We broke our lengthy trip to Valencia from Granada with a stopover at Guadix. We visited one of the cave dwellings which were typical of the area. This type of dwelling, though not quite common, can also be found in other parts of the world. I saw there were some in Australia in one of the HGTV shows.
Anyway, the house was very interesting and cool, literally-- well, because we were in a cave! Temperatures inside the caves ranged from 18-21 degrees we were told. What a welcome delight from the summer heat we’d been having! There was just the main entry to the hallway where you have the kitchen, living and dining room. Toilets were outside for practical purposes of plumbing. It took years of digging and excavation to build these and include additions such as bedrooms and second levels. Like other houses, they had electricity and pay for utilities and property taxes as well.
After this stop over, we headed to Valencia. Our first stop in Valencia was the City of Arts and Sciences. This ultra-modern complex was just over the top!
It had the Hemisfèric (IMAX cinema and digital projections), the Umbracle (a landscaped viewing deck and car park), the Príncipe Felipe Science Museum, the Oceanográfico (the largest aquarium in Europe), the Agora (venue for concerts and exhibits) and the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía (opera house). We did not get a chance to go inside these buildings, we only marveled at the fantastic architecture by Calatrava from the outside. This complex (which easily cost billions) seemed to exemplify the extravagance of the government in the midst of or which largely contributed to their financial struggles. It was pretty, though, and made for some fantastic pictures.
In Valencia, we visited the Metropolitan Cathedral–Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady of Valencia which claimed to have the true Holy Grail. For a fee, you can check this out. This was another beautiful Gothic cathedral which was built over a mosque of the Moors.
Valencia is a big city, the third largest in Spain after Madrid and Barcelona, and known for its oranges and paella (a traditional Spanish rice dish with vegetables and meat).
Paella is a dish I absolutely LOVE—so much so that I ate it anytime it was available (even in service centre stops!). This is also the reason for the extra pounds I mentioned that I brought home with me! It wasn’t all the jamón, right? All the jamón I ate will probably manifest itself in a future cholesterol issue. But until then, whether it is jamón or paella, it was well-worth it! Ask me again in December when holiday eating commences.
Now, all that eating should be washed down with something. As it was the summer, many places sold granizado de limón or frozen lemonade. But we decided to try something we haven’t had before-- horchata. We were advised that in Spain, we should do as the locals do—and what they do in the summer is go “café-ing.” I did not invent the word; that was really how they called it (having tapas is actually called “tapa-ing”). Talk about keeping things simple. We went to an Horchateria to sample this popular summer drink made from the tubers of the nut sedge plant (called chufas), hence the name horchata de chufa. It had a white, milky appearance and was served ice cold. The taste was like a cross between soy milk and some sort of yam smoothie. It was delicious and definitely refreshing!
We walked along the plaza and checked out some shops after our drink. That night, it was a dinner of (guess what?) paella! I was in Valencia after all! Breakfast was with freshly squeezed Valencia oranges, of course! Yum! Wasn’t this a foodie trip? I forget now, I was too full.
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