It is an easy and flat walk (5-10 minutes long) from the cruise terminal to the public bus stop (which is right next to the hop on hop off bus stop, if you are wanting to go that route on a visit). From there we paid 1.50 Euro each for tickets on bus #19, which took about a half hour to get us to right in front of the Cathedral.
Once off the bus, both our dining companions, and another group of ladies from the ship, asked us if we knew how to get to the Silk Market. We had not planned on making that our first stop, but it was in the area and as good of a place to start as any, so Dave plugged it into his GPS and off we went as a group. I have to say it was a little funny, the group of ladies from the ship kept saying they wanted to see the silk market because it is "A UNESCO Word Heritage Site" They must have said that at least 10 times. When we got there they were SURE we were wrong about what building it was and not in the correct place because "THAT doesn't look like a UNESCO World Heritage Site" Apparently they though UNESCO identifies dazzlingly beautiful buildings instead of ones that have an important place in history (no matter what they look like)? I don't know. It was both comical and odd (and slightly irritating). Oh well.
Anyway, here are some photos of the Silk Market. I do think much ado about not much tends to be made about this building. It is important from a historical standpoint, but not all that much to look at.
We opted against paying the 2 Euro apiece entry, as it did not seem like there could be much inside. Our tablemates did enter and told us at dinner that they wished they had not, long lines to go to what was essentially a big, empty room with a table in it. Oh, and that other group from the ship? They wandered off without so much as a thank you, convinced this was not the right place, and refusing to look at the much more interesting market across the street, since it is not a "UNESCO World Heritage Site" So, for the rest of the day it was just the three of us, free to wander at will and at our own pace.
As I mentioned, across from the Silk Market (the back side) is an interesting building that currently houses market stalls. We enjoyed checking out the architecture and stalls there, and Marika love her freshly squeezed strawberry juice that she got for only 1.50.
Meandering on small streets, back in the direction of the Cathedral, we enjoyed a visit to one of the smaller churches:
Then we made our way back to the Cathedral.
View of the Valencia Cathedral from the front--near the bus stop.
Another view from the front, showing the market stalls (selling tourist items). Hey Nik! We got McDonald's in the shot for you--it has quite a view, eh?
Detail from the front.
Detail from the walkway along the side as we headed back to the Plaza of the Virgins.
I think the "rear" view, from the Plaza of the Virgins is much prettier.
This is the same door that you can see in the photo above. I am 5' 5" I hope this help put the size of these cathedrals in perspective for you. As you can see, I was on tip toes to reach that handle at all.
I thought these little girls feeding the birds in the plaza were just adorable.
This lovely, small, park is just off the back side of the plaza--a nice bit of shade to escape the heat of the stones in the open square.
We decided not to enter the cathedral (I think it as 3.50 each) and went off in search of the Horcahteria that a crew member from Mexico had recommended to Marika. Horcahta is a cold, almond milk drink with cinnamon and vanilla. Marika ADORES it and it is only easy to find in Mexico and in this particular region of Spain. One of the teen staff members, from Mexico, was surprised to hear the American girl was looking forward to Horchata and told her of a good place he had found. We went back to the front of the Cathedral, then down the second side street (not the one by Mc's, but the next one away from the cathedral) and sure enough, there was the most adorable little Horchateria you could ask for, with a plaque commemorating one of the Queen Isabel's (not THE Issabel, this was in the early 1900s) having her horcahta there.
The prices were surprisingly reasonable for the prime location and adorable decor. Two horchatas, a coke and two excellent pastries came to less than 10 Euro.
After a nice break for our cold drinks, we headed back to the square in front of the cathedral, where Marika had spotted a Valor Chocolate store. We picked up a couple of her and Rio's favourite bars from the Christmas factory tour:
I took a couple of other photos of pretty things on the square, and then we started meandering down a lovely tree lined street towards the other side of "old town" where I recalled being the most impressed as a teen.
Yep, the City Hall is still gorgeous. my 15 year old self was right:
The old post office, and other buildings around the square are nice too.
It was getting past lunch time, and while we did not want to have a full meal out, we were ready for a snack. So, we headed a couple of blocks away, to a nice shady street, and got in all the other local foods we wanted (sangria, paps bravas, calamari and churros with chocolate). We had a very enjoyable experience, with good food and prices and a talented street musician who played 3 lovely songs and then took tips in a very non pushy way (we were happy to tip, he was very good).
Afterwards, we walked back towards City Hall, and around behind it, to the bus stop for bus #4 which would take us back to the port. The train station is also lovely, and the bus stop is in front of it:
This area is also only about a block from the old bull ring. I have no photos for you, as my camera battery an out of life on that last train station shot--but the ring is worth a visit if you are in the area.
It was about a 30 minute ride back to port. Walking back to the ship, we saw the America's Cup museum right on the water's edge and decided to pop into the free museum for about 20 minutes (it is not very big). It was very enjoyable and I do recommend it if you are docked in Valencia and have a few extra minutes to spend.
By the time we made it back on board, we had just about enough time to shower and dress before dinner. It was formal night and we had reservations at Izumi after the first show of the evening, but before the show we wanted to pop in to our table, have a salad, and say hello to our tablemates. We hate to just leave big gaps at the table with no explanation (especially that week, when there were 4 empty places at the table all week anyway--the staff told us that someone was supposed to be there and must just not be eating in the dining room. I would like to take the moment to ask that if you ever cruise, and decide NOT to eat at your assigned table because you want to go to the buffet every night, etc PLEASE stop by the dining room on the first day and tell the head waiter that you will not be using your space. It would have been so nice if our table could have been combined with the other half filled table of Germans nearby, and no big awkward empty spaces had been left, but the staff's hands are tied holding "your" space unless you take those 5 minutes to let them know you will not be using it.).
Sorry for the soap box diversion there folks! Anyway, after a salad, and checking in with our tablemates, we enjoyed the ballroom production show again.
Then we headed up to Izumi, where Rio and I enjoyed hot rocks and Marika and David shared a big plate of sushi:
I am randomly throwing in this photo of Rio here, because I think I got a good one of him all dressed up--and I can brag about Marika making him the tie too! (or, more impressive IMO, knowing how to tie a man's bow tie!).
In a move that I don't really understand, on Legend of the Seas, formal night and 70s night are one and the same. So, having missed the 70s party in the atrium on our first go around, Dave and I headed there while the kids headed up to Optix.
It was silly and fun and kept us entertained until we were ready to turn in for the evening.
Up next, a much nicer sea day.
-Hadley
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