Andalucia, Spain

January - March 2024
The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.
— Saint Augustine
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  • Day 8

    A 1000 Year Old Pilgrimage Site

    January 10 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 7 °C

    Montserrat Monastery in the Mountains

    Hostel Guilleumes, Monistrol
    Not our favourite place but it was okay for one night.

    We have enjoyed our time in Barcelona. Five nights was perfect but we only saw a small bit of what this lovely city has to offer. Overall, we found it to be an artistic city with unique architecture. It has easy access to both mountains and the sea. The streets are easy to walk on, the public transportation is great and the food is delicious. Our Hotel Ronda was clean and comfortable and in a perfect location. It met all of our needs.

    And so now, we are moving on to Montserrat, the “serrated mountain” that is northwest of Barcelona. It has been a pilgrimage site for a thousand years. Hymns explain how the mountain was carved by little angels with golden saws. Nice image…

    We will take the metro (with our pass) to the closeby Placa Espanya train station. The Line R5 train leaves every hour starting at around 8:30 a.m. to Monistrol where our hostel is located at the base of the mountain. Then we will take a rack train to the monastery. A rack train is used to go up steep inclines without slipping down.

    The monastery is located 2,400’ up. There are 30 Benedictine monks who carry on its spiritual traditions of prayer and work and 50 boys, and recently a few girls, who sing in one of the oldest boys’ choirs in Europe - Escolania de Monserrat. Documents testify to the existence of a religious and music school in Montserrat as far back as the 14th century.

    We saw that there was going to be 100% chance of rain and 4C! Not the greatest day to go up into the mountains but we are only here once so “que sera sera”. Actually the scenery with the rain clouds/mist reminded us of our visit to Machu Picchu in Peru several years ago. It was rainy then too. Mystical.

    When we arrived in Monistrol, we hunted for our hostel in the rain, left our bags and hurried to catch the rack train up to the monastery. The boys choir was singing at 1 pm for 10 minutes and we wanted to hear them. Unfortunately, we didn’t get there on time and they had just finished when we got to the basilica. But luckily, we can watch them perform on Utube!

    We purchased seniors tickets (you always have to ask) to tour the Basilica and to see the Black Madonna. The basilica was beautiful with walls completely covered from floor to ceiling with beautiful art - mosaics, sculptures, frescoes, stained glass, paintings, etc. so much time and money put into making it beautiful!

    The Black Madonna statue is very special to the Catalan people. This wooden statue is known by many names including; La Moreneta, St. Mary of Montserrat, the Black Virgin and most commonly The Virgin of Montserrat. The monastery was built around its accessibility to the Black Madonna, which is located within the basilica. Apparently, it was carved in the 1200s. Pope Leo XIII declared the Black Madonna to be the patron saint of Catalonia.

    There is a lot of mystery surrounding the fact that she is black.

    Many believe that the statue has healing powers and thousands of miraculous cures are credited to this sacred piece of wood. Most of the statue sits behind a protective sheet of glass, except for one hand. In this hand the statue holds a sphere, which represents the universe. This is the only part of the statue not protected behind glass and it is said that pilgrims simply need to touch this exposed area to be healed.

    It continued to rain in the afternoon and the cold mountain air made it feel pretty chilly. Our layers worked though and our clothes dried quickly once we returned to the hostel.

    We ate dinner at a local bar, La Roca - huge portions of tasty food and very inexpensive. We had some interesting conversations with the locals who were eating there. They were tickled that we were from Canada and that we could and wanted to speak to them. It was fun. The Catalan language is spoken here but they can speak Castilian Spanish too so we understood them.

    Oh, as many of you know, Mongolia has been on my bucket list for a long time. Mine, not so much Chris’. Today we met a lady from Mongolia! She felt that this was an omen for me. Lol. I certainly hope so!
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  • Day 9–11

    Vilanova and its Train Musem

    January 11 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 7 °C

    Today was a travel day. Montserrat to Barcelona and then on to Vilanova. A little complicated with trains and subways and another train but with helpful strangers, we were able to get to Vilanova in a few hours. We do like the efficiency of the Spanish public transport system. We are here for two nights in the Solvi Hotel.

