Hi my name is Star and I have been lucky enough to call Gran Alacant my home for over 10 years now. My 8 year old daughter Ashlee and I are often “Out & About” enjoying the local attractions and culture in this part of Spain. Over the next few months I will be sharing some of our experiences with you to encourage you to go “Out & About” yourselves and maybe learn a little bit about this beautiful place we call home.
This month we wanted to continue sharing our experiences from a two day break that we took in Valencia whilst my Mum was visiting. At the start of day two and after an extremely filling breakfast, we paid for our tickets in the reception of the hotel and walked around the corner to catch the Valencia Tourist bus. As we had spent the whole of the previous very humid day, walking around the Oceanografic, it was lovely to sit in the open air top deck and see the amazing architecture and mix of historic and modern buildings whilst listening to the guided tour information via headphones.
There were two different routes we could take (historic and maritime) that were both included in the price, and we were able to hop off and hop on at any or all of the stops along the way. We hopped off at the main plaza which is one of the places where the two tours meet, in search of a specific Church. We briefly stopped at the Valencian Cathedral which is the home of the Holy Grail that Jesus drank from at the Last Supper. This is a very large Cathedral and although you can see a small section of it for free, you need to pay to see the main interior and home of the Grail.
We continued on foot and after asking some of the locals the way, arrived at the Church of San Nicolás de Bari and San Pedro Mártir which was tucked away down a small alley. After paying a small fee we received a headset and hand player so we could hear the information in English as we walked around. As we entered the church we were completely blown away and awe-struck by the stunning interior. Although it was much smaller than the Valencian Cathedral you could instantly see why it is also referred to as the Sistine Chapel of Valencia. The recent restoration it underwent was classified as “the most important architectural and pictorial-ornamental work ever carried out anywhere in the World due to the scale of the work and the techniques used.” It truly is stunning and there is a risk of getting a neck ache as you try to admire all of the amazing frescos, art work. beautiful stained glass windows and numerous sculptures. The guided tour via the headphones was really informative.
We then had a spot of lunch before heading onto the bus again to do the whole of the 2nd route that took us past all of the historic highlights of the city, including some of the more modern areas and the Bio Park Zoo. It really was a great way to see everything. Back at the plaza and we switched back to the maritime route so we could finish that tour and head back to the
hotel. Once we had collected our bags from reception and loaded the car, we set off and talked about all of the amazing things that we had seen and done on our trip as we made the scenic two hour journey home.
We will definitely return to Valencia, when it is cooler and we are able to stay longer as there is still so much to see and do.
Additional Info:
Ashlee and I used our annual passes for Terra Natura to get a 25% discount on entrance tickets to the Oceanografic, this discount also applies to the Science Museum and Hemispheric (IMAX Cinema). As Mum is a Pensioner, we took her passport so she could get reduced price tickets.
Some useful links:
http://valenciabusturistic.com/en/
https://www.oceanografic.org/en/
https://www.cac.es/en/home.html
Join us next month for some more fun “out & about’
Star & Ashlee xxx
