AFOOT IN VALENCIA

The futuristic buildings are only about 15 years old, but Valencia is loaded with traditional architecture as well.  We did a “bright and early” walking tour of the city center with a local guide.  In the morning light, even the train station looks classy.

St. Catherine’s Tower (left) and City Hall.  The tower was added to the Gothic church in 1783 and is sort of a centerpiece of old Valencia.

We made a stop at the big mercado, the central market, housed in a metal building built around 1920 and designed by Gustaf Eiffel, with skylights and a central dome.  Our local guide, prejudiced of course, claimed it was the best market in Spain and the most beautiful in Europe.  Who am I to argue?  In its heyday it had 960 stalls, but “only” 160 today.  It would really be neat to have something like this to walk to for your shopping.  Love those hams, but I’m not too sure about these toothy fish.

When Valencia hosted the America’s Cup races in 2007, the fashion house Prada held a fashion show here.  Maybe they dressed the hams?  The metal sculptures on the steeple of the mercado were rather elegant;  not so the gargoyle butt boy spreading his cheeks on the side of the 15th century silk exchange building.

Built in the 15th century as a place to manufacture and market silk goods, the exchange is rather monumental inside, with tall twisting columns and the original marble floors intact.  It’s a UNESCO site.

OK, before you read the explanation below, whaddya think this 6 depicts?

OK, many things come to mind, I’m sure.  Allegedly, this is a “Buyer Beware” carving of a devil inflating a dragon (looks like a cat to me) with air.  Hmmm.  A caution to don’t believe sellers’ puffery?  It is affixed to one of the entryways to the exchange.  Not exactly comforting to the prospective mark.

There was a beautiful Renaissance room with a gorgeous wood ceiling, built for the Maritime Consulate Tribunal that was once housed here.  Here’s the beamed ceiling with a close-up of the carvings where the beams attach to the wall.  The silk trade must have been mighty lucrative.  The detail at right was obtained by cropping a photo similar to the left.  Maybe this virtually-no-zoom camera isn’t so bad after all.

There’s a lot of re-purposing of structures throughout Spain.  In Valencia, they converted a disused bullfighting ring into apartments surrounding a central retail area.  Not so sure I’d want to live facing a noisy marketplace.  (Aerial shot from the web.)

Valencia has its share of narrow passageways, boasts the narrowest house in Spain (it’s the series of door-like windows stacked vertically between the modern glass on left and the traditional house on right), and another view of St. Catherine’s Tower.

I liked this piece of trompe-l’oeil whimsy.  Sure beats graffiti!

We walked over to the Plaza del la Reina, on which sits St. Mary’s Cathedral.  It’s to the right of the Tower, below. 

The cathedral claims to house (drumroll, please) . . . the Holy Grail!  Shades of Monty Python.  Brought in the 14th century from either Rome or Aragon, depending on which tale you subscribe to, it has a chalice made of brown agate dated to the first century BC, and a base that is from the middle ages.  Other cities, notably Leon, claim the same honor, so a tongue planted firmly in cheek is in order.  Although the authenticity has not been declared by the Vatican, both John Paul II and Benedict XVI used it to ordain priests and to consecrate wine. We didn’t see the thing, but here’s a photo from The Catholic Travel Guide (yes, Virginia, there is such a thing).

 

 

 

Moving on, we walked to the Plaza de la Virgen, which is home to the Turia fountain in the background.  This is a major gathering place in Valencia.

This locally famous fountain figure is not a Greek god, but rather an embodiment of the Turia River that flowed through the city.  The 8 female statues surrounding him represent the main 8 "acequias" (irrigation ditches) in the historical medieval river (thus the water flowing from their jars).  Or so they say.

Looking in the reverse direction across the square, you see the back of the Valencia cathedral, with its pointed arch doorway of the Apostles.

Closeup of the Apostles’ doorway (and the red bling cap!).

 

OK, enough with the sightseeing.  We boarded a bus and headed off to a more commercial area of town to see the Lladro museum and factory.  For those not in the know, and I certainly was one, Lladro is to porcelain art like, well, Delahaye was to automobiles.  Exquisite.  Now, I have NEVER liked porcelain figures.  Hummel to me was the height of kitsch.  So I wasn’t expecting to like it much.  Wrong, oh cynic.  Wrong!  We disembarked the bus at the factory, which is the white buildings to the rear;  the black one is the museum.

This was a Saturday, and the place actually was closed to the public.  But Colette made special arrangements, and we got a private tour.  Besides the wonderful creations in the museum, getting to see the craftspersons sculpt and assemble these works was a real treat.  Unfortunately, no photos allowed.  But this photo of Cleopatra’s barge, from the Web, will give you an idea, although – trust me -- it has to be seen in person to do it justice.  This thing is about 4 feet long, and cost $160,000 euros.  They’ve sold multiple copies!

Well, you just know I didn’t get out of there alive, as Loni picked out a piece that appealed to her for, um, substantially less than old Cleo.  Which smile is genuine?

OK, not enough reporting on food in this blog.  Today we had a treat, bussing to the outskirts of the city near the lagoon estuaries to have lunch at an old-style paella restaurant.  Paella cuisine originated in this area, and the place we were going to was surrounded by what used to be rice growing ponds.  A wedding was going on inside the restaurant proper, so we were to eat outside, which was fine with me.  The highlight of the experience was getting a demonstration of the cooking of paella for 30 people in one pan.  Our local guide introduced us to the 89-year-old owner of the restaurant, and his master chef.

The meat had already been started before our arrival; because of shellfish allergies amongst our group (Loni included), we didn’t get the full-on seafood paella I was hoping for, but rather one made of chicken.  Underneath the pan are concentric propane-fueled ring burners.  He has just added the rice by pouring it in from bags (note the white streaks).  The little old owner is keeping watch on things behind him to the right.  Note my nemesis, “She who must be in front with her laptop camera.”

We await the feast.  The dish included artichokes, green beans, and tomatoes.

The finished product.  I guess it didn’t slip out because it was crusty on the bottom?

This really isn’t that difficult to make, and we make variations on the theme at home.  However, I’m told that the spices that they used here – especially saffron – were particularly vibrant and “made” the dish.  For me, of course, such subtleties were lost, as I have no sense of smell and a much-diminished ability to taste.  Still, it was good, and everyone else was raving.  It certainly was a pleasant outing.  Again, Colette did well!

After lunch, we boarded a long outboard for a “Small World” cruise around the former rice paddies.  This I could have missed, as there wasn’t much of anything to see.

On our way back to the bus, we checked out the source of all the shrieking-like noises we had been sporadically hearing.  Well, hello and goodbye to you, too!