TRAVELING IN SPAIN : VALENCIA

Valencia

Surprisingly to me, Valencia is about fourth in tourism among cities in Spain.  It's population for the city proper is about 700,000.  Much smaller than the 3,400,000 of Madrid.  I like this city a great deal.  Valencia is large enough to offer everything a larger city offers.  Yet it is more sophisticated than most cities its size with an offering of many international restaurants, universities, and high level historical and cultural activities.  

The city is very beautiful and clean.  It can be divided by me into three areas:  First, the beaches along the Mediterranean Sea which  unfortunately, I did not have time to visit.  I would enjoy the comparison of  coastal Valencia with its many beaches with the Mediterranean coastal area of Beirut from my visit there of two years ago--an area which was quite developed and attractive.  Second, the newer area of Valencia is where the awesomely splendid City of Arts and Sciences exist.  Third, the historic area, which is very charming, and still Valencia's biggest tourist draw.

Of all the cities I have visited, Valencia most reminds me of Honolulu and Waikiki.  It is coastal; at times windy and with  similar climates; and the people and the pace of life is more laid-back than in most cities.  Along with the ubiquitous palm trees, people drive sanely here.  There is no rush, and drivers seem as if they are moving in slow motion much like they did in Honolulu.  It is unusual in this day and age to be in a city where traffic isn't noisy and congested.  Valencia's major roads are laid out correctly, so that major highways don't converge into fewer lanes in the heart of the city, the way Honolulu's traffic did.  Valencia has two other advantages over the city centers of Hawaii.  I visited both in the month of May, and Valencia has not been inundated with massive crowds of tourists as had been the case when I was in Hawaii, and the food is more diverse and better than in Honolulu.  

It will take more than one post to cover Valencia:

The City of Arts and Sciences  

The photos on the Internet blew me away when I saw this massive architectural gem, and I was even more impressed to experience it in person. 

I have had some wonderful tours to date in Spain, but my tour of the Arts and Sciences complex was the most outstanding tour package to date.  The evening was immeasurably enhanced by an excellent guide, Nick Denton, a young man who is very personable, passionate about what he does, and is considerate of his clients and their needs.  He is well educated, and someone who truly can be called a Renaissance Man.  We had many interests in common and so little time to share them, but what time we did have made for an interesting evening of conversation.

Nick took me and the one other guest for the evening, Barbara Sanders, who was from the Frankfort area of Germany, on a fascinating one hour tour of the complex while he explained its historical,  architectural, and engineering feats.  

I must digress:  (Here comes the history lesson.)

  

This incredible complex was "designed by Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela, the project began the first stages of construction in July 1996, and was inaugurated April 16, 1998 with the opening of L'Hemisfèric. The last great component of the City of Arts and Sciences, El Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, was inaugurated on October 9, 2005, Valencian Community Day."  (Wikpedia)

There were cost overruns, and the complex never attracted the numbers of tourists that were the promised projections to pay for it.  Needless to say, the tax payers have been paying the bill as is so often the case with such public projects.  The architects are no longer very popular in Valencia.  I hope the day will arrive when the Valencians will one day appreciate what a treasure these men have given to the city.  Ah, a reminder of the Biblical verse that says, a prophet is not honored in his own home town.  

If anybody knows any billionaires out there, the complex needs $500 million to complete the project, specifically the exhibition center.  Right now, the billionaires are focused on restoration of Nortre Dame.

The architects created space of lightness from humongous forms of heavy concrete.  So much detail was paid to the sight-lines, angles, and visual impact of each structure in relationship with the others, as well as with the overall layout of the complex.  The imaginations of these architects were majestic and far-reaching.  The three of us wondered to what degree all that we saw and observed had been anticipated by the architects themselves.  Certainly these artists could not have imagined every angle and perspective of the viewer.

I was reminded of Frank Loyd Wright's designs, which often times appear to defy gravity.  Wright, considered to be the greatest of American architects, has suffered some loss to his reputation in recent years.  Some of Wright's buildings while uniquely designed, and challenged the engineers of his time; are now having difficulties surviving with age.  Nick and I wondered if the same, with time, would also haunt the works of these architectural geniuses, or if more modern engineering techniques might prevent some of the load problems that afflicted some of Wright's works as they aged.

Above is a harp like structure.  The four poles to the right were not a part of the original design, but needed to be added for structural

support, which according to Nick, are not necessarily functioning with the support intended, and is one of the few flaws in the design.

I believe the above is the Hall of Science.  Other major buildings include Europe's largest Oceanic Aquarium, which is housed in a number of separate structures dependent upon the types of aquarian mammals and reptiles; an exhibition center; an IMAX theater; and an Opera House or Concert Hall Complex housing three or four large auditoriums.

Nick said that the window below was specifically designed to capture the complex that appears in front of the window completely in its sight.  I hope you can see it in the reflection.

After our tour Nick took us to a rooftop tapas and wine evening in an apartment with balcony, which overlooked the entire complex.  All of this was part of the tour package, which also included private transportation from and to our accommodations.  We were able to take aerial photos of the complex, sunsets, and at different times of the evening as darkness descended and we could get illumination shots of the complex.

Above and below, the blue areas are the reflecting pools.

Notice the parks of walking and bike paths.  These green belts extend along the City of Arts and Sciences and beyond, uninterrupted, for nine kilometers (about six miles).

My Uber driver the next day after I returned to the City of Arts and Sciences to spend the afternoon at the Oceanic Aquarium said of the city, "It is as if space aliens had landed in Valencia."

The photo below doesn't do justice to the point I wish to make.  However, even the high-rises outside of and aligned with the complex of the City of Arts and Sciences appear to be staggered angled, and designed in ways meant to complement the design of the city.

                        







Barbara, Andress, and Nick

Andress, in the photo above and to the left, is an intern responsible for preparation of our meal and tapas.  His university major is in hotel and tourist management.  I thought it was impressive that Nick's company required the interns to know first hand the food preparation as well.

I was scolded by my son and one other friend for talking about food and the splendid tapas I had during my last night in Madrid, but failed to show any photos.  Problem partially corrected in the photos below, which were some of the savoring tapas we had that evening.

Upon arrival in Spain, when I first viewed menus of tapas and their prices, I thought I was going to have to pay a fortune just to eat enough tapas to equal a meal.  It's amazing how quickly tapas can fill a person.  Usually the tapas are eaten sparingly by the Spaniards  over time with beer, wine or sangria, in a casual afternoon of conversation. 

                 Andress, Nick, and Barbara.  

Nick and Andres explained in detail the dishes and tapas, and much information about the wines that were served.

At various parts of the evening we would go unto the terrace to take photos of the complex and the changing night sky as the darkness cascaded over the city.