    Our first impression of the city is that it is a clean and attractive beach town with a huge port. We easily walked to our hotel that has a great view of the ocean and is in a good location.

    We lucked out and were given an upgraded room with a sunny balcony on the third floor overlooking a park and the marina. Directly in front of us is an interesting structure - the Ribes Roge’s tower built in 1850. It is the remaining one of three defence towers that were built to protect the maritime quarter from pirates.

    It has a wide open, pedestrian street running right through its centre, covering about a mile all the way from the seafront to the Parish Church of Sant Antoni Abat in the heart of the town. This gracious esplanade (called the Rambla de la Pau) is lined with shops and pavement cafés and it is a delightful place to stroll. On Friday, it had an outdoor market set up in the middle of the street with clothes, fruit, vegetables, etc. we bought a handful of big green olives from a vendor who had to have had 50 varieties of olives! Hard to choose.

    There is a lovely palm-tree-lined promenade, full of noisy parrots, along the ocean front and then set back from this are lots of restaurants and cafés. Mid-way along, sitting out on a promontory, is a striking and unusual sculpture by Vilanovan artist Oscar Estruga that is one of the symbols of the town. The sculpture shows a woman inside the body of a cow and it is an interpretation of the legend of Pasifae.

    In Greek mythology Pasifae was the daughter of Helios and the wife of King Minos of Crete. Poseidon sent Minos a bull as a gift to be sacrificed but he refused, and Poseidon cursed his wife, forcing her to fall in love with the bull. She had a wooden cow built which she could hide inside and mate with the bull! The resulting offspring was the Minotaur.

    Down at the harbour, hundreds of small and large boats are moored in neat little rows, This is still a fishing village and most restaurants have fresh seafood on their menus. On our first night, we ate a wonderful seafood paella in the restaurant next to our hotel.

    We walked to the harbour office where there was an elderly man mending a brightly coloured fishing net. Nets were spread out on the ground like great, long snakes, or piled up at the side awaiting their turn. The man told us that he spent his time mending nets not as a job but as a ‘diversion’. He enjoyed doing it.

    Before we came to Vilanova, we had read about the Museu del Ferrocarril de Catalunya, a train museum. Sounded interesting so we thought we would look for it. Of course it was near the train station.

    Once again, we got a seniors’ rate and the lady showed us how to navigate the music. Follow the black brick road. So we did.

    Located in the original installations of the steam locomotive depot built on horseback between the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the museum houses a collection of more than 50 locomotives and wagons in Vilanova i la Geltrú. You can climb into several of them and take photos wherever.

    It also has the first Talgo train (articulated lightweight high speed train in 1942) and a replica of the first train that ran on the peninsula in 1848, making the journey from Barcelona to Mataro. See the next footprint for photos.

    This town is lovely but we think that in the summer it must be packed with holiday makers! We are quite happy to be here on a sunny, warm day in the off season. Quiet and peaceful.

    On Saturday, we heading further south to Peniscola, another popular tourist resort with a big castle.
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  • Day 12

    Peñíscola and its Castle in the Sea

    January 14 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    Our travel day was quite the day! It all started well. We walked to the Vilanova train station, bought a ticket to Benicarlos, the nearest town to Peniscola, and caught the train at 10:50 a.m. We paid about $20 Cdn per ticket that we think is quite inexpensive for a 4 hour train ride.

    The train took us along the seaside and then into olive and mandarin orange groves. It’s orange season here and the trees were loaded with fruit. At one point the train started going backwards and we wondered whether we were headed back to Vilanova. But no, the train was just changing tracks..

    We arrived at the empty Benicarlos train station at close to 2 o’clock. It’s kind of out in the middle of nowhere. We knew we had to take the bus to Peniscola (Pen-yis-cola)b ut we may have just missed one, as we saw that the next bus was coming in an hour. A friendly young lady was there with us and took us under her wing. She told us to follow her to a busier bus stop, 1+ km away, and we went off at a fast clip. This is when our ‘light’ backpacks felt awfully heavy. Haha. We made it to our accommodation, called Chiki, by 3:30 pm and what a surprise it was.

