a tale of two cities

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of ........ oh I can't keep this up.  You can tell Dickens was paid by the weight, though, can't you?

 

We have a couple of days in Palma staying with another Warm Showers host, Frederico, and his friend in a downtown appartment.  Cycling around on the bike lanes make it easy to get about but we have to keep an eye out for electric scooters (the scooters you stand on) which were zipping about everywhere.  Frederico is busy with his yoga group (isn't that an oxymoron?) but we do get a chance to share a meal together and feel the positive vibes that emanate from him.  We like the city and undoubtedly this is largely due to another life-affirming encounter with a fabulous host. 

saying goodbye to Frederico

The uneventful but expensive ferry (fare subsidies for residents only) to Valencia leaves in the morning and we arrive late afternoon at Valencia's port.  Martin meets us and leads us on a short tour of the old port neighbourhood before we take one of the main bike lanes that leads to the renovated dry riverbed which now provides the city with one very large green 'lung'.  The river was diverted after the city flooded and the original idea was to use the riverbed, which curls around the northern and eastern edges of the old city, as a motorway.  Thankfully better sense prevailed and it's now a glorious green space for exercise, sport, sunbathing and dog-walkers.  

 
Martin leads us past some of the magnificent modern architectural gems that have almost bankrupted the city and then over to the appartment he shares with his partner Sarah.  Our Warm Showers hosts are English teachers.  Sarah came years ago and stayed and opened her own english school which we visit in the morning.  It looks a world away from the school we taught at in Viet Nam, as indeed we are.

Sarah

Saturday heralds a mass bike ride around and into the heart of the city.  We ride with Sarah, who points out the main landmarks and fills us in on the local politics of cycling here.  It turns out the losing right-wing party recently campaigned in local elections to remove bike lanes on some of the busier roads.  So the demonstration today is designed to show how many cyclists there are in Valencia.  It's a raucous parade of singing and chanting, locals of all ages and we all take special satisfaction in stopping the traffic.

  We meet Bill in Valencia by arrangement as we have booked an appartment for a few days and hope to explore the city with him to celebrate his recent 80th birthday.  The weather is sunny and warm and we're not entirely sure how to programme our sight-seeing.  What if he tires quickly?  What if we walk too far?  What fools we are.  Bill is always inquisitive and always game and it is we who tire first.  There's plenty to see and do and we all enjoy wandering the old city.  Like the best of European cities, it has a decent amount of pedestrianised areas and controls which reduce car traffic during the day.  From the market to the old guildhall to the huge city gates, there is plenty to see.  Sarah has also suggested places to lunch at which we really appreciate as they turn out to be great tips.  A day trip to Xativa nearly bests us - the walk to the ridgetop for the views looks daunting from below but Bill is dogged and after all, it's only a matter of taking our time in the heat.  

the ascent to the castillo over Xatila

 

on the way home

Valencia is a great city to visit for a few days and we all have a good time together.  Before we know it we're waving Bill off at the airport and thinking about our next stop in Spain.