6 November: Sunday in Valencia

Although we knew that the Mercat Central was closed today, we let it draw us like a magnet, exploring different streets in a new neighborhood. It was a gorgeous autumn morning, with a clarity of light that was striking. As we walked, we passed an attractive modern building whose entrance was an open arch into a huge walled park. It turned out to be the botanical garden of the University of Valencia, first founded (although on a different site) in 1567 to study medicinal plants. It moved to its present site in 1802 on a huerta or planted field just outside the city walls. It fell into disuse in the Franco era, but was revived and restored toward the end of the 20th century. Occupying nearly 15 acres in what is now central Valencia (just outside the historic district), it is a glorious refuge in the middle of the city, and still in active use by the University. In addition, it is home to several dozen domestic cats, under the auspices of the local humane society. A safe place.

The Mercat was indeed closed, but the streets circling it had become a flea market, and on one side the city was hosting a "Market Plaza Party" that later in the day would have beer and paella available. Locals were lining up to buy tickets as we walked through.

Our next Sunday treat was a visit to the Valencia Museum of Modern Art, hosting two or three large exhibits. The one that got our attention was "Lost in the City," which pulled pieces from the permanent collection relating to urban life. Some great photography, some interesting painting and sculpture, and, in the furthest room, an oboist playing a very modern, urban-ish solo against a recorded accompaniment. No pastorale, this.

We had made reservations for the midafternoon meal at La Carme in the Carmen district, which we had spotted earlier and which was highly recommended. It is a small place, maybe a dozen dining tables, with an old-fashioned look. But the food, created and cooked by the owner and one assistant, is an interesting blend of French, Greek, and Mediterranean cuisine. I started with French onion soup followed by a very thin piece of marinated salmon, while Jerome had a moussaka followed by spare ribs in a honey sauce. Floating Island for dessert.

We thought we were done for the day, but on our way back to the hotel we passed the Monastery of Our Lady Carmen of Valencia, a 13th-century structure now restored and in use as an art/exhibit center. There was an extensive exhibit on the design of tapas paraphernalia -- not so much the food itself, as the serving pieces, chairs, and tables, as well as kitchen gadgets. In the original Refectory was an exhibit by Valencian artist Javier Garcerá of gigantic modern paintings. Color and texture dominated, and I enjoyed many of them.

Back at the hotel, we are now in going-home mode, with a taxi reserved for 4:30 tomorrow morning to get us to our 6 a.m. flight to Paris, and our 10 a.m. flight from there to SLC. Homeward bound!

5 November: Around Valencia

The neighborhood directly across the river/park from our Valencia hotel is the El Carmen district. We did not know it before, but El Carmen is the bohemian/alternative/multicultural/cosmopolitan section of the city. Kind of a latter-day North Beach. Narrow cobblestone streets dating from Moorish times crisscross each other and lead from small plaza to small plaza, loaded with restaurants, bars, and pubs, usually the ground floor of four- or five-story apartment buildings. Every age, ethnicity, gender preference, clothes preference, occupation, and nationality seems to be represented, though I must admit it is primarily European (not many Americans, Africans, or Asians). Every third person has a dog. It is a pedestrian zone by default: although cars are allowed on most streets, the latter are one-car wide and one-way, and not much traffic comes through. The district is a great place to wander and watch, especially at night.

Our lunch on Friday was at Taberna de Marissa, on a small plaza in El Carmen with various restaurants whose outdoor tables filled the square. To say that I had a mixed salad followed by grilled salmon, and Jerome grilled vegetables followed by a rice with chicken and rabbit (paella style) does not reflect the lovely flavor combinations of said dishes, which were very well prepared and plated, nor the excellent waitress who served us outside on the plaza. 

After a rest at the hotel (my reserves of energy are dwindling, even if Jerome's are not!), we went out again and wandered El Carmen, ending up, to my delight, in a vermouth bar ("We carry over 60 kinds of vermouth!"). I tried a new label and enjoyed another old friend while Jerome had a "gintonic" and a wine, all accompanied by pinchos, another term for tapas. These were bites of bread with hummus, with guacamole, with brie and marmalade, with eggplant and goat cheese. Dinner/supper in Spain.

This morning we returned to the Mercat Central, admiring the displays and inhaling the aromas once again. A costumed dance troupe performed a traditional regional group dance on the plaza outside, to drum, tambor, and castanets. In addition to the tourists, many locals were doing their weekend shopping or were out with their families enjoying the beautiful sunny morning. As we wandered into one large plaza with a cathedral, a horse-drawn open carriage was arriving with a bride in yards of white lace and her tuxedo'd father, to the applause of everyone present as they entered the church. Saturday morning in Valencia.

We tracked down a "dim sum" restaurant in El Carmen for our afternoon meal. The chef had taken the concept of dim sum in the sense of serving steamed dumplings, but the fillings were Japanese in flavor, ordered off of a menu. An interesting twist, and delicious. Then back to the hotel to watch a Saturday soccer game before returning to El Carmen for the night scene. A light rain shower urged us into a tiny bistro that we otherwise would have overlooked, and a delightful experience it turned out to be. The whole place could have fit inside the main room of our house. Run by women, a kitchen the size of a closet, art on the walls, small tables with stools rather than chairs. Excellent salads among otherwise traditional and delicious Spanish small plates. We were among the first to enter (at about 8:30), but by the time we left there was scarcely room to weave our way out.

