Category: Spain Roadtrip Page 1 of 2
Our bus ride to the Russafa part of town was very boring and uneventful. (Which I think H and Cat preferred!). We started at the Russafa Market and saw lots of things we didn’t see yesterday. Pig hearts, cow tongues, octopus, pig feet, seaweed and cow hooves. The fresh flowers were gorgeous and the roses were beautiful
We read great things about this neighborhood but forgot things shut down during siesta so almost everything was closed. We walked by a few private parties (one was actually cooking paella) and bars but nothing exciting was happening. The garage doors of the parking garages were cute so we got pictures of them as well but headed home in the early afternoon.
We got home and went for a 4 mile walk along the beach looking for a place to have dinner. Funny that we ended up at the same restaurant that we ate at our first night in Valencia. I’m not going to lie…..if you know me you know I am a creature of habit! Valencia is known for its paella so we felt obligated to try it. We were not disappointed at all!
Today started out with a doozy of a bus ride to town. The bus driver took the wrong turn and the passengers lost their minds! The “F” word was getting shouted a lot and everyone was screaming at him as if he committed a crime. We weren’t quite sure what was happening at first but soon realized. We thought it was hilarious that people were getting so upset. I’m sure there was a logical reason that he turned but we didn’t understand and let me tell you…. people were so mad for having to walk an extra block.
We headed to the València Market and we’re treated to some amazing fresh foods! Cat tried the horchata and really liked it. I think I will stick to the fresh orange juice. We also got fresh strawberries, chocolate, empanadas and bocadillos.
We walked around town a bit and found more doorways to enjoy.
We went home and enjoyed an amazing afternoon nap. Afterwards, Cat found a sunset cruise for us to go on. It was perfect! It lasted an hour and a half, got us out in the ocean for a bit, had great views and got us back before I could get seasick!
We ended the night with dinner at the restaurant, “Calm Beach” and headed home. It was a good day!
We saw so many different landscapes today! Mountains, pines, beaches, shrubs, vineyards, orchards, ghost towns, major cities.
We decided to stop in Lorca for an extended lunch and walk around to stretch our legs. We went to the cathedral but it was closed. There were tons of beautiful buildings and doorways. We were happy to see that they were repairing an older building rather than tearing it down to build a new one.
We had a good wander through town and found a lovely restaurant. They recommended the salmorejo which was a traditional Andulucian tomato soup with boiled eggs and jamon that was divine. We tried a few other dishes that were all really good and the service was great! I also loved all the signage in the square.
We saw several Camino arrows in town. One of the other routes must have come through this town.
One thing that has been a constant nightmare that needs to be mentioned is the parking garages. They were horrible when we lived here before and they haven’t improved. The first thing is that they are incredibly small. They are also very dark. The spots are very tight and there are always pillars in the way. There are multiple ramps but they are super steep. Driving a stick shift up/down the steep ramps with tight turns is enough to make your hair turn grey! That said, the technology they have for payment is awesome. When you pull the ticket, it takes a picture of your license plate. The system recognizes your liscense plate when you try to depart, knows that you have paid at the machine, and opens the gate without having to do anything.
As we left, we took the wrong turn and ended up going up a super steep skinny laned road. Again, it was super nerve wracking and I was so glad H was driving instead of me! We did get to see the castle and Parador as we were driving out of town.
Our apartment was lovely and close to the beach. Once we got settled we went for a nice walk, had a lovely dinner and called it a night. It was a good day even though we were in the car for a lot of it. 475 miles to be exact!
We woke up and drove to the Spanish/Gibraltar border. There was complete chaos because members of the European Union could just walk thru while everyone else had to get their passports stamped. There wasn’t any signage and people got really confused. Cars were also just waived thru. Electric scooters were also included in this group so you would have cars, buses, motorcycles and electric scooters all trying to cross at the same time with minimal order. And…they crossed over the runway at the airport when planes weren’t taking off! It was entertaining to watch to say the least!
We walked across the border and then caught the city bus to City Center.
We had a lovely breakfast at a great restaurant in the square. The restaurant had a great Tree of Life on its wall. As we were eating, we saw several policemen/women opening every single pothole and looking for bombs. Once cleared they would use security stickers to seal it. There were pot holes every 5 feet so it was quite an undertaking. It was just random and out of the ordinary and gave us something to watch. I wonder what public official was coming to visit.
We walked thru town and felt like we were in England. We even saw a Matalan.
Walking thru town we also came across the Trafalgar Square Cemetary. It had beautiful gardens and tons of butterflies!
We took the cable car to the top of Gibraltar to see the Skywalk and St Michaels Cave. Immediately when we got off, we were met by tons of monkeys. Some were aggressive, some were annoyed, some were performers and most were just hanging out looking for food.
The views from the top were amazing. It looked like one of the ships had sunk and they were trying to save it. We could see Africa in the distance as well! We had hoped to make it over to Morocco during this trip but ran out of time. It was too much to try to plan a last minute trip and see everything we wanted to see. Hopefully we will make it back some day.
We made our way to St Michaels Cave which is a huge cave that was once used for ammunition storage, a hospital and even thought to have connected Gibraltar to Africa at one time but that was never confirmed. Imagine what the first person who found the cave was thinking!
We took the cable car back down the rock, had a great dinner at the port and headed back to our hotel. Tomorrow is a 7 hour drive to València.
(View of the rock from the bus on our way back to the car. )
The next two days of the vacation were just beach/pool days and a walk to Old Town Cadiz. We ate great meals and just enjoyed a much needed rest.
