New Year's day in Valencia, Spain

 

The departure is set for 30 days and the meeting is at the check-in Alitalia at Malpensa. We start with 40 minutes late for a number of problems during shipment.
Off once again get surprised on the efficiency of staff Alitalia, which during taxiing, as if we were on a bus, instead of running to almost 500 kmh with cart practically detached from the ground, he decided to change position for some passengers to run near the two pairs. Parecchio reckless maneuver, fortunately no one falls.
This time we got a captain really unique, with mega "erre fly" that entertains us throughout the flight, when proving particularly enthusiastic over the French Riviera, pointing in particular Saint Tropez (who knows how to recognize it has done, we had over Paris. ....). Our captain then warns us that the flight will be only 1 hour and 18 minutes (but accurately), instead of 2 hours, because we have very strong tail wind ... olè, if we left behind at least recover ... The commander at the end We wish good year and invites us to give us the mad joy to festoon for the last year. Mitico!
The airport is about 8 km from the center, but we put one out, why not find out just where you take the bus (perhaps because we fall under the plan?) And two hours to reach 'hostel. The hostel, named "Home" is incorporated into a church in the Barrio del Carmen, the old city center. E 'kitsch and very nice, the walls with paintings of all colors, decorated with great taste with the cabinets and chairs very special, very strange things hanging here and there as interior decorations, but is mainly located on 3 floors without lift. The most notably are the chandeliers are all different from each other in the kitchen with chef's hat on the stairs with a pair of white tights down filled balls that are the counterpart, in the corridor hung with the wings and the word "love is in the air, "the walls with smiling mouths, half-closed by the chickens in plastic with the background picture of a belly, fake soap bubbles, etc..
Given the time that we managed to get there, try just a place for dinner convinced that the home of tapas, especially the region of paella can offer a lot. We are hungry, for a change, we say that we are 7 and cease and that anyone would do well to be afraid to approach us when a table. The first evening we have a great desire to run and we slipped a little 'a case in a restaurant that promises us a menu at 12 euros with a photo attached. Unfortunately, no pictures on the tablecloth as requested by our standards, but it looks nice ... .. We should have know that the restaurants with menus photographed are usually disastrous, but the hunger was too much and the desire to try a little, then stretched out a pitiful veil dinner on inguardabile and inedible, the black rice with cuttlefish sauce and "halitosis" all'aglio and mayonnaise (which, unfortunately, go to Valencia for the largest), the soup with egg and floating molliccio chocolate cake rubber. Fortunately that does not have any at the end of appointment galante evening because we were escaping anyone ...
We try to forget dinner and console us with the lively, but we understand that you have the wrong time and not find it. First day as well-not one, but soon, we must understand how the city.

