Day 3

Up 8ish again. Andy went for a run. Out for coffee & toast for breakfast then had a look inside the Estacion del Norte. Fabulous building and full of history. Had a peek inside the enormous bullring (capacity 12,000) but couldn’t go in. Again, so much history and bullfighting still takes place here. It’s also a major concert venue - Tom Jones & The Pretenders advertised. Then easy Metro to seaside. Arrived about 12. Walked the delightful prom from one end to the other. Very busy on a hot & sunny Sunday afternoon. We were going to stop for Paella Valenciana but the restaurants were all very busy or booked so we got the Metro back to town. It was about 3pm by this time so we stopped at the first place we saw traditional paella advertised. Le Petit Montmartre - mmm. Possibly not authentic but it was in one of the lovely squares with lots going on. €13.90 each. Anyway, it tasted very good. Andy had a ‘cachi’ beer = stein. Haven’t seen or heard that before. It cost €11 which wasn’t too bad considering the size of it and the location.
Home for quick rest & change then out again 5.30.
Went to Beer & Travels to see if they’re showing Arsenal v Villa. Not. Had a Maeloc cider from Galicia. Second weakest on the list. €4.00. Very nice. Then got lost on the way back to The Lounge. These streets are demons! They did have the match on but Arsenal lost after Liverpool lost earlier. Big gift to City!
Saw local religious parade in honour of St Vincent. I tried to Google what it was but couldn’t find anything. Our tour guide told us yesterday that the locals pay a fee to be Falleros & Falleras to celebrate their huge Fallas in March. The floats & statues cost € thousands and are often satirical. They’re all then burned at the end of the fiesta. Perhaps the Valencians dressed up tonight are getting their money’s worth out of their subscription.
Had a beer on the way back home watching lovely fountain and people coming and going. €5.45 each. Then to New York where we went on the first night. Had a beer & lasagne, pork kebab & tortilla. Total €21.70. Delicious and enough after paella lunch. Home 9.30 for Guvnor. I’m on 9.5 miles, Andy on much more after run this morning. Had a lovely birthday.Read more