4 November: Cartagena and Valencia

We spent our last morning in Cartagena re-visiting the archaeological dig (smack in the middle of town) of a Roman street dating from the 2d century. The rooms that had been under excavation in 2014 are finished, and the crew is about to start on the next area, evidently a private club dedicated to Isis, from that time. This dip into the past came after breakfast in a delightfully modern pastry shop, to which we returned to purchase lunch items for our train trip to Valencia.

The latter was aboard a local train that left Cartagena at​ 12:55 and arrived in Valencia at 5:00, with people getting on and off at every stop. Very different from the high-speed train that carried us from Madrid to Cadiz, but equally as interesting if in a different way. Lots of people-watching.

In previous visits to Valencia (2011 and 2012), we stayed at a hotel in the heart of the downtown ​district between the train station and the centro historico, which was a lovely way to get to know the city. But this time we elected to be away from the tourist center, in the sense of being across the river.

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Actually, the river isn't a river anymore, but rather a lovely park: After massive floods in the 1960s, the city diverted the Taria river elsewhere and made the old riverbed ​into ​an extensive garden and park, complete with public sports venues, that now rings the city. It is always in use: people walking their dogs, jogging, biking, strolling, playing soccer or basketball. The trees have grown tall and the gardens and lawns well-established. It is a lovely addition to the urban center.  Our hotel room overlooks it.​

Our first morning ​in Valencia ​required a visit to the mercado central, our favorite market in Spain so far. A huge breathtaking building built mostly in the early 20th century in Art Nouveau style, filled to bursting with amazingly fresh foodstuffs. The market is actually named the Mercat Central. Valencia is officially a bilingual city, its official languages being Spanish and Valencian, otherwise know as Catalan. Valencia is the second-largest Catalan-speaking city after Barcelona, and mercado in Catalan is mercat. The two languages are closely related.

The other main event of the day was a visit to the archaeological museum, of which we were unaware in previous visits. Across the "river" from our hotel, the museum is stunningly ​well done​. ​It ​traces​ the population development of the province from the Neanderthal to the Visigoths (whom the Moors vanquished in the 8th century)​ in a series of spacious rooms, with excellent explanations and well organized exhibits. We have studied this history in the northern part of Spain, but were unaware of the extent of the research that has been done in Valencia. It was a real treat, if a bit tiring (that's a lot of history to cover!).

We are down to our last two days in Spain, since we fly home on Monday. How we spend the ​time will depend on the weather; rain is forecast for tomorrow. I'll write at least a brief ​note​ on Sunday.

2 November: a Cartagena sojourn

We spent yesterday avoiding historic sites, with which we were already familiar, and exploring contemporary Cartagena instead. It was not entirely successful: We had set as destinations a couple of restaurants that looked interesting, but the neighborhoods we walked through were uninspiring (apartment houses strung along bare streets), and the restaurants turned out to be closed down. Still, we saw some lovely plazas and fountains, and got a sense of the center of the city if not the suburbs.

We headed back toward the port, and visited the contemporary art museum. As far as I can discover, this is the only art museum of any kind in Cartagena. Similarly, I only found one art gallery. The  museum ​displays were local, and moderately interesting, but this is clearly not an art center (is there an opportunity here?).

The highlight of the day was the midday meal, because we returned to a very special restaurant that we had discovered in 2014 and that has since earned a Michelin star. We found that Magoga has done well for itself economically, and has kept up its quality in addition to expanding a tiny bit. Owners (and chefs) Maria and Adrian remembered us, which was fun (our visits in 2014 were in their first month of business), and we overindulged, but with great satisfaction. That required a siesta, of course, but also obviated the need for any supper, so last night we merely took to a local bar to sip sparkling water and watch a Barcelona-Manchester City soccer game (the former Barca coach is now at Man City, so it was extra fun).

Today was history day, and after breakfast at a local cafe, we returned to the remains of a wall built by the Phoenicians in the 3d century BCE, then climbed up to the castle on the highest hill in the city. The Moors built their castle there in the 12th century; Alfonso X of Castle took the city in 1245 and built his own castle on top of it. The structure itself is not that interesting, but the views over the city are amazing. From there we passed the 2d-century open-air Roman theater, the second largest found in Spain to date, and beautifully excavated.

We couldn't resist returning to Magoga today for a second meal, which started with complementary small tastings (three apiece, each served on its own little spoon): a sweet/savory walnut/sunflower kernels combination; jellied vermouth squares; vegetable puree dabs accompanied by sweet

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potato chips. As first courses, I had a red tuna tartare wrapped in thin avocado slices and surrounded by a mustard seed sauce, while Jerome had oxtail ravioli in a wild mushroom cream sauce. As entrees, I had a "rice with garden vegetables" which turned out to be sort of a vegetarian paella of incredible flavor​ (I'm going to figure out as best I can how to make this). Jerome had venison loin in a cherry reduction sauce with sauteed celery root on the side.  For a wine, we had a Portuguese Alborino, just different enough from the Spanish Alborinos to be really interesting. Dessert was a cross between French toast and bread pudding, a small square served​ with a tiny scoop of vanilla ice cream and a coffee&cream sauce. 

​Then coffee. This meal was probably the culinary highlight of the entire trip.

​There is so much more to say about Cartagena, but I would probably overdo. Similarly, I have many pictures that I love. I will make an album of them, and send the link. ​
We plan to visit the active archaeological dig 

​of a Roman street ​