More photos here…..
We landed in Valencia at roughly 7pm on Tuesday 30th May. Only having hand luggage, we were soon out of the airport and easily flagged a taxi down. This was one of the city’s official taxis so they all work on the same tariff. Some 20 minutes and €20 later, we arrived at Mon Suites Benlliurre. This is a light and modern apartment with plenty of space. It appeared that it was recently updated as the decor, kitchen and bathroom were all very fresh.
Once we’d settled in we headed out into the warm evening sun. Being the third largest city in Spain, Valencia was buzzing with people: some were early evening diners, others just taking a stroll. Mon Suites apartments are situated in the Cuitat Vella, or old town, district of Valencia. Here there are many ancient buildings to see, as the city itself is over 2000 years old. Muslims, Visigoths and Romans have all made Valencia their home over this time, so there is plenty of history to learn about.
Our aim then was to just relax and see where the evening took us. The apartments are on Plaça de Mariá Benlliure, which is situated just off the Carrer de Sant Vicent Màrtir. We headed north along here and came to the Plaça de La Reina where there is an abundance of souvenir shops, craft stalls, eateries and the magnificent cathedral.
After taking a few photos we headed further north along the Carrer Del Micalet, towards the Plaça de La Verge. Also known as the Plaça de La Mare de Déu, this is a lively square with restaurants and the Turia Fountain. Here we found the centrepiece is a depiction of Neptune surrounded by the Turia river.
We carried on walking until we reached the Plaza de Los Fueros which is home to the medieval Torres de Serranos.
We decided to stop here as there was an outside cafe bar, La Maruja, a quick stop to test out the local vino. The waiter was very appreciative of my basic Spanish when I asked for a vino tinto de la casa. When the bill arrived we were surprised at the cost of a beautiful chilled red, €4 for a generous glass. We then headed back to the Plaça de La Virge for something to eat. This again was a typical Spanish establishment that sold paella and tapas, and also cheap wine! At this point it was dark, and a street performer was doing a demonstration of how not to play with fire. This was accompanied by a man on bass guitar…The usual street vendors were walking around tables, trying to sell bracelets, sunglasses and flowers. They were quite respectful and soon moved on if you said you weren’t interested. At this point we decided it was time for bed.
jctraveller 
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