Valencia

Click image for more photos ...

Kate's ISRA (International Society for Research on Aggression) conference was in Valencia, Spain July 9-14. We had first visited Barcelona for a couple of days and had taken a train, along with Sam,  Kate's work colleague from London, to Valencia. Both are old cities on the Mediterranean coast; Barcelona is in the Catalan province and very near the French border while Valencia is further to the South West. It's over 4 hours on a coastal train between the two cites. Both are well worth exploring.

The old city, which we really loved, is quite a distance from the water. We had booked conference lodging at the nearby University which was quite modern and near the coast. However, it was deadly modern, boring and a LRT ride from the old city where the conference was held. We tried it one night and all agreed that we would much rather be in the old city. We found a room near the Plaça de l'Ajuntament (Town Hall Square) where the streets are crowded with grand turn of the century Beaux Artes buildings. Kate and I had a lovely corner room that overlooked the Plaza, Sam had a nearby room. This was a perfect spot to explore the old city and it was only a reasonable walk to the conference.

I recall wandering the narrow streets and back lanes of the old city and enjoying the surprises found round every corner. As I'm composing this note many years after I'll highlight a few things.

The Valencia Cathedral is a beautiful old (consecrated 1238) Catholic Cathedral on Plaça de la Verge (Plaza of the Virgin), also known as or Plaça de la Mare de Déu (Plaza of the Mother of God), with an imposing octagonal bell tower that I climbed (the Miguelete Tower). There are a couple of important religious relics here the most important of which is ..... off in a side chapel .... drum roll .... The Holy Grail!! There is some dispute off course whether this is or is not the "real" deal; e.g. the Wikipedia page says "A purported Holy Chalice, believed by many to be the true Holy Grail, is kept in one of the cathedral's chapels." They don't seem to make a big deal of it. There's also the Arm of St Vincent on display in another chapel of the cathedral. Gruesome!

The "Round Square" (Plaza Redonda) is one of those quirky and interesting plazas in the old city. As the name implies it's round rather than square. There's a modest fountain in the center with shops around the edge. One day when I returned there were these old ladies, a club of some sort I would guess, who were making intricate needle point or lace.

When not visiting cathedrals and churches one of the places I found most interesting was the huge The Central Market of Valencia. It's huge, well stocked and active. People who live in the old city shop there. Fresh vegetables, fresh seafood and hams hanging overhead with little drip buckets to catch the fat leaching out. And paella pans in every size from single serving to banquet sized. I recall a fellow who had purchased a very large pan struggling to get it into his car — it was way too big and would never fit!

We, of course, had paella many times. It seems to be national dish of the area with endless variations, e.g., a black version from squid ink. It's all pretty tasty, especially when washed down with Sangria or perhaps a beer. Kate was not so keen about all the olive oil and really longed for a garden salad with fresh veggies and greens.

One day the conference took us on a bus trip out of the city and along the coast. On our return, with our friend Cathy from Buffalo, we four went out to some night clubs for dancing and to continue carrying on. Kate and I returned at a sensible hour while Sam and Cathy danced the night away. When Sam and Cathy arrived back at our hotel somewhat later the front desk had shut down and Sam couldn't figure out how to get back in (it turns out there's a button to page the desk clerk). She ended up sleeping on the floor at Cathy's place!! We met up with her the next morning over breakfast at our hotel.

There's much I cannot recall from our photos (there's a photo of some fellows watching a bull fight, I recall that it was local but can't find where the stadium was). I do recall Valencia being a very interesting historic city with lots of well preserved architecture, interesting squares, fountains and public art, and lots of interesting back lanes to explore. We enjoyed it very much and would recommend the old city which, at the time, was very much alive.

— Slides scanned during the pandemic, these notes composed 2023/01/08.