Valencia

 Once upon a time, there was a city divided by a river.  One year, the river flooded the whole city.  What to do?  Divert the river around the city.  What do do with the river bed?  Make it into a park.  That is just what Valencia, Spain, did.

There are playground, walking and biking trails, athletic fields, and The City of Science, a complex with buildings associated with the sciences.  We toured the city and the Oceanographic Park, which has sections representing all the major areas of the world.

Unfortunately, pictures taken in the aquarium did not turn out very well -- too dim as we were at eye level with the fish.  The Oceanarium is as much about education as just seeing the animals.  

593 turtles are killed every year by humans in the Mediterranean Sea.

25% of the world species of sharks are threatened or endangered.

We saw whales from the arctic, penguins from the Antarctic, fish from the tropics and dolphins playing with "toys."  One of them would butt a ball and bounce it off the wall.  Another grabbed the ball in its mouth and threw it.  This was the most comprehensive aquarium I have ever seen.  They also had birds who live near the water like these.

The second part of the tour was a walking tour of the old city.  The city walls were totally destroyed, except for two of the gate buildings.  They were spared because one was the men's jail and the other was the women's jail.

This was a Tapas Tour.  Which meant we went to 3 establishments and were served "tapas", small portions of food, sort of like appetizers along with a drink.  The first stop was near the top of one of the tallest buildings.  The roof garden was being remodeled, so we could not go there.  They served a plate with 3 skewers each with a very thin slice of cured meat, sort of like bacon.  2 of the skewers had a large black grape on the end.  There was also a small bite of cheese and our choice of beer, wine, water or a soft drink.  Many of the people tried the local beer.

                                                                                        

We had a view of the square below us.

The second stop served a plate with 3 kinds of cheeses and 2 fried balls containing pureed ham.  Once again, a choice of beverage.  I thought that if this kept up they might have to carry some of the people back to the bus.

The third stop was an in-and-out to pick up a paper glass of Horchetta, a plant based drink, and a soft, sweet bread stick to eat as we continued the tour.  I have had Horchetta before, but it was served hot, like hot chocolate.

As we continued it was getting dark, but we saw a "square" where merchants set up shops,  However, the "square" was completely round.  From the air, it looks like a hole in the middle of the Old Town.

The main market for locals is called the Parrot because of the parrot on the top of the building (not a real one.)

This is the seal of the city.

By the end of the tour it was dark.  This was a decoration of the side of the cathedral.