May 15, 2022 to May 18, 2022
Valencia
There's a new place at a the top of our "let's stay for a few months next time" list: Valencia.
Right from the start we felt relaxed in a city where it was easy to get things done and, at the same time, energized by the life around us. The first morning we headed downtown to see some of the main sights and quickly found a well-marked and separated bike lane. Even better, after a few blocks we came upon not one, but two shoe stores that stocked just what Ann was looking for (Steve's shoe shopping wasn't so easy). We continued on the bike lanes, locked the bikes on Calle Colon, a major shopping street, and for hours wandered looking at buildings, historic sites, gardens, bakeries, shops and people.
Seville and Cordoba, the other cities visited on this tour, are charming and exotic with narrow lanes and ancient buildings. But they are also crowded with tourists. Valencia appeared newer than either Seville or Cordoba, with wide open boulevards lined with buildings from the 18th-20th, monuments or art works in the squares and roundabouts, and the occasional 15th C church, yet also with a sense of design and modern planning to make things work for people. There were a few tourists but we got the feeling that almost everyone in the streets, cafes and shops were Spaniards if not, Valencians.
We had a few items we truly needed -a replacement shifter cable for Ann's bike, updated phone cards now that we have been in Spain a month, a battery for Steve's watch, but to be honest we were also looking forward to shopping for some clothes. After almost 2 months of wearing the same bike shirts every day and changing into our one respectable outfit every time we went out, we knew we were headed to fashionable Mallorca and staying at a resort with a "dress code" for dinner. And, conveniently, with only about 100km of riding with panniers left on this tour, we wouldn't mind a bit of extra weight. European styles are so appealing and Valencia has all the big name stores as well as countless smaller shops selling shoes and clothing so we had fun browsing and trying on and eventually updating our wardrobes. Fortunately we are also mostly done with eating on the road, so that pannier space that had been taken up with granola, coffee and olive oil, could now be used for shoes, shirts and dresses!
And yes, the churches were divine, the museums were edifying and the restaurants tasty and reasonable, so if anyone knows of a home exchange candidate from Valencia, we are in.
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Today's ride: 50 km (31 miles)
Total: 1,769 km (1,099 miles)
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