we all move forward. It’s not that we are in any rush, but we don’t want a shuttle to leave half full because this guy can’t figure out what to do. Out into the cold wind, shuttle tickets in hand, we hop aboard the bus and once again are pleasantly surprised when we roll out of the port pretty quickly. And all the more confident in our decision to use this shuttle when we see there is a Costa ship in town and it is docked at the pier right outside the port facility. Buying a Valencia Card would have been a nightmare, as would the public buses, since most of Costa clientele are European, they would be much more likely to use public transit. With that good decision confirmed, we sit back and relax on the half an hour (or more) drive to get to the Serranos Tower Gates where the shuttle drops us off at the top of the old town.
I had saved a map from our first visit and have marked all the little known places to visit. Unfortunately, the map isn’t the most accurate thing, so navigation is somewhat stymied by unmarked street names and just general mis-alignment. We decide to just head to the market and go from there – which is a good decision because it is relatively easy to get to from the towers.
Along the way we search for a little coffee place for cappuccino in the sun – the sun being a huge criteria because it’s cold out here in the shade. We finally stumble upon Muez, the perfect little spot on the Placa del Mercat, the little square before the market. There is a fabulous little 2-top right in the sun that we snag and happily sip on our 2 Euro cappuccino. We are not complaining here!
Back out on the street after our respite, we cover the block and a half to the market easily, taking pictures of the Cathedral of San Juan, perfectly lit on this sunny morning.
Here, we also look up to see one of the things most people miss – the parrot weather vane on top of the central market and the sparrow weather vane on the cathedral. The parrot and the sparrow are often mentioned in Valencian folklore and are depicted in many flags and coats of arms throughout the city.
As we approach the market, we see a couple tours converging, so we quickly run up the steps and enter the market first, then turn down one of the aisles away from the center to avoid the growing tourist crowds. We love this market. It is a real market – again – no where near as touristy as the Boqueria in Barcelona. Yes, there are constant tours here, but it is a huge facility with wide aisle and a plethora of goods on display, from candies to nuts to vegetables to meat to fish to pastries and bread. We enjoy just wandering around, taking in the atmosphere. In the seafood section, the prawns and Galera, some other bizarre shellfish, captivate us, as does the sepia and other seafood displays.
In the meat section, there is a fabulous poster displaying all the different cuts of pork and beef. We snap a picture of that to save to the phone, because it gives us the perfect Spanish translation for menu reading!
Once we have our fill of looking at food, we try to find La Lonja, the silk market. We do eventually find the building (this is one of the areas where it is easy to get confused and lost in Valencia), we realize we visited it last time, so there is no sense doing it again. We then decide to head off to the MuVIM museum at the other end of town, which is listed in our little known things to see list. It’s not as far as it looks on the map, and we arrive there pretty quickly. The ruins of the old hospital are in the back gardens, along with a little chapel that remains standing, so we figure we’ll head there first and go from there. We walk through to the courtyard area, where there is a pit of some sort that is being used as a skateboard rink to our left, benches to our right and a couple of Roman era pillars directly in front of us. There is also a dog park and some miscellaneous grassy areas. Hmmmm. We sort of wander aimlessly, looking for the hospital ruins and the chapel, only finding the library that is mentioned in the little known places article. Perplexed, we sit on a bench for a while, enjoying the weather and people watching, trying to figure out what we are missing. We finally figure out the pillars must be the old hospital, but we’ll be darned if we can find the chapel – or the little alleyway next to the silk museum that allegedly leads to a park. Heck, we can’t even find the silk museum!
Ok – well then – its the MuVIM or nothing. We are here to see the miniature model of the old 18th Century walled Valencia. Each of the little models were handcrafted by a master craftsman and individually placed in the model. We figure it will be worth the admission to see it, and are totally surprised when we enter the lobby area of the museum and find the model out in full public display. No entry fee to view. Very nice.
The model is amazing, with scores of little buildings, made all the more incredible to think they were all hand made based on a plan by a famous Valencian cartographer and scholar. Neat. We approach the information desk and ask if there is an admission fee. There is a 2 Euro fee unless we are retired or students or teachers. Well, heck, we’re retired – so we get in free. Another nice little bonus. There is a special exhibit downstairs call the Images of Power, which begins with a photographical display of African Kings – all of which are really stunning. Incredibly framed and shot – and we only wish we could have taken some photos of the photos, but this exhibit is heavily guarded – seriously, there are 2 guards who basically follow us around through the 2 large rooms of displays.
