The cathedral is impressive and the home of the Holy Grail and the incorrupt arm of the martyr, Saint Vincent who died in 308, his arm displayed in a silver reliquary. It’s a Catholic thing!!!! I didn’t find the Holy Grail….apparently it was there. The search continues, I’m feeling a little bit Pythonesque.

Housed in the stunning Palace of the Marques de Dos Aguas, the National Museum of Ceramics and Decorative Arts “Gonzalez Marti” was an absolutely stunning. The palace itself is a show stopper and the selection of ceramics cleverly curated explaining the development from ancient to modern times.

The tourist information centre was around the corner. Everything was around the corner!!! We had a few questions including whether or not to book the flamenco show. We did. We mapped out our adventure for the day. Hortensia Herrero Art Centre is a private collection located in a magnificently restored 17th century palace complete with the remains of the ancient Roman circus of Valencia discovered in the basement during the reconstruction. The art gallery was fabulous but after a couple of hours we were done.

Wednesday we hired a bicycle and headed to the Turia Garden- 9 kilometres of garden, bike paths, sporting and cultural facilities located in the former riverbed of the Turia River. Created in 1986, decades after a horrific flood and in response to the local demand for green space it has become the most visited park in Spain. First stop was Restaurante Contrapunto Les Arts (below the opera house) where we had the menu of the day – a tapas, paella and desert. What a treat! The food..the location..wow!

Next stop the Ocenarium where we oogled the bulugas, traversed the extensive tunnels gaping at exotic fish and birds including tropical fish, sharks, penguins (including emperor and king), flamingos and red ibises! It was big. We were tired. The ride back was easy enough however while I was riding off leading the way through the old city, John was harassed by a car, misjudged the lip on the footpath and took a fall. He was incredibly lucky only sustaining a bruise to his elbow. I was very pleased too. Age is enough of a handicap without an injury. I’m just so sympathetic!!

La Linterna was three minutes walk and the ticket said the bar opened at 6:30. It didn’t. We met Suzanne who also read the same information. An employee turned up and informed us it would open at 7:30. Ahhh Spanish time! We wandered to the square found a bar and had a drink with our new friend. It happened that it was Suzanne’s birthday and due to circumstances beyond her control her mother and sister were unable to join her so we were more than happy to celebrate with her.

It was a very intimate space. A small stage, a collection of stools at the bar and about thirty chairs arranged in semicircles facing the performers. They arrived soon after we did and the show began. The thumping of the steel taps on the boards, the syncopated  clapping, the power and strength of the dancers, the heartfelt strumming of the guitar and the beautiful voice of the female singer took us on a emotional Spanish woman’s journey.

The penultimate day of our Valencian stay and we venture back to the Central Market for lunch. Ricard Camarena is a renowned Spanish chef who has an outlet in the market called Central Bar. I queued…for food! Anyhow we didn’t wait very long at all and the food was good. It is an institution. There are no tables and it was a fun thing to do. We sat on stools, ordered and ate at the counter while the wait staff and cooks prepared our meals in situ.

Cappucino was the café where we began our Valencian journey and it was appropriate that is where we should finish. I really wasn’t prepared for the $9 small bottle of Perier but hey… in the big scheme it is a small price to pay. Our holiday had been wonderful and Valencia turned out to be a delight.