We. Loved. Valencia

Porto was great and we would go back there in a heartbeat. But Valencia? It was probably one of the loveliest visits to a large city we’ve ever had. The people were friendly, the food was wonderful, the city is very walkable and the architecture is fascinating. It probably helped that we stayed in a beautiful hotel in the heart of the historic area that was staffed with friendly people, but the overall experience was just great.

Prior to our arrival in Portugal, we were of course concerned about the condition of Valencia, given the horrible flooding they had experienced just a few weeks prior. Conversations with our hotel and our car service assured us that the damage was limited to areas south of the city center, and that the city itself was fine and up and running. We saw signs of the flood damage on our way into the city, but other than some cleanup happening at the City of Arts and Sciences (which might have just been routine cleaning) we saw no evidence of damage.

Speaking of the City of Arts & Sciences, wow. It is an amazing collection of beautiful architecture, set along the Jardín del Turia, a park built in a former riverbed. We spent the large part of one day just wandering around the exterior, returning the following day to explore Oceanografic, the aquarium attraction that is part of the complex. To explore the entire museum complex would have been very interesting, but would have taken days! I’ve included just a few of the many photos I took at the City of Arts & Sciences, but there is a larger gallery on my Adobe Portfolio page if you just want to see more of Valencia!

I’m gradually working my way through photos and am now up to our time in Cordoba, which was the third of the five stops in Portugal & Spain. After our day trip to Granada and The Alhambra, we spent two days exploring this beautiful city.

Our first stop was the The Mosque-Cathedral, which like the Alhambra has a complex history, dating back to the 6th century as a Visigoth Basilica. The building became a Muslim mosque in the 8th century, and after a number of additions and enlargements eventually became a Catholic cathedral in the 13th century. Restoration work began in the 19th century and is ongoing. The building became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984.

One of the things that distinguishes the Mosque-Cathedral is the red and white arches that span the columns in the building.

We spent much of the rest of our time in Cordoba exploring the streets, alleyways and neighborhoods of the town, both on our feet and using the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus to get from place to place. We also attended a Flamenco show, which was so interesting it warrants its own post, which I will do soon!

I continue to add photos to my Adobe Portfolio gallery, so check back often to see what’s new! The one that changes the most is the one titled “Stops Along The Way” as it contains photos from places we stopped as we transferred from one city to the next. The most recent addition is photos from Alarcon and Requena.