Morning Cycling and Walks Around Valencia

 Here I post random photos and stories that I pick up on my morning wanderings.  I add to these from time to time.  So worth a scroll.

I found this street art in Old Town.  Loved it as she's a Ginger and a Cyclist.  Just wish she did not have the smudge on her eye.

Dawn on an early morning walk.

A few sites along beach.  

My favorite restaurant.  Yes, that is the blue of the Mediterranean at sunset in the distance.

El Saler is a cute town along the coast near Albufera Nature Reserve

   

I love this sign at one of the entrances to the bike trail to the beach:  No musical instruments or flower picking allowed!!  I've yet to see a turtle.  

Finally saw the turtle

El Palmer is a quirky small village (La Mancha) with 2 streets, 3 blocks and 39 paella restaurants...yes I counted them.  See more below...

El Palmar is a tiny town near Albufer National Reserve.  As I rode into town they had a sign that they were the original paella location.  Around here everyone brags about their paella.  The town was about 3 blocks long and I counted 39 paella restaurants.  I was a tad confused until I saw a giant sign that said, "Trip Advisor Guests park free".  I rode the charming narrow farm roads past El Palmar.  One lane bridges, great views of the mountains, and only got passed by one tractor and two groups of cyclists.

Late night walking back after a gelato, I saw this café on the beach:

This is the building where I am teaching my international tourism course.  It is a beautiful campus with lots of sculpture, and public street art.  For scale, it's got 4 metro stops, while the central district where the old town is has 2.

This one is an internationally known street artist.  It's called Zeus:

Maybe I'll ask Joe about painting our house like this:

Saw this quirky way to earn some money at the stop light... instead of washing windows or holding a sign.

I love all the street art. Turns out Valencia is known for it.

There is a plaza that honors my birthday!!

Kept seeing signs for Sollana, a town in the Albuferer Nature Reserve.  So I went out of my way to see it.  Either I missed it and did not go far enough, or this is a town past its prime.  But I did see some evidence of life and beauty.

Notice on the sign there is the Olympic logo.  That made me optimistic about a charming town.

Things I love about morning cycling:

1.  Great bike paths - always clean and smooth.

2.  When on the coastal road there are these scrub pines that arch over the highway.  It creates filtered shade and really cools me off when I'm riding.

3.  Cyclists take precedent over motorists.  The motorists really do give you plenty of space.  I've seen long back ups on a narrow bridge when a group of cyclist are crossing.  The fine for not honoring the 2 meter rule is huge.  Also the fine for riding with headphones in is 200 euro.

I did test the theory ... I entered a traffic circle and a bus was coming.  It immediately braked and around I went.

4.  You must follow rules of the road.  There are times near the beach where I am staying where I jump off the road and onto the bike lane when I see a long stretch of red lights.  The bike lanes near the beach are nice but can be crowded with tourists of all speeds.

5.  when I leave for my ride at 7am or earlier, I ride the beach and see people leaving the clubs.  They close between 6-7am.  Strikes me that no one ever looks happy when they are leaving the clubs.

View during a break on my walk.  

More quirky signs from morning rides

This one is because the restroom is so small they don't want you to dawdle.  

Where I got my cell phone.  Laura was so patient with me.