Mon Feb 19 Valencia

 We had a very long drive from Granada to Valencia. En route we first found out that we have had wi fi on the bus all along— now we find out… I would have been able to write more/ better posts had I known this. Grrr..

Terrain today was interesting;  often looked like the US southwest. When we got closer to Valencia, there were miles and miles of orchards —with Valencia oranges of course.  In one region our guide pointed out some homes built into caves—- literally. From the outside the façade looks like a regular house. But then you look closer and see that after a few feet of the façade, it is the wall of a cave. The only doors or windows are in the very front of the house, and the entire interior is windowless. Carmen said that they have electricity and plumbing as anyone else would. Just no sunlight  She has visited one before and said it was very interesting but claustrophobic after 10 minutes. She said these are not poor people who live in these houses. She mentioned some that can cost up to €100,000. I wish we could have visited one.  

We stopped for lunch at Alicante — a huge treat. It’s on the Mediterranean. Ahhh…It felt like home. We found a patio restaurant looking out over the water and had our seafood lunch. Spectacular. We had time for a bit of a walk in the Old Town. This is a charming area. I was just thrilled to be on the coast. Then the drive the rest of the way, it was often along the coast. 

Finally, we reached Valencia. We went directly to the center of town where we met a local guide for a walking tour. So much to see!  But the  Difficult thing was we had no free time to explore the city and just had an hour and a half walking tour leaving us wanting more. But unfortunately we didn’t get to see anymore of Valencia as we would leave in the morning. Carmen said for future years they have decided to make the Valencia stop two days.  Good decision.  

Dinner at our hotel was paella, which was invented in Valencia. The staff showed each table the huge pan of paella ( see pic) before serving us.  It was good not great.