I’m at an age now where, if I can avoid a very early morning flight time, I will. Of course, that does potentially mean that my choice of destination may be limited as a result. And so it was with the getaway I’d organised for this weekend.
The original idea was to try for somewhere in “classical” Spain - not Madrid, or Barcelona, but rather Seville, Granada or Cordoba. But the flight times weren’t right, or the fares were a bit stiff and so, after a bit more research, we ended up picking València, somewhere I had been once before, for four hours, unplanned, three years ago, and whilst it seemed nice enough, I had my reservations - would there be enough to keep us occupied for five days? But I found a good hotel, got flights on British Airways, and we were set to go.
And so, you’ll be wondering how it went.
València is marvellous, with fascinating architecture, pleasant back streets to walk in and dotted liberally with good cafes and neighbourhood restaurants. It has an excellent public transport system, the largest aquarium in Europe, large sandy beaches, and a marina with water so clean that rays can be seen gliding beneath the water’s surface. And the weather’s pretty good too…
We started off with an exploration of the area around the City of Arts and Sciences, with its spectacular architecture which gives you the decided impression that you should be impressed - València is no provincial backwater. Building big structures in white would be bold in England, but on the Mediterranean shore under blue skies, it all looks that much more spectacular.
Days 2 and 3 were dedicated to gentle strolls, some astonishingly good paella and an exploration of Valèncian beach life. València has a beach which reminded me of Rimini - it’s a long way to the sea but the beach stretches far further along the coast.
A València Card includes free public transport, and with buses, trams and a metro system, you can get anywhere you need to go efficiently. There’s also a bus which circles the inner city core which is helpful.
But, on top of this, cafes and bars are priced in such a way to encourage you to stop and linger, and a reasonably priced beer is entirely welcome on a day when the temperature is in the mid-eighties.
Sadly, our last day was impacted by the weather which caused severe flooding in the Balearics but, luckily, we’d already decided that the day would be spent at the aquarium. The shark tunnel alone was enough to justify a visit.
So, all in all, a successful trip. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if we went back…
No comments:
Post a Comment