My international tourism class has a couple of walking tours set up. The students chose the tours. The purpose is to meet locals in tourism and learn more about the culture of Spain and Valencia. This should help them with their projects in the class. Plus the guides are more interesting than my lectures.
I used a website called withlocals.com. It's all over Europe and the guides are average locals who show you what interests them.
Our guide was Danny from Yorkshire, England. Says if he'd been in Game of Thrones, his family would have been Starks.
Below is the site of the Water Court. It's the oldest continuous oral court. They meet every Thursday at noon. Farmers with complaints about the quality of the water or if another is taking more than their fair share come here to express there concerns. The court is made up of other farmers.. no attorneys .. who hear cases. Most cases are resolved before the start of the court, and the decisions announced at court.
They meet in front of the door of the church on the left.
Water is critical in Valencia. With the orange groves and the bomba paella rice farms nearby, water becomes an important resource. Here is a fountain that honors the waters of Valencia
Valencia loves their cats. There are cats all over and they seem pretty healthy. This is a tiny door that the cats go through for refuge from what ever is chasing them.
The 1957 flood is legendary. The Turia River flooded the entire town and that motivated them to divert the river and create a 10K park that runs through the town with ball fields, museums, zoo, and lots of trails.
I am trying to give some perspective on the depth of the flood. It covered the entire city up to the line.
There is a Plaza called the Round Square. Odd name. There are a couple of these ribbon shops that have been selling ribbons, lace and buttons for more than 100 years.
This door to the home was bricked up. It's where the last executioner of Valencia lived. No one wants to live there after he did. According to legend, he took the gig for extra money. His heart was not into the job. If an executioner tries 3 times to do the deed and the person is not dead they get to go free. More people got to go free under his axe than died. I do wonder how you feel after three whacks?
Horchata is a popular drink here. They use a tiger nut as the base. This is the most famous and oldest horchata shop. It has a lot of interesting murals depicting history. The one below shows the Christians taking over the city and forcing the Muslims to leave.
Torres de Serranos:
Construction began in 1392 by Pere Balaguer, Las Torres were born as defenders of one of the most used accesses in old Valencia. In 1865 the walls are demolished and they are exempt. From 1586 to 1887 they were used as a jail for noblemen. Later, the back of the Towers was discovered and from the Plaza de los Fueros five rooms can be seen, with pointed arches and ribbed vaults. The Towers are a magnificent example of Gothic architecture.
The Torres de Serranos were used both defensively and as a triumphal arch. Currently, the most outstanding act that takes place at its feet is the Crida, a call made by the Fallera Mayor de València on the last Sunday of February to invite Valencians and visitors, welcoming the Fallas festival. .They now serve as the entrance to the old city. And the place for my favorite gelato.
You see this logo of Valencia all over. The bat is the mascot of the local football team.
The bat sits atop Valencia's coat of arms and its use is thought to have dated back to 1238, when King James of Aragon was fighting to take Valencia back from the Moors. Legend has it a bat landed on top of his tent, woke him up and warned him of the impending attack. He proceeded to win Valencia back, whereby the bat was added to the coat of arms as a sign of good luck.
Here is a report from one of my tourism students: The myths and legends tour is the best tour I've taken around Valencia. He discussed
Valencia's history, which dates to 138 BC. We began the tour by learning about the doors that
served a prison. In addition, there used to be a dragon as a guard. Anyone who defeated the
dragon was set free. One day, a prisoner wore a reflective vest made of mirrors, and the dragon
became terrified of its own image that the prisoner had the opportunity and killed him.
Another interesting fact I discovered was that there are still some bomb shelters scattered
throughout the city. It was fascinating to see one from the outside. We kept walking and began to
learn about a criminal from Madrid who fell in love with a Valencian girl. They had planned to
leave Spain, but the girl changed her mind at the last minute. As we walked her back, some of
the local law enforcement recognized him and arrested him.
Another intriguing story involves marks left on the cathedral door by an executioner's
axe. According to legend, he was supposed to kill a lady but instead fell in love with her. I don't
recall all the details, but he left a few marks in the door as retaliation. I also learned that if an
executioner failed to kill someone on the third attempt, he would be absolved of all charges.
Hard to see, but this is the door where the axe marks still exist hundreds of years later.
The signature drink of Valencia. See earlier blog post for recipe.
Needless to say, Franco is not a popular guy here. This is one of the street signs that was under his reign. The little clay thing on the top is his logo. Funny here that streets in one direction are one name and another name going the opposite direction. It's because one is in Spanish and the other in Valencian which is a different variation on Spanish.
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