Valencia (day one)

after two days of adjusting to warm sun and having nothing to do, dave and i ventured away from Calpe and took the train to Valencia. It's the third largest city in Spain, next to Madrid and Barcelona, and it was quite lovely. The city centre, called old town, is old and pretty dotted with lots of churches and monuments to patron saints. History of the area involves a lot of wars and changing of hands from Spanish to Arab back to Spanish control, and all in all that makes for a pretty diverse city.

We got caught in the rain for the first few hours of our journey but had sun for the rest of it and ended up walking through markets and popping in on confessional services in the city's 5 bajillion catholic churches. Some photos...


colourful houses near the Merkat Central


old church next to an old castle that all happened to be closed during siesta


big door to another church


fickleness of nature, or catholics


plaza de la Virgen (and the statue with pigeons on its head)


paella pans for sale, and cheap.


plaza de la Virgen and the bullfighting ring

Our second day took us to the new part of Valencia, v. impressive and modern, as well as the America's Cup world sailing race. Pictures soon.