As we head into Barcelona to meet with a friend of ours, Lara and her family, we come off a all day passage form Valencia where we spent three days exploring the city. Lara was staying at one of the Valencia hotels which was very exquisite. We were docked in Port America’s Cup, which is a modern marina that was built to house the 32nd America’s Cup in 2007.

Valencia itself is an often over looked city in terms of tourism. It’s a great combination of history, historical architecture, modern architecture and the home of paella, a rice seafood dish served in a huge frying pan. After our overnight from Ibiza to Valencia, we spent the morning recouping and napping. We have discovered that those nights at sea and the 3 to 4 hour watch schedule that my wife and I share, requires a catch-up nap the next day. For our multi-day passage, we simply nap on and off throughout the day, but on arrival days, the tendency has been to immediately head out into the city. We’ve learned to take it easy our first day. The children unloaded the bikes and explored the park and rode the Formula 1 race way which was built around the marina for August, while my wife and I napped and cleaned up.  Later in the day we went into the old town by bus and spent the late afternoon and early evening walking the city past beautiful old churches and museums. The doors on these buildings were works of art. They were 15 feet carved wooden masterpieces. We passed the very rich shopping area and encountered a very rare and somewhat magnificent site…a Starbucks. My wife couldn’t resist.

We hadn’t had a Starbucks cup of coffee for over a month, and here we are, sailing across the sea’s like we were in search of something familiar. I have to admit, the coffee was good.

Post from: Do It Go

From Ibiza to Valencia

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Valencia is a great Spanish city, full of culture and rich in historic architecture and landmarks. Entertainment is also a well-recognized aspect of the city. It is the third largest city in Spain and tourists are greatly attracted its grandness. The beaches and the city proper have an exuberant nightlife, and an annual festival attracts some of its greatest attention. Las Falles was a local festival that has become famous. It takes place in March of every year and draws multitudes of area residents and also outside guests that fly in just for the festival. The best Valencia hotels are extremely busy every March during the days of Las Falles.

The festival began as a celebration of Saint Joseph, which has become its tradition. There are a few theories as to exactly when and how it got started and one of them begins it in the middle ages. This is an annual event, though preparations and planning for it occur throughout the year. Each section of the city is organized into groups of people, or neighborhood planning committees. They work hard through the year planning various fundraising events and dinners. Most often the dinners will consist of the Paella. Each of the Casai fallers, the neighborhood groups, will create a special falla, which is a sort of torch that will be burnt during the festival.

The La Crema occurs on the final night, which is around March 19^th, of Falles, and is the point at which the torches are burned. This creates a great bonfire that is known as the crema, ‘the burning.’ The burning begins close to midnight, while there is a separate children’s crema that occurs earlier and in a different location. This is a citywide festival and people run through the streets in a frenzied celebration of la crema. There are also numerous street vendors who sell snacks and miscellaneous items. This festival is very similar to carnival festivals and may have begun around the same time. It is definitely an exciting time for tourists to visit the vibrant city of Valencia.

Post from: Do It Go

Las Falles in Valencia

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