September 2007
Day 10 - Friday, September 28, 2007
Our Valencia City tour began at 9:30a. The ship is pretty well organized with getting 40 people per bus. On the pier we met our guide for the day, Claudia:
..and set off on our tour of Valencia.
We liked Valencia right away. The city holds nearly a million people but it is spacious and well laid out. Like many European cities, Valencia has both rich antiquity and modern elements.
For years, the river flooded the city until they re-routed it (you can do that?). The old river bed is now a wide park area with greenery, trees, athletic fields and more.
Shooting good photos from a moving bus, through windows, well, you've heard me apologize before..
Modern art is everywhere:
  
This is one of the two remaining gates into the old city.
The area in front is the old riverbed, now the park referred to above.
Like all the walking tours before, Claudia led us through the narrow streets of the old city like sheep. It wasn't so baaaaad.. (sorry)
   
Statues, you ask? Oh, yeah:
 
Seen from behind, beloved by doves; see them both?      
Next: This isn't something you see everywhere. This is the narrowest house in Valencia; it may be the narrowest house in the world. It's under restoration and it may be only eight feet wide, but it's six stories high:
   
They're constructing several buildings in the Technology Museum section of town. The contrast with the "old city" is striking. This is the Opera House:
     
On and around March 19th each year, Valencia celebrates St. Joseph's day or "Las Fallas Valencia". Over the years it has become a very elaborate production with unbelievable fireworks and an odd artistic custom.
350 artists from all around the country create 20' - 30' high papier-mache and wood sculptures. They can be on just about any subject but often represent things the artist is upset by. Inside each of these sculptures is a smaller (about 1/4 scale} model of the sculpture itself.
It takes a year to create these sculptures and they are placed in plazas and parks all over the city of Valencia. Then, March 19th, they are burned in place. That's right; they set fire to them all.
But before they do so, there's a judging and for the single winner, the model is extracted and goes to the Fire Museum. And then the winner and the rest of the 349 are burned to ashes. Seems like a tremendous waste -- especially if you tour the museum and see the surviving models from prior years:
   
Recognize this guy?   
And, finally, for the Grandboys:
  
Our waiter, Andy, and our assistant waiter, Laurence:
Being the last formal dinner, we had the introductions of the chef and wait staff and the parade of Baked Alaska, traditional to cruise ships. It was a great success and we enjoyed it thoroughly.
At 11:45p we were again admitted to the Grand Dining Room for an elaborate dessert display. We took pictures, but were too stuffed to eat anything:
            
Tomorrow: Gibralter, the Barbary apes and then off we go to Barcelona and home.
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