On Our Own

On Saturday, March 8th, Jenny and family took off for Rabat. Their spring break was over and they had to get back home. We all packed and left the apartment. We returned our rental car and set out on our own by foot and bus. This really began our days of learning how to read the bus schedules.

 So, we caught the bus and headed for the port. We ate a pretty good breakfast at a little bar - the only thing open down that way so early in the morning.

The buildings down here were beautiful. These were the port offices.

 



                           Lots of left over buildings from when the America's Cup was held here.



                                         Just one of the many beautiful boats in the marina.

 

This is one of the port storage buildings being refurbished.

 

This is the Mediterranean Sea seen as we walked out on the big and busy pier. Our pictures don't do it justice. The color was gorgeous.

 The architecture throughout Spain had been beautiful. This building was no exception.

 The week we were in Valencia was the beginning of the Fallas Celebration. Fireworks were set off every afternoon in one of the downtown squares. A LOT of Noise for about 10 minutes with lots of smoke in the air.

 

Later in the afternoon, we were picked up by our friends that we met last year in the desert  on our trip to Morocco. These were the people who rode on the camels with us. We are actually missing one of the ladies who had to join us later.

 
We ate out, walked around town, and eventually spent the night at one of their homes.

 

At the culmination of this festival (a week after we left), these beautiful paper mache statues (and lots of others) are placed in central squares all around town and then set on fire!! And below.... more beautiful lights.

 

Valencia Day 2

Day two in Valencia would prove to be another busy day and one with a lot walking. We headed off to the Ciudad de las Artes yde las Ciencias. This was really  several "museums" in one. We were only able to see a part of it... just too big for one day. This was the overall view you first see:

 

The buildings were very futuristic and quite large.

First, we hit the water show.

 

Will waiting....

Then we went to the science museum. It included biological information...

 

.... Will watching baby chicks hatch,

 

Philip and Will checked out the planets while I counted the DNA components.

Jenny was at the telescope (one of many)

 

 I forgot what this thing was that Michael and Lincoln are checking out.

                                                                                  Donovan just liked anything he could manipulate  

                                                                        and that's what this museum was perfect for.

Here, we were getting out feet checked for "type" - depends on
how your toes are shaped.



 
One of the more unusual fish in the aquarium.



 

But probably the best thing all day was when the three amigos got to ride INSIDE these big bubbles on the water.

 

This City of the Arts and Crafts was a huge undertaking apparently. Sadly, we did observe that there were some things that were not kept up well or were closed or didn't work. Locals that we talked to said that was mainly due to the money problems the government had experienced in years past and although things had recovered somewhat, many things in the cities had not been able to be well maintained.

 

All in all, it was a great day that ended in pizza for the boys and grandparents back at the apartment,  while Michael and Jenny had a night out.

 

Valencia!!

We said goodbye to Zarauz on Thurs, March 6th (BTW - it was the youngest grandchild's 3rd birthday - the only girl who not with us but was Indiana!). We drove along the coast for just a little while then headed South. One of the great things about Spain was all of the art - everywhere- including along this highway. It was hard to take pictures out of the car window travelling at a high rate of speed, but we managed a few. There were some great steel structures and many mosaic displays (under the underpasses).

                                                            The stylized bull.

 

 

St. George slaying the dragon.

 

 

Not the best picture, but it shows how and where the mosaics were under the bridges.

 

We also passed this airport with two 747's parked out on the runway. This airport was just out in the middle of nowhere with not much in the way of signs announcing what it was. But.... thanks for the internet and ipad, we researched immediately.

 

This is Tereul airport. It is new and built largely for cargo but also has facilities for airplane repair and maintenance...  and built to handle 747 traffic.

http://allplane.tv/airports-news/allplane/airlineblog/2013/8/14/an-airport-in-spain-you-possibly-never-heard-of-but-boeing-747s-are-already-landing-there

 

We made it to Valencia in the late afternoon.

 

This city seemed like a party town from the moment we entered.

First, a Ferris wheel in the middle of a street.

 

Then, lights above the streets that looked great even in the daytime.

 

The view from the balcony of our apartment.

More lights.

 

On our first night, everyone unwound....

 

some people checked for bell orders and others played Minecraft.

 

We unpacked... and then some of us hit the streets for late night Tapas and Wine!

 

 

 

 

 

From the Mountains to the Ocean

 From Cosgaya, we started north. BTW, this photo of the road worker was taken out of the front window of the car. It is actually a automated person. His right arm moves up and down with the flag to warn drivers to slow down in this construction area. Also, I don't think I mentioned how nice the highways were in Spain. Very well maintained and not much traffic except in the cities. Not much 18- wheeler traffic either.

 

So, as we headed north, we again looked for something for little boys to enjoy and to use up their energy. We found the Cabarceno Wildlife Park.

 

It looked a little like Jurassic Park  as we drove through tall trees and mountainous outcrops.

 There were at least 40 bears in a huge enclosure. We have at least 50 pictures of these guys who were quite entertaining!

 My close up for those of you who have never seen the eyelashes of an ostrich.

 

Mountain gorillas - Dad and baby.

Lots more animals....

 

 

  We left here and travelled next along the northern coast.
Next we stopped at this Monastery  out on this rock in the ocean. The kids and grandkids made the hike as far as they could before running into a closed gate. Foggy weather that day making this look all the more mysterious!

 

 

We ended up our day's travels having gone through Bilbao and ending up in Zarauz. We spent the night at the Hotel Zarauz. We had now entered Basque territory where the spelling (Basque) on the road signs looked like Polish?? The locals speak Spanish, Basque, French and some English.

 

Here is a link to the hotel with lots of pictures. This is a view out of our room window.

http://www.hotelzarauz.com/fotografias-hotel.php