Where The Turia River Meets The Mediterranean Sea

After our week in Madrid, we headed to Valencia, Spain to spend a week with our friends, Marlaina and MacG, who rented an apartment in the seaside city for a month.

Our first glimpse of Valencia was this building, as we exited the Joaquín Sorolla train station.

The city is a mix of ancient and modern.  Here's a group of the modern, near the Plaça de Sant Agustí.

Here's a view from the apartment we stayed at in the Old Town section.  We were within walking distance of the central market, shops, restaurants, and local attractions.  

The bell tower in this photo is Miguelete Tower, on the Valencia Cathedral. It is known as El Miguelete in Castilian Spanish, or Torre del Micalet in the Valencian language. Construction of the tower began in 1381 and was completed in 1429.

Here's a shot of our friends, Marlaina and MacG, with Ed in Plaza de La Reina. As you can see, everyone is a bit bundled up.  It was chilly.  I was in heaven.

The Iglesia de Santa Catarina (Santa Catalina Church), sits at the southern end of Plaza de La Reina and was built in the early 13th century at the site of a prior mosque. The imposing bell tower, with a hexagonal base and five levels, once the site of a minaret, was rebuilt in a Baroque fashion between 1688 and 1705 using the designs of Juan Bautista Viñes. Today it still presents the 13th-century Gothic exterior.

We saw this poetic graffiti on the wall of the outside dining area near the first restaurant we ate at in the city.  The translation provided by my friend in Madrid is as follows:

I should have kissed her

I should have called her

I should have asked for her number

I should have approached her.

(The 5th line is the conjugation of the verb “I should”)

And the last line says: Remorse owes me. (Since "deber" is also “owed”)

The La Negrita Bar in Plaza del Negret.

We had such a great evening to kick off our week in Valencia.  The city was alive with activity, our first dining experience was great, the weather was amazing, and I felt as if we were going to quickly settle into the pace of the city, which I think we did.  

Cheers to Valencia!

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2022: A Hail Mary, Lucky Horseshoes, And Some Really Good Trip Planning Are All That's Needed
2021: Beautiful Freak Of Nature
2020: Sorry, no post on this day.
2019: Ring The Bell For Tips
2018: Snacks & Bar
2017: So This Happened Today
2016: Agrarian
2015: Tied Off
2014: Seek And Ye Shall Find
2013: Frantically Trying To Get Back To Indonesia
2012: I’d Like Some Snow For Dessert
2011: Getting A Little Carried Away
2010: On A Need To Know Basis
2009: Something Has Gone Terribly Wrong
2008: Flying Into The Sun
2007: Riding The Rails
2006: Keeping Me Quiet With A Chocolate Snap
2005: Sorry, no post on this day. The blog didn’t start until May 2005!