Monday was spent getting ourselves organised for the next part of our trip , this time we are headed to Valencia , Spain for 10 days with Justin & Isla , while she is on a 2 week mid term break from school . So Tuesday , away we go to the train station and off to Gatwick airport for our next flight to Valencia . Flying Wizz , we were shuttled to the plane in buses . We appeared to be a distance from the airport buildings and we were being kept in the bus until everything was good to load - it's a busy airport , with lots of vehicle movements around the place .
After an uneventful flight , we arrived in Valencia , customs & immigration negotiated , we headed out to the train station to take us into the city , about 11 stops away , then a change to a tram for the next segment , finally arriving near our accomodation about 600m away . Jacaranda's are out in flower here at the moment and make for pretty street scenery .
After Justin and I went to the supermarket and got the required provisions , we sat and enjoyed a beer together back at the apartment , before tea was prepared . After our meal we wandered down to the beachfront for a look - it was about 800m away. There's a promenade that's about 10m wide , lined with palms , then a garden and another footpath in front of all the restaurants & shops - there were people everywhere and that was 9pm . The beach started on the other side of the promenade , where there were timber pathways going out towards the water - the beach here is over 200m of sand before you get to the waters of the Mediterranean . The timber boardwalks certainly come in handy on the hot days when you can't walk on the sand because it's too hot , but they end about 50 m from the waters edge , so there's still some hot footing it to be done !! There's plenty of people on the promenade , but equally the same still out at the beach , enjoying the water and kicking soccer balls around . The beach goes for 4 or 5klms into the distance !!
This gives you an idea of the amount of sand before the water .
Next day we head into the city for a look around . We got of the tram , then train and popped up to the surface right next to the Bullring on the left and another train station on the right .
The bullring hasn't been used for bull fighting for some time now , but it was interesting to see it - would have been even better if we could have gone inside the gates for a better look !! This is as close as I could get .
Many buildings are adorned with sculptures etc .
On our walk around the bullring , we found this street art depicting the slave trade in the fashion industry.
Across from it was this one on the walls of a coffee shop .
There are multicoloured terracotta roofs on various buildings and domes in the city .
Flags flying outside the city council building .
As well as the flags , there was also this fountain in a square nearby . We continued on through some of the city to the Central Market , and had some Empanadas for lunch . We also purchased some dried pineapple , strawberries and mango , as well as some macadamia's to snack on in the following days . It is an interesting walk through the markets , seeing all the fruit & vegetables , fresh fish & seafood , bakery items and lots more we didn't get to see .
