Valencia, Happy Birthday

The last morning in Valencia, but this is my birthday.

For the last time I visit Placa de la Virgen, drink my coffee, say goodbye to may hosts and set off to the underground station.

There is some unpleasant surprise at the station. My airport ticket, which I bought yesterday, is expired. And I need to buy another one. Unfortunately, the station duty officer does not speak English, the ticket machine does not accept 20 euro banknotes, and nobody can change it. Luckily, I have the credit card, so I successfully get on the train

It is only 20 minutes by train, and I am at the airport. The departure hall is on the second floor.

Duty free shop. Boarding. Flight. Transfer in Istanbul. Another duty free shop. Boarding. Flight. I am at home.

Valencia, Garden, Beach and Tapas

Tomorrow I am going back to Novosibirsk. So, there is only one place left in my list to visit in Valletta. It is the botanical garden. But first, I will have my lunch at my favourite restaurant Llepol. For this time I asked for seafood paella. Honestly, Valenciana paella, which was cooked here before, was better. Anyway, it is a very friendly place and the homemade desserts are so delicious here!

Botanical garden is situated close to the Torres de Quart and it dates from 1802. They say that you can find here the flora of 5 continents and 3000 species. Especially interesting thing is the collection of palms and tropical trees. The entrance is not free, and with Tourist Card you will pay 1,5 euro.

Of course I could not miss the opportunity to visit the beach once more.

While I was travelling in the metro I was met by musicians, who greeted the passengers by playing instruments. This kind of performance is quite usual thing in Valencia, I suppose. They all the time are trying to organise some interesting performance. You will likely become a witness of such events if you are not blind, of course.

This evening I am trying another tapas bar in Placa de la Reina. Nothing exceptional, except the thing that the price for tapa depends on the length of the stick.

The dead of night. It is almost time to say goodbye to Valencia. And tomorrow there is a special day. Actually, it will be my birthday.

Valencia, Borjas palace

In the morning after a short strolling around the city I climbed the impressive 50 metres high octagonal bell tower “El Miguelete”, which is placed next to the cathedral.
207 steps by spiral staircase lead you up to the summit from where you can enjoy spectacular views of the Valencia's old town, even the sea. On the upper storey you will find the largest bell dedicated to St. Michael.

Near the cathedral you can experience a unique event on Thursdays. It is the Tribunal of Waters, which is one thousand years old tradition. It is an institution of Justice to settle disputes arising from the use of irrigation water by farmers in several Irrigation Communities and canals.
Discussion starts at 12 o'clock in front of Gothic Door of the Apostles of the Cathedral of Valencia. As I could understand, nothing special happened. And the court was over in 10 minutes.

Today there is a a trip to city of Gandia. Return ticket by train cost me only 11.60 euro. The trip takes about one hour. The scenery from the windows is not so spectacular as it was while I was travelling, for example, along Costa Brava. At least you can see the orange plantings, rice fields and mountains here.

Gandia is a small town with population of 70 thousand or more. There are several interesting places to visit here. One of them is the palace, which was owned by the Borgia family.

In general, it is a rather quite and boring place, especially in siesta time. Nevertheless, Gandia is popular now primarily as the beach resort.

On arrival to Valencia I had the unforgettable meal at Bisbe restaurant. I ordered the tasting menu for only 20 euro and it was worth it!
The menu consisted of small portions of food, each of them was a kind of masterpiece with various combinations of food. I would say, that it is much more better than tapas I tried the previous day.
In general, perfect location, outstanding atmosphere and friendly service. Todo estaba dellicioso!

Valencia, The Castle of Sagunto

The second remained gate tower is located on the west of the city. And I visit it today. It is called Torres de Quart. It is less decorative than Torres de Serranos, but still it looks impressive. And you can observe other part of the city from the top of the tower.

A happy discovery of the day was Saint Nicholas church, which can be found in Carrer dels Cavallers. This Gothic style church with its numerous sculptures of angels and other decorations as well as spectacular ceiling and fresco paintings had the powerful visual impact for me. Definitely I recommend visiting it to everyone!

By the way, electronic candles are popular here in the churches. You put a coin and another lamp turns on. So, I left a pair of coins and asked for some favour from the saints.

The town of Sagunt is my next point of destination. I go there with Renfe trains. The journey takes only 35 minutes from Valencia. First, I arrived at the North train station. The closest metro station to the North Station is Xativa. And, it is much easier to purchase the tickets by automatic machine than with the help of the cashier. The ticket cost me 3.7 euro.

Well, Sagunt is famous among tourists first of all because of the ancient fortress. If you come here, be aware of the fact that you will have to climb the mountain, where the fortress is located. It is a tough walking, but it is worthy. As a reward you will get the spectacular view on the whole city.

Please, take with you some bottled water, because there is no cafes or kiosks near at hand to buy it. At the same time, in the streets of Valencia or other Spanish city you usually can meet the fountains with drinking water, which is quite relevant.

In general, I liked my trip to Sagunt. Beside the fortress it is also interesting to stroll around the cosy narrow streets of the town. Approximately you would need about four hours for this trip. However, you should come here afternoon not to catch the heat wave.

Tonight I decided to try another variant of tapas, which is called pinchos. Actually, these are the small pieces of food with bread and some stuffing on it. Each pincho has a wooden stick. Actually, they count the sticks at the end of the meal. For example, one pincho may cost 1.95 euro.

To my mind, these wine bars are such a nice tradition and they are undoubtedly really convenient for such events as dates or meetings with friends.