Bit of another quiet day.
Did a bit of needlework.
Tuesday, 19th November 2019
Today, we went for a drive to Valencia, which is a 1 hrs 15 min drive, or 105 kms. The weather is perfect yet again. We have had no cloudy days, how ever it is getting a bit cool in the evenings.
Arriving in Valencia, we aim for the train station, as that is where the Hop on hop off bus ticket place is, plus we know there will be parking there. So we find the said place, and park the car. After a short walk we get to the terminal for the trains, and purchase the tickets and after 30 mins, we make our way to where the bus pick up point is. There are two routes around Valencia, and we choose the one that is around the old part of the city. Valencia has a population of around 2.531 million people. This is a very interesting place, as we find out, and of particular note is that in the 1960s the River that used to run through the city, was diverted away from the city, due to the continuing flooding that happened.
Valencia, is one of the oldest cities in Spain being founded in 138 BC. It has had Roman, Muslim, Christian rule in it's time. There are many amazing buildings that are dotted around the city. Our tour on the bus takes around an hour and a half, and we find some wonderful places that we might like to explore later.
After our first tour ends, we take in the surrounds of the point at which we have choosen to get off, as this one, is also the place that the secound route comes too aswell. So we have a bit of time to fill in, and have a snack and warm up. It is starting to cool, as it is 4pm. After we have eaten, we go to the bus stop, and wait, a couple of the first route buses come and go, and we ask when the next b route bus will be along, and are told in around 30 mins. So we walk about the near vacinity, and check out the shops, as one does. I decide that if we are going to go upstairs on this second trip, I may need to get something to keep my head warm, so i purchase a nice Maroon beanie.
Once the bus right arrives, we go upstairs to take in the next tour.
Our second route, takes us along the newer parts of Valencia, and past the beaches that they have here. Again, it is an hour and a half tour, that is filled with some spectactular buildings and sculpture and statues and bridges. One in particular that sticks out is, a very large blue sculpture, called '' Dama Iberica'' that is made of 22000 blue discs, and is 18 meters tall. It cost 2.4 million to construct. We also pass by some pretty impressive buildings which are not the normal designs of the city. They are very modern and even somewhat futuristic.
So glad I did purchase the beanie, as it became quite cool, and the beanie did the required job. When the tour is done, we hop off and decide to catch route A to get us back to the train terminal, and we wait for a good while, but decide to walk back to the station, how far can it be.
We eventually get back to the station, and just a bit further, we get to our car. We have enjoyed the day, and Bob states that he would like to come back and explore Valencia more. We head back to Gata de Gorgos, driving in the dark. This is something that we haven't done a real lot of in the past.
Wednesday, 20th November 2019
A rest day, although we did go to the shops to get some food essentials and making plans to go back to Valencia, as our time here in this area is running out. We leave Gata de Gorgos on the 30th.
Thursday, 21st November 2019
What an amazing day we have had today.
It started with a drive to Valencia, again a 1hr and 15 min trip, and we have left our place are 8.30 so we can beat the lines for the first place we are going to. The Bioparc, opens at 10 am, and we arrive and find there is no lines and not a lot of people here, althoug there are a few groups of school children. This is a wildlife place, where the animals are not contained in cages, and it is set on 10 hectares or 25 acres. It is owned by the city council, and has around mainly 4000 african animals. This zoo is different in that the visitors are immersed into the animals habitat, only using rivers, ponks streams and rocks. We saw so many wonderful animals, and took a gread deal of pictures. One of the many wow moments was when Bob came to me and said, there is a really large fish in the water here, and it was, a Hippopotamus submerged i the water, but not just one, but two.
This was a wonder and to be able to see this, you can only imagine this happening in the wild.
After a couple of hours we have a coffee break, and sit back on the verandah of the Cafe, and watch the Giraffe chasing the birds and the Gazelles, and the Saddle Billed Stork running over the ground. A truely amazing thing to experience. This Parc is a must if anyone is every going to be in this area.
We continue walking around the Zoo, and watch a animal show, which has a variety of animals and birds entering the areana and doing their thing.
After we finish at the Zoo, our next thing to do is to find our accommodation for the night. We enlist the help of the GPS, which has been invaluable to us throughout all our to date. The road system here is a little hectic to say the least. Roundabouts are crazy, and even if you have an indicator on no one takes any notice. There are many lanes, with traffic lights and it is a matter of picking which lane, and hoping for the best. We do make it to a car parking station, without incident, which is close to where the address is of our hotel. The thing about Spain, many hotels do not have the Visual appeal that we are used to. Quite often it is just a door way with signs outside or just a sign on the door. So we get our luggage out of the car, and head off following the GPS for the rest of the directions. We wander down streets, and the streets are narrow to narrower. One gets the for forboding feeling that we have booked something dodgey. We keep walking and true to form, we manage to get a bit misplaced, but, eventually find our digs for the night. Thankfully, it is all very good. The hotel office is just that, an office, with a single door and signs out the front. but when we get to our room/apartment, it surpasses our expections.
