Dungroamin 2018
The holiday that smells but has no taste
Sunday 10th June
The Expo Hotel is located at the Nuevo Centro. This was a reasonable position as it is on the red tourist bus route.
Despite this, we decided to walk into the old part of town and on our way passed the Quart Towers which form part of the 15th century city walls. Chris and Alan, not having been put off climbing up steps of dubious safety in old bell towers, climbed the steps to the first landing for some decent views over the city.
One of the bridges on the Jardines del Turia.
Quart Towers.
The view over Valencia from Quart Towers.
One of the narrow streets.
The market – closed on our first visit.
La Lonja de la Seda de Valencia.
We were planning a visit to the market which is apparently a popular tourist destination. This lived down to Dungroamin expectations by being closed. But we quickly moved on to La Lonja de la Seda de Valencia – built between 1482 and 1533, this group of buildings was originally used for trading in silk (hence its name, the Silk Exchange) and it has always been a centre for commerce. It is a masterpiece of late Gothic architecture. The grandiose Sala de Contratación (Contract or Trading Hall), in particular, illustrates the power and wealth of a major Mediterranean mercantile city in the 15th and 16th centuries.
We looked around the adjacent Plaza del Doctor Collado, where we managed to find enough seats in the street cafe to stop for a coffee. This was quite a lively square with a brass band playing so loudly that any conversation was almost impossible.
Another ceiling in La Lonja de la Seda.
Our first view of the Opera House from the blue bus.
The promenade along the beach.
We then went to Plaza Reina where we bought our 48 hour tickets for the tourist buses which cost €19 each. A bus on the blue tourist route took us to the beach, where we found somewhere for lunch, somewhat fortunately maybe, as the restaurants seemed to be very busy at Sunday lunch time.
After lunch, we wanted to get back on the blue route bus, but we couldn't find the bus stop, despite having a map showing where it should be. So we spread out to search a wider area, and eventually someone spotted it. Back on the bus, we went to stop 12, where the blue route meets the red route and we would be able to take the red route back to the hotel.
The beach and the port nearby.
We find a comfy lunch stop.
The sand castles in Valencia are a work of art.
Rather than take the bus, some of us decided to walk back along the Jardines del Turia. These vast gardens are built on the former riverbed of the Turia, whose course was altered to prevent constant flooding in the city. After a devastating flood on 14 October 1957, the Turia's course was diverted south of the city, leaving a huge tract of land that crosses the city from West to East, bordering the historical centre. Crossed by 18 bridges (originally river bridges), the Turia Gardens is one of the largest urban parks in Spain providing nine kilometres of green space boasting foot paths, leisure and sports areas. So it was quite a pleasant walk.
In the evening, we went to the hotel's roof top restaurant for dinner. The menu was not what you would call extensive, and it was not easy cutting up meat served in a basket, but overall it was OK.
The walk back through Turia Gardens.
Cathy explores the roof–top terrace.
The view from the roof–top terrace overlooking Turia Gardens.
Dinner in the roof–top restaurant.