Valencia

Spain receives another vote from us for delightful places to experience and, perhaps, to visit again in the future in more depth. The day was rainy and cool, so touring wasn’t quite as much fun as it might have been, but we were intrigued by what we saw, especially in the city.

On the drive into the center of Valencia, we paralleled a very modern new promenade that is situated on a long stretch of diverted riverbed. It features a new bridge, museum, performing arts center, IMAX 3D facility and other structures designed by architect Santiago Calatrava. All of these utilize graceful arches and repetitive elements.

A short walking tour through the central portion of Valencia introduced us to its Plaza del Mercado, which includes an amazing trading hall where we saw a vast array of fruit, vegetable, seafood, and meat shops. Such color! We also saw the Lonja de la Seda (silk exchange) and the Valencia Cathedral.

The next part of our tour was a visit to the Caves of St. Joseph. To get there, we drove about 45 minutes near the coast toward the northeast. I expect everyone knows of Valencia oranges. Valencia has always been associated with oranges and is considered the home of sweet oranges and new varieties derived from grafting techniques, including clementines, tangerines, and others. The countryside was loaded with orange groves, as well as other garden crops.

The Caves of St. Joseph follow the course of an underground river. We toured the caves mostly via boat, though there was a short segment through which we walked. I’m sorry to say that though this is the only cave I’ve ever toured in this way, overall the cave was underwhelming. We have seen so many magnificent caves in the US, including Jewel Cave and Carlsbad, that these were simply too plain, except for the water running through. Nevertheless, the trip got us out away from Valencia to see a good part of the region.