May 3 - Valencia, Spain

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Today we arrived in Valencia.  We have been here before and  have seen the main city sights so we opted for a tour to a place called Xàtiva about an hour and a quarter away.  Let me say a few words about Valencia first.  This is the third largest city in Spain and the fifth largest container port in Europe.  The port is immense!  Probably everyone has heard of Valencia oranges and the region is replete with thousands of orange groves.  I can only imagine what it must look like and smell like to drive through the countryside when the trees are blooming.  In the past Valencia was famous for its cotton and silk industry.  In fact, when I was a child and my family lived in Spain and we visited the area several times I can remember that there were orchards of mulberry trees for the silk worms.

So on to Xàtiva (pronounced za-tea-va) which is a small city with a population of 29,000 on the edge of the fertile coastal plain.  In the 12^th century the Arabs brought the technology for making paper to Xàtiva and it became the center of that industry in early Europe.

The town was heavily damaged twice in history.  The first time was during the War of the Spanish Succession in the early 18^th century when the Hapsburg and Bourbon heirs fought for the Spanish throne. That war involved nearly all the great powers of the time in Europe with French, Dutch, Austrians, Spanish and British all fighting.  It was as a result of this war, in fact, that Britain acquired Gibraltar in 1714 which is something that has been a major bone of contention between Spain and Britain ever since.

Anyway, Felipe V of the Bourbon family wound up the victor.  Xàtiva had been opposed to his accession to the throne.  After he won he ordered Xàtiva be burned and destroyed as punishment.  When the city was later rebuilt Felipe V’s portrait was hung upside down in the local museum to show the city’s thoughts about him.  Two centuries later during the Spanish Civil Was (1936-1939), the city again suffered significant damage.

There is an old part of the city which has the typical narrow streets lined with tall narrow houses.  There is a small Plaza Mayor in which a market is held two days a week.  The city’s principal claim to fame though is that it is the birthplace of the Borgias, specifically the two Borgia popes.  These were the only two Spanish popes.  The first was Callixtus III and the second was his nephew Alexander VI.  It was the latter who is better known because he was actually something of a rogue.  He openly acknowledged fathering several children  and actively engaged in enriching his family.  Truth be told, he was neither holy nor a nice guy. The cathedral in the town is quite lovely and has statues of the two Borgia popes in front and representations of them inside.

Plaza Mayor in Xàtiva

This was an old hostel from a few hundred years ago which was called the Hostel Pescado (Fish). If you click on the photo you can see the fish hanging between the balconies. Now it's being renovated to be a boutique hotel.

After a brief walking tour we boarded a little “train” (actually a little truck pulling several carriages) to go up the mountain to see the ruins of the castle  overlooking the town and surrounding countryside.  It was a steep ride up and from the drop off point there was an equally steep climb to the foot of the ruins.  From there we opted to stay at the little café in the shade because to attain the summit it looked like there were several hundred steps – not our cup of tea!  We were well entertained though while we waited.  A group of pre-schoolers had ridden up in one of the carriages and they stopped under the trees for their snack and to play some games.  One of their teachers dressed up as a king and led them in some cute exercises. 

View from the castle

This is the summit which we didn't climb to; our knees and backs couldn't take it!

The little pre-schoolers.  They reminded us so much of our grandson.

After everyone finished their climb, we boarded the train and stopped  midway down the mountain at a converted monastery where we had a lovely, but very large lunch.  The food and wine were great with a series of tapas followed by a main course and dessert!

After that interlude it was back down the mountain and onto the bus to Valencia.  I think most people took a little siesta.  It’s easy to understand why Spaniards have that custom after a lunch like the one we ate.

Our ship sailed around 6 PM and we were forecast to have smooth sailing overnight as we made our way to the island of Ibiza.

More later if blogspot and the net cooperate.