The next section is the Portraits of Power, which are paintings of all the different Valencian presidents and council, along with, of course two paintings of General Francisco Franco. His throne is also included in the display, set up between his two portraits.
The third section is the Images of Power, all photographs of more current leaders, including our own hapless leader when he met with the Chinese Premier. We avoid looking at that one as much as we can.
Returning to the main level after we are done with the exhibit, we try to find our way to the 2nd floor exhibits, but there is a stanchion across the ramp to the 2nd level. We decide not to bother asking about the other exhibits, and head back outside to find some lunch. On our way to the market area, we make a pit stop at a supermarket, but don’t find anything of much interest. We’ve got so much stock in our cabin already, there really isn’t much sense in buying anything else unless its a real necessity (or great buy!).
Wandering around the market area, there are tons of restaurants from which to choose. All have Menu del dia – set price for starter, main and a drink, generally about 10 Euro, and all generally including Paella. We’re not all that interested in Paella, and find one of the hawkers who tells us they have tapas. That we can do.
We settle in at La Lonja (yeah, the silk market, sort of a cruel irony since we had trouble finding the real one, and then figured out we’d already been there, what can you say?) and began perusing the menu. They had tons of choices, and I spied a sign advertising 4 tapas and 2 bebidas for 15.50 Euro. Nothing wrong with that! So we pick out chorizo and mushrooms, fried calamari, Pulpo and the ham and cheese plate – plus beer and wine – and chow down to an excellent meal.
Ordering another wine and beer, we just relax and watch the world go by, enjoying the entertainment of the restaurant hawkers trying to get people to try their restaurant, and listening to the other diners chatter in a variety of different languages. After about an hour, it is time to go. Before meandering our way back to the gates to find the shuttle, we head into the market again. We’ve decided to maybe stock up on some nuts for the crossing, because they are truly not all that expensive. There are quite a few vendors to choose from, and we stumble upon an adorable lady who can speak a bit of English (but whose boyfriend speaks a lot and she is always asking him what the different words mean – we get this in our spanglish sort of way). We end up with almost a kilo of different nuts, almonds, peanuts, spicy corn nuts and a bag of freshly made potato chips (oh it is Atkins all the way when get home!) for less than 10 Euro. We are stoked – and stocked for the crossing now!
Leaving the market, it’s an easy walk back up to the central Cathedral area, basically because I’m not taking any chances with new routes or different little alleyway/streets. For some reason, this place confounds me, and it is easier to just retrace our steps than to get lost somewhere in the warren of cobblestone.
We arrive on the Plaza de La Virgen and take a few more pictures, all the while looking for a cafe to stop for another drink.
But it is busy and so touristy here (not that it isn’t everywhere), that we decide just to head on back to the shuttle and ship. As we are turning the corner to the street that leads to Serranos Towers, who do run into, but Carlos, our fabulous waiter. He is – as usual – out and about, looking for Brazilian food and magnets and souvenirs (he has a magnet from every place he has been). He has found a Brazilian restaurant and bought some cheese bread and a croquette – and he gives us one of each to try. He is too sweet. We try to decline, but he won’t hear of it. So, after we tell him goodbye and he heads off into the city for whatever adventure he has planned, we sit on a bench in a lovely square and savor the treats. The cheese bread is incredible, a light and fluffy roll filled with melted cheese – but the croquette is the best. Lightly coated and fried, with the best spiced chicken we’ve ever had. Delicious. We actually pass the place where he brought these on the way to the shuttle, and debate on buying him some more, but we don’t know how they will be cold – or if he can even heat them up – so we pass on the opportunity and figure we’ll give him some of our chocolate stash in return.
Heading back up the street, we window shop and find a lovely little gift shop with earrings in the window for 4 Euro. Oh, you know I can’t resist that. I pick up a lovey pair of colorful earrings and we get to talking to the owner, who tells us everything is hand made. He’s got lots of different jewelry, silver, epoxy, you name it, along with notepads and purses made from old record albums. Its a great find, and one we will be sure to visit on our return trip next year!
There is a shuttle waiting for us as we cross over the old river-now turned park and reach the main road. The trip back is pretty fast, and we’re aboard in no time, stashing our purchases in the “kitchen” cabinet in the cabin.
Sailaway is lovely, leaving the city lit perfectly in the distance.
Another great port, and we are down to only 2 left on our journey across the Atlantic.
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