This is the second attempt at making this post, I had everything typed and set out last night and clicked on the publish button and the whole lot just disappeared, so starting a fresh here goes with a abridged version.
A change to our itinerary meant we found ourselves in a port we hadn’t anticipated visiting so were at a loss as what to do. We arrived just before 8:00am slightly ahead of the Norwegian Jade so perhaps NCL’s thinking was all the tour planning was already there and it was just a case of increasing the numbers to include another ship. We however decided to just catch the shuttle into the old town of Valencia and just have a wander and see what there was that would take our interest. The cost of the shuttle was $12 and it took around 15 minutes to arrive at the drop off point just outside the old town.
From there we managed to grab a free map which was one of those with the giant landmarks plotted on it to make it easier to see what the points of interest were.
First stop was the cathedral which according to our map is the number 1 tourist attraction and if ever entrances were anything to go by then this one was up there with the best.
Inside was was just as magnificent with high vaulted ceilings which seem to just hang there. I really is a stunning building and I can understand why it holds the top spot.
From there we continued to explore and found ourselves at the Central Market which is a huge indoor market, it looks impressive from the outside but nothing prepared us for what was inside. Fresh produce of all description on display as far as the eye could see, from fish, to meat, to vegetables to fruit. It seemed you could buy anything and everything thing that was ever edible on this planet. The smell was incredible and I would love to have something like this back in the UK. The interior of the building itself was also stunning and the right in the middle of the market was a large dome with windows which just seemed to illuminate everything. If you ever visit Valencia this place is a must see.
We eventually stopped for a liquid break before making our way back to the ship where we spent the rest of the day familiarising ourselves with the layout. I think we pretty much know what is where now and can get from A to B quite easily.
The new itinerary gives us a sea tomorrow and the day after we will port in Tangier, Morocco before hopefully picking up the rest of the original itinerary which is to be the 2 Canary Islands of Tenerife and Lanzarote, however if the sea conditions have not improved I have no idea where we will go.
Fingers crossed this works this time…..