Valencia

First, some random thoughts. The golf courses in Marbella employ about 2000 people.

So, yesterday we went to Grenada. On the way there, we stopped at a rest stop and all grabbed sandwiches for lunch because we would have a 2-hour tour of Alhambra as soon as we got there. Grenada was the last Arab stronghold in Spain, and Alhambra was the fortress that guarded it and also the home of the sultan. It’s an impressive structure with an irrigation system for watering the gardens with melted snow and after straight out of the Sierra Nevada mountains. And the water is still  flowing through the channels within the castle.

After our tour there, we headed for the hotel. This one was probably the worst so far on the trip. Definitely not the 4-star level it’s advertised as. But it was adequate. Since I had signed up to see the gypsy flamenco performance and it started at 10, there was no way I was going to walk around town before dinner. So I rested and even took a nap.

At supper, the curried pumpkin soup was spectacular. The rest of the meal was salty and so so.  I ate with Lisa an Felix, who were headed in to direction of Toledo today. In fact, of the group of 22, most were going to Toledo. Only the 4 Australians and I were headed for Valencia and Barcelona.

In any case, at 9:40, the Paraguayan family, Lisa and Felix, and I got picked up to be taken to the gypsy quarter for the performance. Even Michele Obama has seen it, and there’s a big picture of her with the cast right near the front door. So, we go to a place and are led into a narrow, lit tunnel/cave, painted all white, with bronze pots hanging from the ceiling(That’s what the people of these section of town were famous for making and selling.) and line with chairs on both sides. We took seats and  one guy came and took orders for our drinks. Then one guy sits at the end of the cave that we just came in and starts strumming a guitar. Meanwhile, a couple of ladies come in, in different costumes and also sit right at the entrance to the cave. One lady starts singing along to the guitar music and then the other ladies took turns dancing. Sometimes they dance alone, sometimes in pairs. Sometimes a guy danced along. It involved a lot of very fast stomping and some deliberate hand motions. There was always a story to the dance. It was not the professional school flamenco that you see on tv. It was really emotional.

That lasted about an hour, then we got a tour of that old section of the city with an exceptional view of Alhambra at night before we were driven back to the hotel. The streets are two way streets, but so narrow, we had to back up several times to let oncoming traffic go through.

I got enough time to sleep because the group going to Valencia didn’t leave until 9:30. And now there are only 8 of us altogether.It was a long drive, with an hour’s break for lunch and two shorter breaks for the new driver, Pedro. Riad, our new guide is originally from Egypt. He gave us lots of interesting information along the way as we drove In View of the coast for many miles. And there are no more olive trees in this area. They’ve been replaced by orange trees! It’s so nice to see bright orange circles against the dark green leaves.

We got to the hotel about 5:30 and I was on my way at 5:45. We’re out of the center of town, so I took the bus. Big mistake in the rush hour traffic. It took me about half an hour and the town was just buzzing with people. The 6th is the big day of celebration here because that’s when the 3 kings bring the kids their holiday presents, so there’s basically a celebration from the 24th of December all the way to the 6th of January. Walking the the squares and around the cathedral was so pleasant. There was a group of teeenaged girls singing Spanish Christmas carols. They really drew a crowd and they were very good.

Since I had had a big lunch of paella and fish stew at the rest stop I wasn’t to hungry so I was just looking for a bit to eat. And what do you think I found? A Dunkin Donuts. I couldn’t resist. The donut was good, the coffee Lukewarm.

After walking around a little more, I happened across a metro station. I knew there was one right next to the hotel but I hadn’t taken it into town because I didn’t know which station I wanted. It was so much easier to get home, and there was no traffic.

So, I’ve decided to rent one of the hotels bikes tomorrow and ride the green lung, as Riad called it. The river used to run right through the city. After numerous disastrous floods in the 50s, the city de died to reroute it around the city to the harbor. What to do with the old river bed? The mayor wanted to build a major highway through downtown. The protest was so great that he didn’t stand a change. They made a people park out of it with paths, gardens, volleyball courts, etc. it’s one of the most popular attractions in the city.

So I’m planning on riding along the bike path there and possibly stopping at one of the museums. Our bus leaves for Barcelona at 12, so I won’t have an awful lot of time.