We took a “free walking tour” of Valencia. We all know that you don’t get anything for free and there is an expectation of some tip or gratuity at the end of the tour. In fact our tour guide made it clear a few times that you pay what you think the tour is worth at the end.

We started at the “Plaza de la Virgen” which is located in the old quarter of Valencia.  It is a beautiful square with a foundation, a great view of the Valencia cathedral and other historic buildings.

From the Plaza de la Virgen we did a walk throughout the old quarter stopping at certain key spots. Our guide would provide great details about the historic place we are standing at. We went to the central market of Valencia and did a walk through of the market. (We will do another post on the market)

The outside of the market is beautiful with ornate decorated architecture and stained glass windows. We then walked down some side streets of the old quarter and came across a wall mural that was quite interesting. The persons depicted on the wall is a cabaret dancer and was apparently quite popular when she was young. She is still working as a dancer at seventy plus years old.

We walked to another square in the old quarter which had several bars and cafes. In one particular area there was a sign “La Estrecha” which means “the narrow” in Spanish.  We were informed by the guide that this is the smallest home in Spain and arguably in the world. The width of the home was only 107 centimetres.  A few years ago the bar beside the “La Estrecha” bought it and made it part of their bar.

We walked  to the centre of the city “literally” which is a square that marks the centre of Valencia. It is not grandiose and is fairly small with a modern look to it.  The photo below shows Shelley at the centre of Valencia near the fountain.

We then worked our way back through the narrow streets to the Plaza de la Virgen. Along the way we saw some beautiful narrow streets, fountains and statues.

Some of the narrow streets had great atmosphere and looked like a scene out of a movie. Flowers on the windows, the sound of birds singing and the background noise of people laughing and playing music. A very unique and enjoyable experience.

We walked for two and half hours and took in many sites. It was a beautiful day and when we finished the tour  I watched as everyone in the tour paid something for the tour. Most people were quite generous and I think overall we had one of the best tours because of the size of the group and quality of our tour guide.

After the tour we headed back to the “Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady of Valencia” known simply as Valencia Cathedral to go inside and see the church. The subject of another post…

“Adios y que tenga un grand días”

 

We went to Toledo which has a very interesting history and is a beautiful town. It began as a Roman city, then became a fortress of the Emirate of Cordoba and then an outpost of the Christian kingdoms fighting the Moors. For a period of time it was the capital of Spain until the capital was moved to Madrid.

The old section of Toledo has narrow cobblestone streets and beautiful architecture. We were amazed at the beauty of Toledo.

The old section of Toledo is on top of a mountain and overlooks the region.

Toledo was one of the major centres of Christian cultures after the liberation of the Moors in 1085. It is believed that the saying “Holy Toledo!” originated from Toledo Spain. The Cathedral “Primada Santa María de Toledo”  is a 13th-century Gothic Cathedral, one of the largest in Europe, and is the seat of the Cardinal Archbishop of Spain.

There are some great historic buildings and structures in Toledo including a great stone bridge called “Puente de Alcántara” which provides majestic views of the area. The bridge is located near the Castillo de San Servant and spans the Tagus river. The bridge was built by the Romans after they founded the city.

Toledo is also known for its sword making and unusually hard steel. In approximately 500 BC the Roman empire began using the swords from Toledo and eventually it became the standard source of weaponry for the Roman Legions.

Today you can see numerous swords and knifes for sale in Toledo.

It was an interesting place and well worth a visit. Now I even know where the saying “Holy Toledo!” comes from.

“Adios y que tenga un grand días”

We went to a mountain top city called “Ronda” which has a population of approximately 36,000 people. It is high above a gorge called “El Tajo”.   What makes this city special is that the gorge separates the town.

There is a bridge “Puente Nuevo” which was built back during the Moorish times. The bridge connects both sections of the city and is an amazing structure. There are total of three bridges that connect Ronda.

The Puente Nuevo is the tallest of the bridges and towers a 120 metres (390 ft) above the gorge. It was difficult to get the whole bridge into a single photo, so below is a short video showing the magnitude of the bridge height and wonderful views.

