Valencia, Spain - the cruise ships are in.

 

After walking around the Park Real, I headed back into the old city. The Fallas at the gate was still wrapped and  "in repose"

But in the square, the virgin had been assembled and

was ready to start being dressed in flowers.

The square was very busy with drum and brass bands playing and singing

and people dancing around them.

There was also quite a few young women

and girls in the traditional clothing and hair style.

They seemed quite happy to have their photos taken or to pose with tourists.

One of the bands started to move out of the square and I took the opportunity to video.

After all that noise and revelry I sought the quite little side streets.

Finding flags hung in some

and Fallas waiting to be attended to.

Uber got the memo.

I found a little bar where I sat outside and had avocado and cheese on toast for lunch. For the first time the streets and tables close to me where full of English speakers. A woman sitting alone started to talk to me and I mentioned it. She said "Well the cruise ships are in". She was off one that had left from London, England and was touring the Med. She too had found Valencia far too noisy and I explained that it had not previously been this bad. 

Back to the bus stop and home to peace and quiet.

Valencia, Spain - Jardins del Real

I am in my last week here and everyone else has left, Rick, Nicola and Dave back to Canada and Fiona to continue on her adventure. I have very few plans for this week but did want to get into Valencia a couple more times to see a couple of things.

When we come in on the bus we pass these lovely gates

 

into a big park.

I didn't go in that way

though it would have been an impressive place to start.

I got of the bus near Museo de Belle Artes

and made my way through the area behind it, stopping at a neighbourhood coffee shop to have a cafe con leche y croissant

before finding my way in a side gate.

Immediate peace.

Even though there were busy streets on 2 sides

the foliage muffled it.

There were a couple of aviaries, just pheasants and

parrots.

Statues and

topiary.

A building housed the museum of natural science but it was 

too beautiful a day,

I didn't want

to go inside.

From the bus I had seen that there were some ruins

but there wasn't much. Remains of walls from the fortified royal palace. Information boards didn't give much more information, just that it had been outside the city walls and added on to over centuries before being demolished in the early 1800s.

Where trees had been cut down

the remains had been carved,

many of them

emulating

the pine cone motif

 of the fencing.

Walking the length of the garden

there were many places

to sit,

in the sun or the shade.

Plenty of water features.

Lunch was coffee and a slice of orange cake while

overlooking the rose garden.

The fountain was a poor imitation of Versailles, with music playing and water dancing.

There was a kids play area with more kids climbing the trees than the equipment.

Rose bushes arranged, labelled and 

just starting to bud.

Birdsong and 

lots of spring

avian activity.

This little guy would sing like crazy, pause and then flip up his crest. (Google suggested a Crested Tit but it wasn't that small. Also a Crested Lark but they are brown. So I don't know)

I walked back out through the same neighbourhood

crossing the bridge towards the Serrano Gate

I looked down to see a painting class taking place in the Turia gardens. Wouldn't that be nice.