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.
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.
