Valencia

We have been in Valencia for six days, Tomorrow is our last day before flying out to the UK.  The weather has been quite changeable.  Almost 30C and sunny for the first couple of days, then it cooled off with a couple of days of rain. Today it looks like the rain has past. Most of the day it has been sunny with temperature is the low to mid 20s and it is forecast to ne sunny and warmer tomorrow.

The apartment that we have is right in the middle of the city. It is only a few block for the central market and the main tourist part of the city.   The city has been busier that we have experienced in the past. For the last 3 years we have been in Valencia mid November, for the final MotoGP race of the season. Although there are quite a few tourists, it is easy to escape the busy areas and spend time in the local neighbourhoods.

We have been walking a lot, as is our norm.  From our location it is about a 7K walk to the main beach area, if you walk through the park.  The park is one of the major attractions for us.  It runs over 8 kilometres and is about is about 500 metres wide. It is situated over an underground river. There are dedicated walking, running and cycling trails throughout the full length of the park. There are several playing fields as well as a track and field stadium. On the weekend we walked through the park and  most of the facilities where in use. We saw football (soccer) games and practises, a rugby game, a cricket match, some guys playing basket ball and plenty of people using the exercise equipment scattered about the park.

Here is a google walking route from the apartment to the beach.

Below is a couple more photos of the park.  One of several bridges that crosses the park and the second photo is of part of a huge play structure. The structure is of Guliver tied to the ground. The kids can pretend that they are Lillputians.

In this photo you can see Guliver's arm tied to the ground with the climbing net. His face is above the net.

Last weekend we walking to the beach and stopped in one of the beach bars for tapas and sangria.

Here is a photo of an elaborate sand castle

Over the last few days we passed our time searching the stores for just the right gifts but we had time to stop for an afternoon snack and sangria in the old Colon Market before having a short siesta.

So far, as far as cities in Spain go, Valencia is our favourite. We always have a nice relaxing time here.  Tomorrow we are planning to start getting ready to leave and walking to the beach in the afternoon.  After that it is off to the UK, overnight and then a direct flight Calgary on  Saturday. We will overnight in Calgary and return to Fernie on Sunday afternoon.  Not looking forward to the colder weather. That's for sure!