The view was spectacular of the valley below Ronda.

We walked around the streets of Ronda looking at all the different shops which sell leather products. They are known for having good leather products in Ronda. Shelley did some shopping and found herself a nice leather purse.

We decided to get some lunch after we did our walking around the shops in Ronda.  We stopped at a restaurant with friends we met on the bus tour to enjoy a great view and meal.

After the meal we headed to the main square of Ronda. There is a large square known as a plaza where people gather to enjoy the day.

There are shops and a central fountain which provide a beautiful atmosphere and environment.

Ronda is a beautiful city and was well worth taking the time to visit.

“Adios y que tenga un grand días”

On our first day in Madrid the forecast was for rain so we decided that would be a good day to visit a museum. As we headed out to walk to the museum it began to rain.

We figured with the rain there would be no lineups and we could get in fairly quickly. As we went along the rain came down harder and harder until it was pouring.

We headed to the museum of Prado which is the Spanish national art museum.  It has one of the world’s finest collections of European art, dating from the 12th century to the early 19th century. Once we got to the museum we were surprised to see a line up outside of the museum to get in.

We got into the line at the museum of Prado and waited for it to move. When we were standing there in the pouring rain and a person came along the line selling umbrellas. So we bought a $1 dollar umbrella for $5 euros which was a major mark up but timing is everything. So we waited outside in the rain with our cheap umbrella for approximately 15 minutes.

When we did manage to get out ticket we had to go back outside and into another lineup to get inside for the security check of bags etc before getting into the museum. Luckily this line up was smaller and we were inside in a few minutes.

The museum is massive and there were lots of areas to see. We headed down the main corridor and I took a picture with my phone of one of the paintings.

A security guard came over and advised me in no uncertain terms     “No pictures allowed” I thought it was odd that we were in a museum and not able to take pictures. I put the phone away and we walked through the museum for approximately 2 1/2 hours. There were stunning assorted paintings some from the size of a house to small ones no bigger than a postcard. The details and colours were vibrant and stunning.

When we left the museum the rain had stopped and the weather was clearing up. We exited the museum near an ornate old church. We decided to take a few picture of the church but not go inside.

We headed back to the hotel to change into some dry clothes and on the way we took some pictures of the outside of the Museum of Prado.

It was a good way to enjoy a rainy day in Madrid but next time we will pack an umbrella.

“adios y que tenga un grad días”

While we were staying in Madrid we would walk by this particularly beautiful gothic styled building every day. On our last day in Madrid we decided to go in and check it out.

The building was built-in the early twentieth century and used as the  main post office of the Spanish postal service. The name of the building was called “Palacio de Comunicaciones” The city repurposed the building and now it functions as the city hall for Madrid as well as a museum/art gallery . I was particularly interested in how they incorporated the functionality of city hall with the freedom of people viewing the art and museum.

We entered through the main doors and was greeted by a security person who scanned our backpack. We then had the freedom to walked the building and view the multi-floor displays of art and museum pieces.

The building itself was amazing with gothic designs and intricate features.

We walked each floor of the building admiring the architecture and the displays. We would all up the stairs to the next level and even the stairs were adorned with decorative tiles.

There is a walkway on the upper level of city hall which is made with glass blocks and you walked on the glass across to the other side of the building.

The ceilings in the building were also very ornate and beautiful.

We admired the artwork and displays as we walked through city hall. Some of the artwork was from local artist displaying specific topics. One of the topics on display was physically challenged people and how they could overcome their physical challenges and succeed. It was an extremely interesting and some of the photos were very humbling.

There was a section on 3D printers and an exhibit displaying items created with only 3D printers. Some of the exhibits were quite well done.

There was one exhibit on display entitled “Aliadas mujeres due cambiamos el mundo” which translates to “Allied women change the world’ The exhibit showcased artist from across the world focusing on women’s rights.

On the upper floors we were able to look out of the windows and admire the city scape outside.

We enjoyed walking through city hall and looking at all the artwork, exhibits and architectural features. It was a nice way to spend the day.

“adios y que tenga un grand días”