Valencia - City of Contrasts

Spain's 3rd largest city blends everything from the ultra modern to the ancient and everything in between. The water has been redirected away from the river which wends its way through town, so that the riverbed is now a large, very long park. Near the ocean and the former river's mouth are the aquarium, science museum, art museums and more; all of which are huge and futuristic in design. Imagine the movies Star Wars and Blade Runner and you are most of the way there. We could not stop taking photographs of them (by the way, clicking on images on this blog usually brings up larger versions). Over and over from what seemed to be every possible angle. It wasn't just the futuristic design, but those improbably forms set to an immense scale which had us agog. Fortunately these modern monuments eventually disappeared behind us as we walked through the park into the old city where we were surrounded by buildings from the time of Rome, the middle ages, the renaissance, and the current day. Definitely a feast for the eyes. In one park we stumbled across the tangled roots of three huge banyon trees and felt like we were back home on Maui.

We are now out at sea on our way to Gibralter. We had a magnificent meal at the ship's high end restaurant, Portraits, wearing our new suits. It will probably be another fifteen years before we have any reason to wear suits again. We will be sailing all day tomorrow which will give a chance to relax and take it easy.

Arrived in Valencia

Today was a travel day with a pleasant train ride from Barcelona to Valencia.

A warm and welcoming staff made arrival on board The World an actual joy. No hassles, no lines, no waiting, just helpful friendliness. Our suite could have been intimidating if it hadn't been so cozy, plus Doug and I have our own bathrooms, our own walk in closets and our own flat screen televisions.

Of course, Doug is glued to Wimbledon on his television set while I write here. I don't expect to see much of him until after the finals on Sunday.

Picasso

On our evening walk yesterday we wandered into a cathedral with clusters of children scattered around. Suddenly one group burst into song. Haunting! Apparently they come to this cathedral to practice their choral music, and it was magic (click HERE for video).



Last night we had the best meal of the trip so far. I had heard of tapas restaurants but always associated the term with exotic foods. Now I understand that tapas is simply about small portions. In a way it felt like I was eating a meal prepared for the residents of a doll house, but absolutely exquisite food. What fun!

It still seems a little strange to begin dinner at ten in the evening, but I like it. Walking around afterward we were invited to the opening of a new dance club with disco-ized music from the sixties, seventies and eighties. It was fun remembering all the old songs and dancing until two in the morning.

We got going a little later this morning and wandered for a while before visiting the Picasso museum. Click HERE for a link to their web site. The exhibits focused on his early years and allowed us to figure out for ourselves how he developed the styles for which he is so famous. We found it fascinating.

Barcelona remains captivating and we could easily stay here longer, but we're off to Valencia tomorrow morning for the beginning of our next set of adventures.

Barcelona Wanderings

Amazing! Neither of us has experienced jet lag.

We spent the morning wandering the narrow winding streets of the Gothic quarter. I had assumed this area of quaint old buildings had been kept as a tourist attraction, kind of like the Left Bank in Paris, and assumed it was comprised of just a few streets. Instead we found it to be a large vital part of the city, only without motor vehicles. Wonderful.

We then walked over to the Gaudi masterpiece, the Sagrada Familia cathedral. Click HERE for their website about this bizarre building (the photo of the cathedral on this page is one of theirs). I was completely surprised by how much recent construction has been done on this cathedral which was started in the late 1800's. The last time I was here there were only towers surrounding a large open area; that area is now a fantastical church.

We both appreciated siesta time today as neither of us has done so much walking since our Chicago days many, many years ago. We are now ready for more adventures; Doug is patiently waiting for me to finish today's entry.

Have a great Independence Day.

Barthelona at Last

I still can't get over how easy and painless this voyage half way around the world has been. Maybe the jet lag will kick in tomorrow, but we fit right into the schedule here in Barcelona. Most restaurants are only open for dinner from 9 p.m. till midnight, not quite Maui time, but it works for us.

I am probably most struck by how polite and rule abiding everyone here seems to be. Like Maui no one uses their car horns, unlike Maui cars stop and politely wait for pedestrians. So far I am liking Spain's second largest city a lot.

Doug and I wandered a bit through the Gothic Quarter which adjoins our hotel. It seems to be defined by narrow winding streets. Very narrow. We also stumbled across the outdoor fresh food market with the largest papayas we have ever seen.

Even though it is still early (only one in the morning) I am ready for sleep.

Up in the Air

Wow, the ten hour direct flight to New Jersey wasn't bad at all. Doug upgraded to 1st Class while I languished in steerage, but I was somehow able to sleep anyway. The good news is that there was minimal food to spill on myself (M&Ms and Fritos seemed safe), although by that point it was already way too late.

I couldn't even make it off Maui without a disaster. Doug and I had dinner at the Kahului airport where I managed to flip my entire plate of BBQ Kalua pork directly onto myself. Doug said he was too stunned by the distraught look on my face to get a photo (I think it was because he was laughing too hard).

Three more hours until our flight to Germany...

Pink Cap Swim

Another lovely Sunday swim with the pink cap swimmers this morning. It started out fairly murky but cleared up on the outside. The team's coaches, Toni, Malcolm and Dave joined us at the turn around point by the slosh. Click HERE for more photos from the swim.

I'm still packing and we leave in an hour. Reminds me of my study habits back in school... My next post will be from somewhere many thousands of miles from here.

A hui hou