    We knew that it would be within the walled city around the Peniscola castle but didn’t really know what to expect. We had to walk up lots of stairs, through a tunnel entrance to the town and then up even further on cobblestone streets past whitewashed houses.

    Finally we found it. Sonia, the owner met us and showed us our room, which was actually a small apartment. Our bedroom was probably in what was the living/dining room. There was a kitchen and bathroom too. The original bedroom was closed off. We had a microwave and beer fridge as well as a coffee machine. It is a great little place in the labyrinth of the town surrounding the castle.

    Once we put our bags in the room, we went off to find a place to eat. There were a ton of places here. We decided on a seafood restaurant outside of the wall and enjoyed eating a fish, squid, fries and salad dinner. We took home some tiramisu for later.

    Then off to find a grocery store. Apparently, it isn’t open on Sunday, so off we went to find the store and buy bagels, cream cheese, peanut butter, yogurt and fruit for breakfast and lunch. A kind man showed us the way and enjoyed telling us the history of this place. He even offered to take us to a park but we told him that we only had a day here and we wanted to see the castle. If we had been here longer…

    By the time we got home, the beautiful Xmas decorations were on and the castle streets were magical with twinkly lights. We were pretty tired so we just relaxed, made plans for visiting the castle, watched a Reacher episode and went to bed.
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  • Day 12

    The Amazing Peñíscola Castle

    January 14 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    The castle was another Wow for us. We only paid $5 Cdn (seniors’ rates) to get into this wonderful place.

    In 1233, Peñíscola, which had been under the control of the Arabs (it was a Moorish citadel) since 718, was given to King James of Aragon. In 1294, it was passed over to the Order of the Temple. It was at this point that the Knights Templar built their last great fortress here between 1294 and 1307. After this they disappeared and became nothing more than a legend.

    The castle is located on the highest point of the city. It was built with walls of carved stone and most of the rooms had barrel vaults. It is solidly built and an imposing building.

    The minute we walked into the castle, we felt history. It has been well taken care of and has been used in several films including the Game of Thrones and El Cid with Sophia Loren and Charlton Heston.

    An interesting fact - When they filmed El Cid at this castle, back in 1961, there were a lot of rather inconvenient modern houses spoiling the shot. No fancy digital graphics existed back then – so the film-makers had to build a huge wall and a gate to disguise it all. The set was so enormous, it apparently made the Guinness Book of Records for a while. Many of the townsfolk were enlisted as extras.

    The first six rooms focussed on two centuries of the Templars’ glories, heroes, defeats, struggles and their daily work as a Christian military force. Then we went up and down stairs exploring the stables, the cisterns, halls, church and even the dungeon with its chains.

    It was also the residence of Benedict XIII, who turned it into a palace and papal library when he moved to Peñíscola in 1411. Known as Papa Luna, he had been excommunicated from the papacy but refused to step down. He moved into the castle after being accused of being heretic and a traitor by the Church, and he died alone and poor in 1423.

    We were able to go into his rooms where he defended his rights and wrote his last texts. The people here respect him for what he did and even now talk about his strength. He led a pretty interesting life.

    We really enjoyed exploring this castle and reading the well-written signposts that were written in several languages.

    At the foot of the castle is the Artillery Park where its gunpowder storage areas, weapons and cannons are displayed. At present the area has been made into a botanical garden where visitors can enjoy the lush vegetation of palm trees, olive trees, lavender and native plants. From here we could see the north beach of Peñíscola and also the Mediterranean sea that meets the walls of the city in the fortress. It is a calm place now with beautiful views.

    We have sore knees and backs but it was worth the pain.
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  • Day 13

    Valencia and Our Apartment

    January 15 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Now on to Valencia…

    After having breakfast and packing a light lunch, we caught the bus at 11:15 a.m. in Peniscola that took us to the train station in Benacarlo for the 12:26 p.m. train to Valencia. The train had a handful of people on it but as we progressed towards Valencia it filled up so there was standing room only. It took us about 2 1/2 hours and cost us around $20 Cdn each.

