Spain

6/21 -- 7/4/2014

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[6/23 Madrid -- Toledo -- Alarcón] [6/24&25 Alarcón -- Valencia] [6/26 Valencia -- Peñíscola] [6/27&28 Peñíscola -- Barcelona]
[6/29 Barcelona -- Zaragoza] [6/30 Zaragoza -- Ordesa] [7/1 Ordesa -- San Sebastián] [7/2&3 San Sebastián -- Madrid]

Map of Itinerary

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June 24 ...

Alarcón
I got up early to go to the top of the tower. However, it was cloudy, windy, and drizzling, so even I did not stay long up there. Luckily after breakfast (in the beautiful dining hall), the sky cleared up and we took a relaxed walk around this little village before we left for Valencia.

Valencia Cathedral, Valencia
After checking into the hotel and spending a little bit of effort in the parking structure nearby, we walked to the old city center and climbed to the top of the Cathedral bell tower, El Miguelete, a gothic style construction made in the 14th century and finished in the 15th. Constructed on an octagonal base, its perimeter is same to its height, more than fifty meters. Its name, "El Miguelete", comes from the name of its biggest bell "Miguel", made in 1532 and weighing more than ten tons. Inside there is an enormous spiral staircase with 207 steps up to the summit from where you can enjoy amazing views of the city and sea.

La Lonja de la Seda de Valencia
Built between 1482 and 1533, this group of buildings was originally used for trading in silk (hence its name, the Silk Exchange) and it has always been a centre for commerce. It is a masterpiece of late Gothic architecture. The grandiose Sala de Contratación (Contract or Trading Hall), in particular, is an enormous, lavishly decorated space supported by gorgeous twisted columns, illustrating the power and wealth of a major Mediterranean mercantile city in the 15th and 16th centuries.

Paella Dinner

We had an early dinner at ~ 5PM because we did not really have lunch and we had a concert to attend at 7:30PM.
We randomly picked a small restaurant in a small street not far from our hotel. We had to wait for about 30 minutes for their first batch of paella to be ready. Paella is a Valencian rice dish that originated in its modern form in the mid-nineteenth century near a coastal lagoon in Valencia. Many non-Spaniards view paella as Spain's national dish, but most Spaniards consider it to be a regional Valencian dish. Valencians regard paella as one of their identifying symbols.

Palau de la Música Valencia
This was the first concert in this Spain tour, at the beautiful Palau de la Música Valencia. Designed by José María García de Paredes, winner of the National Architecture Award, and creator of other concert halls such as those of Madrid, Granada and Cuenca. The Palau de la Música of Valencia was inaugurated on 25th April 1987.
Iris played beautifully for her off-stage solo (from the 3rd floor) for the world premiere of "A Wild Rose Above" by Yo Goto.

June 25 ...

Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias de Valencia (City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia)
The City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia is a unique complex devoted to scientific and cultural dissemination which is made up of five main elements: the Hemisfèric (IMAX cinema and digital projections), the Umbracle (a landscaped vantage point and car park), the Príncipe Felipe Science Museum (an innovative centre of interactive science), the Oceanográfico (the largest aquarium in Europe with over 500 marine species) and the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía (which takes care of the operatic programme). The Ágora gives the complex a multifunctional space.
My plan for today was really simple: morning at Science Museum (where we met Linus "accidentally"), IMAX @ 1PM at Hemisfèric (Egypt: Secrets of the Mummies), and afternoon at Oceanográfico.

After lunch, we spent the whole afternoon at Oceanográfico including an amazing dolphin show (where 8-10 dolphins jumped at the same time). The Ocean-Sharks tunnel was also impressive enough that we walked back and forth a few times to feel the surroundings of undersea.

We had a late afternoon coffee and desert at Oceanográfico before it closed at 7PM. Then we tried to find a restaurant just outside the City of Arts and Sciences, but we found that most restaurants would not open until 8PM. Finally we decided to go to a Japanese restaurant because it opened at 7:30PM for us. After dinner, we headed back to Hemisfèric to take some night shots that can really show the resemblance of a human eye when it is perfectly reflected.

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