And again Spain. Part 5
To be continued. Start here >>>
Day 7
We spent the night in Alicante, off-season, the hotel was half empty and we got an apartment for two with a kitchen, two bedrooms and two bathrooms. Even for dinner and breakfast went to a nearby hotel. The city has an airport, many people come to the sea through Alicante. However, there was practically no time to explore the city, the hotel was on the edge of the city by the sea, we arrived late in the evening and left early. We traveled a bit around the city and went to Valencia.
We have been to Valencia twice, but still the city always pleases with some kind of festive atmosphere. The weather was hot, on the streets up to 26 degrees. First, as always brought to the "City of Arts" designed by Santiago Calatrava, this is a complex of buildings on the site of the old riverbed. The next day, a traditional marathon was held in the city, so many buildings were evaluated,
even when I climbed the stairs to remove the complex from a height, the police did not let me back, I had to make a big detour.
However, I have a lot of photos from the story about the North of Spain. Then we drove into the city itself past the Towers of Torres da Serranos, built back in the 14th century.
Next we went to the Cathedral.
We visited the cathedral on our previous trip to the North of Spain. (the story about the cathedral ibid. )
A festival of lights was recently held in the central square of the Holy Virgin, many huge dolls were presented, now they are being dismantled. Therefore, the square and the fountain are partially cordoned off.
In addition to the Cathedral, there are several other significant buildings on the square.
This is the 17th century Basilica of the Holy Virgin of the Les Misé rables, where the image of Our Lady, the patroness of Valencia, is kept. and Built in the style of the late Spanish Baroque (churrigueresco)
Moving on, Valencia is a very green city, many parks and beautiful buildings of different eras and styles.
Here is the 90 meter bell tower of Migilette, built in 1425.
And this is the complex of buildings of the Silk Exchange 1482-1548. architect Pere Compte. In the 14th-18th centuries, the most important branch of the Valencian economy was the production and trade of silk. There was also a prison for bankrupt merchants and silk thieves.
This is the bell tower of the Church of Santa Catalina,
early 18th century
And this is the Knitted House, a striking example of Art Nouveau by architect Manuel Fernando, built in 1906. Built into the Chapel of St. Vitalius in 1719.
Facade of the oldest church of Saint Juan, built back in 1238-1316 by the Order of Malta
The church has several facades, one overlooks the market square. 
next to the Palace of the Marquises of Dos Aguas with a museum of ceramics inside
Walking along the orange trees
Here is the famous Colon Market (Columbus Market), an outstanding architectural creation of architect Francisco Berenguer 1914-1916.
Paella pans are sold at the entrance (I immediately remembered a story from the Internet, where a Spaniard laughingly tells how he washed pans in the sea)
Entering the market
We go further along the streets of Valencia. Here is a store with national style wedding dresses.
Let's go to the Piazza del Autamento (Plaza del Autamento)
Let's go to a beautiful large square.
Tribunes are being prepared on the square for Holy Week. The most beautiful buildings of the square are located opposite each other: the municipality (town hall), the facade of the building of the early 20th century, part of the building of the 18th century. On the coat of arms there is a crown, above which is a bat, one of the symbols of the city (according to legend, the mouse sat on the helmet of King Jaime 1 during the battle with the Muslims and saved him from an arrow)
Opposite the building of the Communications Palace (Main Post Office), building 1915-1922. architect Miguel Perez.
There are many beautiful buildings on the square
Then we were tempted to have lunch with a group in one of the restaurants, because Valencia is considered the birthplace of paella. Lunch with wine cost 10 euros. Then we were given some free time, we returned to the market, bought delicious tomatoes for 1.5 euros per kg, then went to the Mercadona supermarket, bribed home wine, cheeses, dried sausage, jamon.
The group gathered at 15:00 and moved to the bus past the North Station and the Plaza de Tores bullring, built in 1859.
Our way lay back to Castelldefelds (a suburb of Barcelona). On the way there was a short stop in the city of Reus, the birthplace of the great Gaudí . To be honest, even our guide did not understand the meaning of such a short stop. I went to Reus a few years ago, there are good shops, a market on Saturdays, now everything was closed,
so we just walked the streets for an hour.
We went to the local cathedral
An hour later we arrived at our hotel in Castelldefelds for the night and were already at the airport in the morning. The airport has a good duty-free, wine prices are the same as in stores.
Summary: The trip is very interesting, you can see many different cities and provinces of Spain and get an impression of the country. Good hotels for the tour, competent organization. All reviews are free. Cons: Spain is a large country, so quite long journeys and there was often simply not enough time to explore cities and their sights. At least very little time for Toledo and Seville.
Tips: 1. Don't travel during the holidays and Holy Week, because a lot of things will be closed. 2. If you have not seen the sights on the tour before, then take the full version with pre-paid tickets, i. e.
because there is a risk of flying past the Alhambra with tickets. 3. Dinners can be taken, in Spain they are good, although you can do without.
