It's Day 2 of our cruise across the Mediterranean, Saturday, September 9th, 2017 ... and I think this must be the only day we didn't take any photos of our approach/ arrival at the Port.
Maybe we had too much fun on our first night on the boat ... and we slept in!
After our breakfast, we took advantage of the shuttle bus service to the city center. Our drop off was near a beautifully landscaped park near the "Porta de Serrano" one of the gate entrances to the old center.
A view of the river bed park (old Turia River) ... the river bisected the city in two until the mid 50's when a horrific storm and high tide caused the river to overflow it's banks flooding the city with two meters of water. A plan was implemented that diverted the water.
Turia Park is the largest inner city urban park in Europe, offering many activities for everyone.
Another wonderful botanical specimen and I don't know what it is?
For being early mid morning the streets were already busy with many people, locals and tourists alike.
Once through the gates we wandered away from the crowds and found our way to the main square ... Plaza de La Reina (Queen's Square) in the old town.
Time for a coffee break and some people watching ... we discovered a new "chain" of coffee shops here, so much better than our Tim Hortons and Starbucks.
Cappuccino Grand Café is full of character and atmosphere, their playlist of music is available on CD and for sale.
Their sign says it all ... "best coffee in town"!
Is there an opportunity to franchise into Canada? I wonder ...
The view from the café ...
After our enjoyable "coffee break", we were ready to explore some more ... a little time in one of the many churches.
And don't forget it's Saturday ... that's Market Day for me!
Our small Farmers' Market in Tillsonburg has lots of fresh, farm produce this time of year but nothing like this ...
Next stop the Central Market located in an unique modernist building.
Visiting markets isn't for everyone but it truly gives you a look into the culture and life of the locals especially today the Valencianos.
The market is divided into sections i.e. vegetables, fruits, meats, fish, and specialty items.
This market was amazing and I now feel like I'm back in Europe!
I hope you enjoy the tour as much as we did.
The architecture and the market offerings were exceptional.
We were "hamming" it up a bit today ...
Señor Honey couldn't believe the size of the red peppers ... all this fresh produce!
My best advice when market shopping ... don't "scrimp on the shrimp"!
It's too bad we don't have a self-catering place this week, we'd be cooking up a wonderful paella.
It is said you must eat a Valencian paella with all its fresh seafood, rice, etc.
Paella anyone?
We strolled a little further before returning to catch the bus back to the port ... some interesting architecture!
I'm saying " The water is a little choppy tonight ... where's the gravol?"
Señor Honey has no problem with the rocking boat!
We are new to the cruising life and are trying to pace ourselves, we opted for a light dinner in the Terrace Café tonight with a seaside table (12th floor) ...
just what we needed and there was room for some cheese and sweet desserts.
Which one do you want?
Señor Honey's cheese and dessert plate ... On my!
He says "This dessert was the best" ... Orange Mousse Cake with Praline Cream, yummy! ... and he had room for the cheese and bread!
My pick was the Tanzanian Chocolate Cake with Molten Caramel ... oh wait the server also added some ice cream and caramel sauce!
Good night from the Mediterranean ... departed Valencia, Spain at 7:00pm on our way to Palma de Mallorca, Spain (travel distance 140 nautical miles)
Can you tell we both have "sweet tooths"?