    The Norte train station in Valencia is beautiful. It is an art nouveau masterpiece that is still an active railway station 100 years after it opened. The Valencia City Guide describes it as, ".... a modernist jewel ... with Sezesion-Vienesa style ... On the front façade you can see the most typical elements of valencian culture: oranges, barracas (valencian traditional house), La Albufera (the lake), women dressed with traditional valencian dress."

    At present it is being renovated on the inside so we couldn’t really see the artwork but the outside is beautiful. The interior and exterior decorations (mosaics and ceramic tiles) were done as a tribute to the importance of the Valencian orange trade, Valencia oranges, at the turn of the century (completed in 1917).

    We easily found the Metro station and took Line 5 towards the marina to Ayora where our Air bnb apartment for 5 nights is located.

    Vivacious Carmen, our hostess, met us on the orangetree-lined road that the apartment is on and showed us with pride her beautiful place. What a treat to have such a lovely quiet place at a good price for an extended time.

    Men sit outside of little bars chatting about their day, drinking coffee, wine or beer. There are fruit and vegetables shops galore. Bakeries open at 6:30 a.m. Barber shops are at every corner. The bus stop is at the top of our street. On the next street we can rent bicycles or scooters for 5 Euros a day. The famous City of Arts and Sciences is at the other end of the street. Parks and gardens are everywhere.

    The huge grocery store is 5 minutes away and has everything! We are here for 5 nights so we went out and bought all sorts of Spanish goodies - wine, salad ingredients, mandarins, Serrano ham, cheese, bread, olives, sausage, etc. Lots of food for $70 Cdn!

    Carmen recommended a few of the many restaurants that are close by but we are happy eating breakfast and dinner here. Of course, we have to try Valencia’s famous paella.

    We haven’t really needed to wear many different clothes but it was time to do some laundry. We have a washing machine and clothesline here so did a couple of loads while we put away food and ate a tuna salad for dinner.

    It was quite a day, full of new experiences. We are looking forward to exploring Valencia tomorrow. I booked a free 2 1/2 hour walking tour of the old town for tomorrow afternoon. Should be interesting,

    Re clothes…everyone here wears jeans (or leggings), a T-shirt, running shoes and a jacket/vest, so we fit right in.
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  • Day 14

    Paella, Horchata and Agua de Valencia

    January 16 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    We have learned about three food/drink specialties of Valencia and so far we have tried the first two - paella and horchata.

    1. Valencia is the home of paella. It is one of the largest natural ports in the Mediterranean and has been one of the most important rice-producing areas in Spain. Rice was introduced by the Moors over 1200 years ago. In fact, the Spanish word for rice is ‘arroz’, which is derived from Arabic, not Latin like most of Castilian Spanish.

    Paella was originally a farmers' and farm labourers' food, cooked by the workers over a wood fire for the lunchtime meal. It was made with rice, plus whatever was to hand around the rice fields and countryside: tomatoes, onions and snails, with a few beans added for flavour and texture. Rabbit or duck might also have been added, and for special occasions, chicken plus a touch of saffron for an extra special colour and flavour. Paella was also traditionally eaten straight from the pan in which it was cooked with each person using his own .

    Little by little, as 'Valencian rice' became more widely available, paella recipes were adapted with new variations appearing. With Valencia being on the coast, it is no surprise that seafood has crept into the recipes over the generations.

    2. Horchata is a very popular drink in Valencia, as it is Mexico. Here it is a drink that looks like milk and is made of chufas, which are tiger nuts. In Mexico, rice is used. The nuts or roots are originally from Egypt, but nowadays they grow them in the province of Valencia. Other than chufas, the drink contains water and a lot of sugar. Most of the time, a horchata in Valencia comes with a farton; a sweet kind of pastry that goes perfectly together with the drink. I love Horchata. So refreshing.

    Horchata in Valencia is not just a delicious beverage but the drink also has a lot of benefits. It lowers cholesterol, helps with digestion and decreases gas and bloating. The chufa or tiger nut isn’t actually a nut at all – it’s the root of a wetland plant called a sedge.

    3. Agua de Valencia is the elixir of Valencia - a drink made from orange juice, gin, vodka and cava/champagne. It has been consumed in the city and surrounding area since the late 50's and is usually served in jugs and drunk from champagne glasses.