On the second day begins discovering the true heart of Valencia. First we make a quick trip to the market generally, which is very interesting from an architectural point of view, but mainly because it is a source of food and we must obtain the necessary calories for the mega year-end dinner that we will do in hostel. Practically lose a whole morning to do the shopping, buying the famous jamon iberico, sausage, mandarin, banana, queso and chips that look like a lot of "dixie", but they are great. In short, the classic traditional cenone very rich and healthy based tortellini, salmon, cotechino and lentils ....
Let us finally in a committed Forneria where we take the piss with her, and sfotterci because we are a little 'undecided us to sign to sing. Humiliated dall'ennesimo Valenciano antipatico (we have not even found a kind in the entire trip) buy croissants, cakes and various desserts for the dinner and ask for our "friend" baker agrees to go to celebrate New Year. She watches us, makes us a sign with his hands, and we recommend that you run through the streets of the barrio because it is so full ... .. cheers!
A completed expenditure, with a lot of calm, following the rhythms Spanish (although most Mexicans seem to), it is also the cultural tour of the city and as a first step we sling at the museum of modern art.
Entry costs only 1 euro (through the magic card that I university, despite the age and the degree to which dates far in April 2001 continued to use) and also give you the catalog. We have to put the shoe covers, type what you put in the operating room so as not to ruin the floor and works of art!.
Modern art I do not understand, do not appreciate, I am ignorant, I do not know what to tell you. I am struck by a framework (as defined) that is called "parking fee" and I decide to do a test to all the sisters to ask them what we see without looking at their solution. The comforting thing is that all we see a herd of cows .... I also had seen us the same thing and I understand that I'm not being crazy, but it's modern art to having something that's wrong. Abandon the idea of giving a meaning to that work and the other hanging.
The barrio is still wonderful and consists of an infinite number of paths up. Each street of the center is dedicated to a trade: books, crafts, furniture with many small shops and fashion stores are full of foreign-made beautiful. We say that everything is a little 'dilapidated, that air was decadent but not bad at all and I vaguely remember Naples neighborhoods and Spanish. Are arranging for all of America's Cup, surely the city will soon become a jewel, but I prefer having seen this, a little 'lived.
Unfortunately, at the same time, it seems a ghost town because everything is always closed (but those times are Spanish, you can know?) And opposed to the Spaniards pull down the metal shutters and you do not understand what's behind ... . had a po 'looked abandoned, sin.
These routes all contorted where people meet with the same people several times (try it to believe it), always wear the same point, that our hostel, where he concentrated most of life in Valencia and where every night for the entire night, gather tens of punkabbestia who smoke quietly giant cannon. In fact, the nerve center, beyond our hostel is the Square of the Virgin. Also this time, not yet understood at what time, how and where the Spanish eat, we end around 3 pm, exhausted and hungry, the only restaurant that is open, where we see the first piece of food around the 4 and where menu of the day marked on the board was not nearly nothing. Virtually Valencia was once crossed in half by a river, that we do not know why it has been diverted or buried, and where there was once a bed, there is now a huge park with many things in between. Imagine the length and breadth of this park. We are doing almost everything to the sea, crossing the zoo in search of Boris (the chimpanzees of the Botanical Garden) who do not find the museum of music, crafts fair, bicycle paths, running boards to skate, etc. .. Incredible, we should tell Albertini to take a trip here to get an idea about how to redevelop the Navigli ....
The evening begins at last to the end of the year's Eve in hostel, where we make friends with kids of our neighbors sardi room.
Towards midnight, all agghindate we head towards the Plaza de Ayuntamento where it should be "full well", but there's almost none. Midnight is about to shoot, but of course mistaken chimes and uncork the bottle with a few seconds in advance .... We hope does not lead sfiga!
We say all the good intentions for 2005 and try to follow the "crowd" that left the streets to find out what to do with the rest of the night, but do not understand where all go, we continue to cross, all to run empty.
Many local first 3 do not open, are all closed, and when finally opened not even try to enter the code seen at kilometer and our clothes just fit. In short, we auto-bounce to avoid the humiliation. We sit disconsolate in Piazza della Vergine, where the square of a church, we witness a game of football for a group of our fellow teens. Our faces speak for themselves and other Italian kids who pass humming "attention, concentration, rhythm and vitality" are watching us wondering if we made a wrong ... you know so much?
What is more I hear my song-sfiga on the street and already understand how the butter in 2005 .... No comment! I am ... are marked 2 years in a row now.
Like last year our veglione ends early and you go to bed!

We continue to explore this beautiful city with wonderful weather and spring, similar in some respects in Paris.
Bounce for the umpteenth time at the restaurant because we have 7 (and then?, Perhaps because the Spanish do not conceive the idea of adding a chair at the table by 6 and make a place at the head) we end up eating in a sandwich. Vabbè, little bad after all, Spain is the country of bocadillos, so typical of something we are eating ....
Not being able to eat the typical, at least try to drink "Valenciano" and we are in a very combed by the name "Marrasquino" to try the famous Agua de Valencia, a cocktail made of orange juice, vodka, cointreau and champagne really excellent.

The following day is devoted to the visit of the largest and most famous work that the modern city: the city of science el'oceanografico of the famous architect Calatrava. I believe that this great and incredible work was already finished, but work stopped in 2006 in view of the America's Cup Poco male, the bulk is done, lacking only the completion of the Palace of Arts that looks like a large metallic fish. E 'davvero this majestic citadel, and worth the trip. Under a bridge with the botanical garden just out there, hidden even a skating rink on ice.
Unfortunately, the girls I can not see the seals to oceanography, the biggest aquarium in Europe, because it costs 20 euros to enter.
Let's walk to the sea (it was close ....) Already, we have 3 days in a city of sea, and yet we have not seen ... it is incredible. It is because Valencia is on the sea, but not exactly in that spread to the inside and the historic location has been so far inland.
The sea can be expected, however, are the 4 in the afternoon and finally find a restaurant that was incredibly well in the cloth square, the only one who will remember with pleasure. Hungry and devastated us fired fried mixed salad, paella, cake, etc. Then we placed on the beach to sunbathe, digest and enjoy a game of beach volleyball ...
This sea is also the university area of the citadel, there are the various faculties spread here and there, shame that the students are on vacation ....

