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VALENCIA Tuesday, 10 May. We were up at 7:45 and had breakfast in our room. Because of the delay over the lifeboat recertification, the ship docked in Valencia at 12:45 instead of at 10:00 as originally scheduled. As a result, the 10:15 excursion we'd booked was moved back to 2:30. That gave us a leisurely morning, but not enough time to go into the city either before or after the excursion.
The excursion included a drive to the Vall d'Uxo to visit the San Jose Caves, then a tour of the highlights of Valencia. Our bus left at 2:30 and
headed for the Caves. After a few miles of flat countryside, it gradually
became more hilly. Soon we passed by Sagunto, a very historic old Roman city, but
not one on our itinerary. We had a good view of a large fortress atop a hill
on our right. (The city was to our left.)
We arrived at the San Jose Caves about 3:30 and spent about an hour on what is said to be the longest navigable underground river in Europe. Each 12-passenger boat was propelled by a pole man. There were many capricious forms of rocks, supposedly molded by the water over thousands of years, but obviously helped along by a few well-placed sticks of dynamite. The stalactites and stalagmites were rather stunted compared to those we'd seen elsewhere. We passed through several interconnected caves with imaginative names like the Dog Kennel, the Bat Cave, and Diana's Lake. At one point we disembarked and walked on a looping path through the cave before reboarding our boat at a different location. After the boat ride, we had a short time to explore the grounds. The bus left for Valencia just before 5:00.
Of course, we passed Sagunto again on the way back. This time I was at a window facing the city, and I could see ancient walls (Roman? Moorish?) running down from the castle ruins above.
The bus got back to Valencia
about 5:30, and we began the city tour. We entered the old city center
from its east side and drove past the art nouveau Mercado Colon (Columbus
Market) (1916). It's no longer a market, though, and is now filled with
trendy bars and restaurants.
We got on Calle Colon near the Palace of Justice (late 18th century) and drove by the Plaza de Toros (Bull Ring) (1850). Just next to that was the art nouveau Central Train Station. Turning north, we passed the City Hall (18th century, but much remodeled), then the Post Office (1919) with an odd steel communications tower on top. Turning left past the Theatro Principal (Main Theater), we passed in front of the Palace of Justice, then looped back to the Plaza de la Reina (Queen Square).
Our bus then dropped us off for our visit to the Cathedral, built 1252-1482 on the site of a Muslim mosque. The structure is predominantly Gothic but with many later adaptations. The church has alabaster windows and boasts many treasures. These include two Goya paintings. Most notably, though, the church claims to have the Holy Grail, the cup Jesus used at the Last Supper. The Cathedral's octagonal bell tower, the Micalet, built 1381-1418, is the symbol of Valencia.
We
were somewhat puzzled as we toured the interior of the Cathedral to see what appeared to be
a full size replica of the Shroud of Turin. Not only was it on display,
but it was completely exposed and unguarded on a table in the middle of an aisle
where we could touch it. There was no explanation of what it was or
why it was there. Nevertheless, it was very interesting to be able to
examine it so closely.
We boarded the bus again at 6:40 and headed for the Carmen Quarter in
the north of the old walled city. This was one of the oldest areas but has
recently been renovated. Nevertheless, it was often tight quarters for the
bus as we wound around the area. We circled around the Torres de Serranos
(15th century), once a gate to the city when it was a walled fortress.
Then the bus crossed the Turia River (and came right back) so we could see
that most of the river had been diverted and its bed turned into parkland.
We turned south on the road bordering the river. We could see the blue-domed Belle Arts museum on the other side. We passed the classic Puenta del Real (Royal Bridge)(16th century), immediately followed by the ultra modern Puente de la Exposicion (Exposition Bridge), designed by Santiago Calatrava (1995).
After driving us back and forth through the City of Arts and Sciences, the bus took us back to ship. It was already 7:15, too late for the early seating for dinner, so we had to go to the "open seating"' at 8:00. We were put at a table for ten, and we had the poorest service of any meal on the cruise. It was 10:00 before we finished. In the meantime, the Noordam sailed at 8:30. We went to the 10:00 show, featuring the pianist/magician again.
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