    Interesting note - In Spain, they don’t have an established tipping culture. While it is possible to tip, it's not expected and it isn't considered rude not to leave a tip. However, most businesses will accept a tip if you'd like to leave one.
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  • Day 14

    A Walking Tour in Old Valencia

    January 16 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    Our first full day in Valencia tired us out. Did we ever sleep well!

    We felt that in order to understand the city and its history, we should go on a tour. So, I booked a free 2 1/2 hour walking tour in English in the Old City at 3 p.m.

    Our morning was free so we took a walk in the neighbourhood. Buying combination bus/metro tickets at the cigarette store was easy and inexpensive - 10 tickets for $5 Cdn. Chris got a good haircut with Omar for $10. Then we went to the big Turia gardens. It is one of the largest urban parks in Spain. It runs through the city along nine kilometres of green space with foot paths, leisure and sports areas, and quiet spots where you can unwind. It is the perfect place for runners, cyclists, families and nature enthusiasts but I plan to write more about it in another blog. It has an interesting history.

    We returned home for a bit and then caught Bus #4 into the Old City of Valencia. It was founded by the Romans in 138 BC, then occupied by the Moors from the XVIII century, and liberated by King Jaime I in 1238.

    Valencia is internationally famous as the birthplace of Spanish paella, so we went to a well-known paella restaurant, Navarro, for lunch before our walking tour. It was full of people and expensive but we experienced a tasty authentic seafood paella, filled with fresh fish, shrimp, squid, mussels, and clams over a bed of delicious rice. You have to like seafood if you are going to eat this meal. By the way, the original recipe featured chicken, rabbit, snails, and vegetables.

    We walked a kilometre to meet up with our guide at the Puerta de Serranos, a gate to the Old City for the walking tour. There were 16 people that joined us from all over - Germany, Belgium, Italy, England, India and France. The guide had a microphone and spoke well in English so we had no problem hearing or understanding him.

    We visited around 15 Old City places. I wrote the following just for our memories but those places were very interesting. We may return to see some of them more thoroughly on another afternoon,

    Serranos Gate - one of the twelve gates that formed part of the ancient Christian Wall, of the city. This was the gate that kings went through as they entered the city.

    Muslim wall - in many places it is still possible to view sections of the original defensive walls that were built in the era of Muslim rule from 714-1238 A.D.

    Serranos Refuge - during the Spanish Civil War, Valencia was bombed over 400 times. Air raid shelters were built. The one we saw could house 400 people.

    Palau de la Generalitat - a 15th century palace that has been home to the Valencian government for centuries.

    Cavallers Street - one of the oldest Roman streets in the city - the Street of the Knights. Palaces line the street.

    Negrito Square - a small square named after the statue of a black child that stands in the center of the plaza.

    Silk market - before Valencia became a major exporter of oranges, it was a silk manufacturing centre. This building was built between 1482 and 1533. On the top floor of many houses in the area, you see small windows. It was where silkworms were kept.

    Church of Santos Juanes - a catholic church with an interesting history built over a mosque

    Central Market - a huge and beautiful market building built in 1928

    Round Square - a small interior square with shops that is round, surrounded by small and narrow streets in the old quarter.

    Iglesia de Santa Catarina - built in the early 13th century at the site of a prior mosque.

    Valencia Cathedral - documentation and archaeological studies show that the Holy Grail of Valencia is the one used by Jesus in the last supper. The Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI used it when celebrating the Eucharist on their visits to Valencia. It is a cup made of polished agate. Tradition says that, after the last supper, Saint Peter took it to Rome and the Popes who succeeded it kept it there until Saint Sixtus II, who then sent it to Huesca, and during Muslim invasion, the chalice was hidden in the Pyrenees. It was Alfonso the Magnanimous who brought it back to the palace of Valencia. Nowadays it can be seen in the Chapel of the Holy Chalice at the Cathedral.

    La Estrecha - with a facade of 107 centimeters from side to side, slightly more than the width of the door, it is the narrowest house in Europe

    Almoïna Archaeological Center - on a site of roman forum in the center of Valencia.