The goal provided throughout the day is the town of Albufera sea where it would appear to eat the best paella in the area and where it seems there are fishermen that take you to make a boat trip. We promise to get back in town for the evening to do the typical shopping day, finally saw that the holidays are over and the shops are open. In reality it ends this way: we end up late to have breakfast, go to the station we get lost among the shops finally opened, Skunk Funk svaligiamo we elect our store type, where we do crazy hysterical already the owner of her (imagine 7 women who are crazy shopping simultaneously in a small shop), then buy all the same knitted by tourists in the Plaza de la Reina, and since we have not done enough exercise these days, unabated climb 207 steps of the Torre San Miguel to see the city from ' high. FABULOUS!
Virtually around 3 pm (with 5 hours of delay on the road map) we arrive at the station (which is the record for about ten minutes from our hostel) where we take the bus to Albufera.
Albufera is located about forty minutes south of Valencia and it is a lagoon hidden in a nature reserve. I vaguely remember the delta of the Po '... the landscape is beautiful and it seems that we are witnessing one of the most beautiful sunsets that we have in Europe .... We hope!
The driver of the bus there spring in the middle of nowhere in a part of the lagoon with the piers where there is an old fisherman with a boat of wood.
After stopping the photos, take a boat trip on the lagoon and we are dedicated to bird watching. Finished the tour in the lagoon, found that the famous restaurants where you eat the paella with the fishermen are the figment of the Lonely Planet guide, and then on an empty stomach, we try to go and explore the other side of the reserve where there should be the open sea and we get lost in the maquis. By following a path very nice Wizard of Oz style of beams made of wood, others milled km in the middle of the woods to find that if we had followed the paved road we were not even 100 meters, and finally the sea, not because we find it is still far, there is only one lake, but we have to fall behind because we have to go and take the last run of the bus (there are actually very few).
What should be the most beautiful sunsets in Europe is a normal sunset, it's nice because the place is beautiful, but beautiful places there are hundreds.
At night we do another po 'di shopping, we should pull the 6 in the morning without sleep because it is the last day, we have to be at the airport at 4.40 (the day after) and we have booked the last night to save money and because we felt unnecessary to go to sleep and then a couple of hours. Back to occupy the sofas and room for rest and miss a little 'time, then, to pull at least 4 and ripigliarci, we decide to go out and spend the rest of the night in a room.
The only open (you can see that Monday is the closing day of .... That strange!) Is a literary cafe where we hangover (because in the end we ate just one more miserable sandwich followed by biscuits) with coffee and in correct fact should keep us awake and strange magical herbal infusions

4 January 2005
Are the 4 am and called the taxi. It seems to us like 20-30 minutes to the airport, but I, Betty and the two sisters got Speedy Gonzales, a nonnetto 70enne that inforca putting the goggles on the tip of the nose, never stops at any traffic light, even if red, guide with only one finger, you enter a 120Kmh near the parabolic curve in a very narrow, which is marked by speed limit to 40 and less than 5 minutes (I swear, timed) arrive with hair standing at the airport. The second taxi with the rest of the girls obviously come later, but it is unclear how the girls pay a lot less of us. The charge was for the show?
At the airport everything is closed, we arrived very early. In this holiday with the timing we have not their own. We look to open the banquet, there goes more and begin to make out any remaining provisions.
Is the time of check-in we do to counter the first class, since they are a frequent flyer of Alitalia. Tipa The check-in to see that there is someone in the group for a change a little stone ': Frodo. Clearly the skin lies on the ball and decide that can not get on board with his backpack because it is big (?) And because the plane is full so !!!!".
Frodo, prey to deadly wrath, clear the bag, put all the contents into a bag and the spring to be loaded backpack vacuum tipa to check-in that does not understand .... What cabbage embarkations hold in a small backpack and empty? Frodo seeks vengeance and, not satisfied, return the tipa to ask why the bag that has the same volume and weight of the backpack, since there are the same things inside, instead he does go in the cabin. La tipa says that the envelopes are possible ... .. I do not have words!
After the customs, we notice that the rest had the plane with him for the impossible ... .. sofas, surfboards, trolley ...
Finally on the bus go up and come right under the plane which is called Libeccio and we rely on him ... I do not know what kind of wind is, we hope!
We need a plumcake disgusting frozen and flavored coffee, but do not even realize it, so we ate badly for 5 days, then we are too tired to think and, one by one, we abandon ourselves in the arms of Morfeo, until the nice pilot us to bang alarm telling us that we are landing and that the outside temperature is minus 1 !!!!! We are about to undergo a thermal un'escursione twenty degrees, which is the problem?
In Milan await the delivery of luggage for more than 1 hour. It seems that on the flight arriving from Valencia (and only on our flight) should do the checks for security reasons.
It 'time for greetings ....