We rest for a while, and then we resurface and head out to check out the local shops about us, and to find something to eat. Funny thing, the time we start looking for dinner is around 7.30. We walk to a couple of resturants and are told that they are not opened, one said they were closed and the other mentioned that they were not opened but would be open at 8. Again, we still are not used to the different times of resturant times compared to Australia. Most places in Australia, usually close their kitchens at 8 to 8.30, where are here some of the eateries only start cooking at these times.
We do find somewhere to have a meal, and then we head back to our room and retire for the night.
Friday, 22nd November 2019
So the day begins with us checking out of the hotel, but leaving our luggage with the hotel for a couple of hours as we want to walk around and explore the area more. Bob wants to go to the Post Office here, which is a huge old building that was built in 1922, it has 5 special statues at the entrance. It has two domes on each end with a structure in the middle. A truely unique presence.
Next we on the agenda is the Silk Exchange. But before we find the Silk Exchange, we happen to by chance, find the Central markets. We will go back to the markets, as the building it is housed in is across the road of where we are wanting to go. The Silk Exchange (Llotja de la Seda ) building was built between 1482 and 1548 and is in three parts. There is the Orange garden, which is a walled court yard. The main hall and the side wing make up the second part of this part. The main hall, is the most lavishly decorated room, with twisted columns, and the ceiling consists of arches. It is truely majestic. The room upstairts iseven more majestic, with a carved ceiling, that to see is to believe. There is a just as impressive floor to match the ceiling above. The rooms are still in the original state. The third part is a underground area, which in the merchants would be imprisoned for debts. A most wonderous building. In 1996 the UNESCO considered it as a World Heritage Site, as a exceptional example of a building in the late Gothis style.
After we finish looking about this wonderful building, we head over to the Central markers, and wow, WOW. Amazing, another huge building, with high domes and ornate decorations. This building began to be built in 1914, and was completes in 1928. The Central Market of Valencia is one of the largest in Europe and covers more than 8000 square meters. There are hundreds of venders selling fruit and vegies, meats, fish, wines, and mostly food items. There is a bar in the midst of all this, and it is a very busy place.
With both of us seeing the things we wanted to see, in the city centre, as now head back to the hotel to gather our luggage, and make our way to the car. We have elected to take the car to our next port of call, instead of taking the hop on hop off bus, and figured that there would be some sort of parking. Eventually we find the car park and the car, pay our dues, and leave headed to Oceanografic. This is a oceanarium, and the building that it is housed in is an amazing structure. It is the largest complex like it in Europe. There is a dolphinarium, a penguin display, as well as Sharks, Sea lions, Beluga, Walruses, and many more. It is divided into 10 areas. Mediterranean, Artic, the Islands, Tropical, Temperate, and the Red seas. Then to end the visit, it starts to rain a little, and we head off to watch the Dolphin show, which was very good.
We leave this tourist area, and head to our car, and when we get there, I notice that our Passports are on the back seat. I asked Bob if he moved them there, and he said no, and then it hits me, at the same time that Bob says the suitcase is gone. Our car has been broken into with the quarter glass broken on the passenger side. So in summery, they took our clothing, which was just a couple of things, as it was just an over night stay. But in the suitcase, was Bobs camera, and on the suitcase was his Sleeping machine. My hand bag was taken, but fortunately it was empty, but I did have a leather purse in it, which was left behind, but the Australian dollars in it was gone. We were very lucky that they didn't take the passports, and they could have taken other cards, ie, shooters liscense, blue card and things like that. I guess our saving grace was that it was in English and the theives didn't understand the language.
So we have the presence of mind to take pictures of the car, the broken window, and where it it was parked. Next we need to report the theft to the police, and Bob stops at Oceanographic to ask one of the staff where the closest station is. He is given directions, and off we go. We follow the directions via the GPS and end up almost at the police station, but we park a little distance away, for fear of not being able to get a park closer to where we need to be. A 20 min walk and we find the Police station, and explain as best we could why we were there. The officer we saw understood just enough , and went away for a moment, then came back and ushered us into a small waiting room. We wait here for some time, with people coming and going, in and out doors. Eventually after an hour or so we are seen by a female officer who took down what was taken. and looked at our photos we had taken of the car. We worked out that approximately $3000 worth of stuff was stolen. The female officer spoke pretty good english, and was very pleasant when she was dealing with us.
After all the details are taken, we are back walking to our car, and then it is well and truely time to go home.
What a day.
Saturday, 23rd November 2019
Today is a day of working out what exactly was taken yesterday from our car theft. There is forms to be filled out, phone calls to be made to the relevant insurance companies and Renault Eurodrive, for getting repairs done to the car. All being done by non French and Spanish speaking clients. Eventually, English is spoken after periods of waiting. So now we have to take the car into the closest Renault dealer, to get the process happening.
Sunday, 24th November 2019
A day of catching our breath from the happenings of the previous days.
No comments:
Post a Comment