    Basilica of the Virgin of the Forsaken - a temple dedicated to the patron saint of the city

    Plaza de la Virgen- Tribunal de les Aigües - The Tribunal of Water meets outside the door of the Apostles in the Plaza de la Virgen, every Thursday at midday, keeping alive a one thousand year old tradition. The tribunal is made up of eight farmers who still wear the typical black blouse of the Huerta (the irrigated fields around Valencia). The members are democratically elected every two years by the farmers who use the irrigation system in the Huerta. They sit in a circle on wood and leather 17th century chairs, and make their rulings. The structure of the irrigation system, the participation of the farmers, and the promptness with which the problems are resolved has made the Tribunal world famous and it has been used as a model for other institutions.

    The guide did a wonderful job and we want to return to the Old City to see more of the Silk Exchange, the big Market and possibly the archaeological centre.
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  • Day 15

    Turia Park

    January 17 in Spain ⋅ 🌬 17 °C

    Really close to apartment, there is a 9 km long landscaped area that is perfect for for walking, skateboarding, cycling, exercising and even relaxing. It is called the Jardín del Turia Park.

    The gardens were built on the former riverbed of the Turia River, whose course was altered to prevent the constant flooding in the city. After a devastating flood on October 14, 1957, the Turia River’s course was diverted to south of the city. Where the river had been, something had to be done with the old riverbed that borders the historical centre and goes to the sea that is about 10km away.

    Several urban planners and landscapists got together and designed different sections of the park, recreating the former river scenery. They planted palm trees, orange trees and mulberry trees and put in fountains, aromatic plants and ponds, sports facilities and rose beds. The original 18 bridges were left and the paths in the park go under them. It was finished in 1986.

    What we saw of this well-used park was really lovely. We had planned on renting bicycles or scooters (easy to do) and explore the whole park but it rained on the day that we wanted to go. Five days isn’t enough for Valencia!
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  • Day 15

    Valencia’s Aquarium

    January 17 in Spain ⋅ 🌬 22 °C

    The Oceanogràfic of Valencia Is the largest aquarium in Europe and it’ s only a 10 minute walk from our place. It was a lovely day, 23C, sunny and a bit windy, but perfect for visiting this indoor/outdoor oceanarium.

    We arrived when it opened at 10 a.m. and stayed for almost 5 hours. We walked over 10 km and enjoyed every minute. Once again, we said that we were ‘jubilados’ (retired) and we got a great discount. Our tickets included visiting the Science Centre that we can do on another day. Thank heavens!

    The complex is divided by zones according to species and marine ecosystems. Each one has been designed so you go in and out of different buildings connected by walkways through ponds and marshes. Really nice.

    There was a hammerhead shark aquarium and several tanks with different species of jellyfish such as the so-called ‘fried egg’.

    Then a Mediterranean area, a facility consisting of a total of nine aquariums where we could see about 7,400 species that live in the Mediterranean Sea.

    Another area showed animals and birds in wetlands areas in an aviary inside of a sphere that was 26 meters high.

    The ‘Temperate and Tropical’ area had aquariums connected to each other by the longest underwater tunnel in Europe. Sharks and fish of all kinds swam above and beside us.

    The ‘Arctic and Antarctic’ area was cold and had the largest aquarium of the Oceanogràfic with penguins, walruses and beluga whales. We loved watching the belugas swimming in their large tanks and chittering as they surfaced.

    The ‘Islands’ area was an open-air installation that looks after the care and recovery of Patagonian sea lions.

    There was also a ‘Red Sea’ underwater auditorium.

    But the most outstanding part of the Oceanogràfic and the one that we loved the most was the ‘Dolphinarium’, one of the largest in the world. It has five pools that house about 30 bottle-nosed dolphins, one general pool and 4 auxiliary pools for specific purposes such as reproduction, training or giving medical care to the animals that need it.

    At 11:45, there was a dolphin show that was amazing. The rapport between the trainers and dolphins was so nice to see and it was obvious that the dolphins loved what they were doing. An excellent show!

    We walked home, ate a very late lunch outside and enjoyed the sun. The Science Centre tomorrow.
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