Valencia de España

I had a fantastic time last weekend (June 26-27).

I had to be in Finland the week prior, and then Madrid the second week, so that left me trying to figure out what to do over the weekend.  Usually, I wouldn’t mind a bit spending the time in Finland.  I’ve been there many times, but have not usually had time to tour around.  But, the weekend after the Summer Solstice is one of the Finn’s most important family holidays.  On that Friday, they all are off work and so on Thursday afternoons are all busy packing and arranging to travel to their summer cottages.  Most Finns get away from home over the Mid-Summer Holiday.

The downside of all of this festivity is of course, that if you don’t have a summer cottage, or an invitation to visit someone else’s, you’re sitting around in a virtual ghost town.  In the small town of Hyvinkaa, a little north of Helsinki, even the hotel closed, leaving me few opportunities.  So, I planned my move to Spain for Friday and headed for the airport.

When I told my Spanish partner that I would be heading to Madrid early, he invited me to come over to Valencia, his home town.  There’s a brand new fast train, The Ave (bird, in Spanish), that makes the Madrid to Valencia trip in 90 minutes, at 180 mph / 300 kph!  He got me a reservation and I was off.  I arrived in Madrid on Friday afternoon, then got up early Saturday and headed for the train station.  I would have headed off on Friday evening, but the Formula One Races were in Valencia that weekend, and had jumped up hotel prices so much that I felt I could only afford the one night.

My friend picked me up at the station in Valencia and we headed first to the old section of the city.  As we walked around, we saw some very old cathedrals, narrow cobblestone streets and lots of sidewalk cafes.  We climbed to the top of one of the city’s Tower Gates.  As it happened over history, my friend said, our enemies came mostly from the direction of the sea, and so launched their attacks against the gate that faced that direction.  Presently, it’s heavily marked by cannon and catapult shot and is damaged to the point where it isn’t open to the public.  The other gate however has fared much better and is easily accessible.

At one point, near the center of the old city, we came upon what at first appeared to be a very new, modern square with a shallow reflecting pool and a building off to one side.  My friend lead me in and down some steps, 15 or so feet underground and we found ourselves standing in a museum, on walkways suspended inches above the ancient Roman ruins that were the beginning of Valencia.  (La Plaza de la Almoina, Valencia)

It seems that a group consisting mostly of retired Roman soldiers was sent to the area of Valencia in the year 138 to lay out a new city.  Yes, I’m not missing any digits there…it was 138 !  The Romans entered a land peopled by folks that lived something like American Indians, without organized cities or written languages.  The Romans selected a site with a good seaport and began to survey the ground and lay out an organized, modern city, with a Forum, regular streets, sewers, baths, wells, the works, a very interesting place.

After looking around, we fled the heat of the day taking refuge in a restaurant run by one of my friend’s cousins.  We dined on local seafood from the Mediterranean and at least a couple of (large and really great) Rum and Cokes.  I had such a relaxing time that I noted that I had not looked at the time all day long.  VERY unusual for me.  After a short rest at the hotel, we headed for my friend’s neighborhood social club for an annual party.  They closed off the street in front of the club from 9pm to midnight and set up tables.  The weather was beautiful, warm, but low humidity and a light breeze.  A very relaxing time.

On Sunday, while the whine of Formula One engines could be heard not far away, we headed for a new and modern part of Valencia.  Some years ago, a river curved and ran through the heart of Valencia, but it regularly brought severe flooding to the city.  So, in the 1960’s, the city began a project to divert the flow of water around the city, leaving the old river bed dry.  In the 1990’s, development began on the old river bed and today it is a 16 km long park with flowers, sports fields, parks, and walking paths.  It also has a really cool area with an Opera House, an IMAX Theater, a cool Museum for Art and Natural History, two cool bridges that cross the old channel, a pop music theater and finally, a great aquarium.

As the afternoon grew hot, we again retreated to a restaurant, a different place run by a different one of my friend’s cousins.  This time it was traditional Paella, made with rabbit and chicken…fantastic.  Again, there may have been a couple of Rum and Cokes as we watched the Formula One Races on the big screen TV (which seems to me to be the only way to enjoy the races, in a cool place, with the TV to give us constant action and instant replays, and avoiding the $4000+ fees for the high-end suites overlooking the finish line).

As the afternoon wound down, my friend dropped me off at the train station and it was back on The Ave, and off to Madrid.  Ninety minutes later I was back at Madrid-Atoche Station and caught a cab for my hotel.  I linked up with one of my partners from Houston who had arrived earlier in the day and we headed off to a light dinner at a nearby outdoor café.  A relaxing way to end a most interesting and most relaxing weekend. 

Many thanks to my friends in Valencia for a wonderful time ! 

¡ Viva España !

- M. W. Laughlin