Tossa de Mar
27th April
Tarragona
28th April
Salou/Cambrils
29th April
Tortosa
3rd May
Valencia
8th May
Malaga
12th May
Sevilla
16th May
Madrid
18th May
Barcelona
3rd May - 7th May
The train ride to Valencia didn't take all that long, but it was quite a swish train we were on, TV's and headphones (for the non-existant movie) etc. We arrived around midday and got ourselves a room in the 'Hostal Castelar' near the Plaza Ayuntamiento. 5000ptas for a double room with a shower and TV (but no toilet). The rooms were clean, bright and pleasant some with balconies.
We stayed 5 nights in Valencia, but I can't say that we did, or saw all that much. it is a nice city, the people are on the whole, very well dressed and the food is very good. We had our first experiences with beggars and gypsies here in Valencia. While eating at any of the outdoor places, it's almost impossible to sit out there without being asked for money by strange, tiny, shrivelled old women, trampy men, women with babies, kids etc... It is quite sad in a way, but I also think that things like babies are passed around between various people to do the rounds so to speak.
The night we arrived there was a huge concert in the bullfighting/stadium down the road from us by some Spanish group. People had been queing for it all day. We could hear it from where we were having our evening snack, and everyone seemed to know all the words except us of course hehe. I got hooked on tortilla bocadillos in the restaraunt we liked to eat at ... we also enjoyed a lovely 3 bottles of red wine for lunch at this place...
On our second day we went on on eof those open top tourist bus things, which was interesting in some ways, but also dodgy in others. The taped commentary didn't work all that well, and the bus kept stopping and starting in the traffic, so we were feeling quite ill when we got off!! The commentary was also totally wanky "The startling innovative and modern design, shocked and delighted the towns people, and now this bridge is well loved by all Valencians... " blah blah blah blah!!! There are some really interesting buildings in Valencia, medieval arabic stuff, gothic cathedrals, French style terraces with beautiful windows and balconies...
I really liked the long gardens that run through what used to be a riverbed. Lush and green, planted full of fruit trees, fountains and playgrounds etc. The Palau de Music is in the park where all the concerts are held in a supposedly state of the art concert hall. I just missed out on seeing Lorin Maazel conduct a concert there.
Another interesting development is the Ciudad des Artes y Sciences ... which kind of looks like an extended version of Darling Harbour in terms of architecture. Lots of white steel with no other colours around. On a bright day it is blinding and very hot. The only things open there now are the IMAX and a science museum (like the Powerhouse I think) with an Ocean World planning to open next year, as well as an arts and concert hall, which will apparently be able to fit 300 in the orchestra pit!
The markets in Valencia, again are amazing. Much bigger than those in Tortosa, with even more stuff available. We saw some mega-paella dishes that could have fed a couple of hundred people!.
I had been faithfully reading my lonely planet guide for each place we visited, and according to them, Valencia was the city for some of Spain's wildest nightlife... well we tried so hard, but we had no luck in finding it at all! We wandered looking for the a bar with live music or a club or something, but we had no joy. So I decided one night to go to the so called heaven strip of nightclubs... we walked for miles to get to this place and nothing was happening! What was all that about?? It was much easier for us to buy sangria and vodka in the supermarket and make our own mixes, or sit out at one of the outdoor dining places near our hostal. Rob also discovered the world of Spanish pokies in a nearby gaming salon, where the girls brought him free beer constantly! I can't imagine them passing the NSW Responsible Gaming, or Responsible Service of Alcohol certificates somehow!
Valencia was also the scene for a few protests while we were there. One was about wanting to have a separate/independance for Catalunya and say goodbye to Spain. This was a huge march with thousands of people drumming, playing tunes on these traditional double reed squaky things, singing, chanting and having a great time. I was trying to practice at the time, but between that and a South American band playing out on the street I thought I was better off goin outside to watch.
Another protest that happened while we were there was by a bunch of people calling for peace, because a politician was shot by the ETA (a Northern Spain -Basque- terrorist group who want an independant state for the Basque country, they have been using terrorism for about 20 years or so) while on his way to a gootball match with his son in Cordoba. The even showed his blood stained street and body on the news. At all the protests there was a huge police presence, like they were just begging for action so they could beat someone up!
We finally managed to get a ticket out of Valencia to Malaga and in good time, because the geezers were arriving in droves for the Leeds vs Valencia football match and kept us up all night with their loud geezer behaviour! Luckily we left before the match because Leeds lost, so I wouldn't have wanted to be around all the brits then!