If yesterday was a tour de force in efficient independent travel, today was almost anything but that. In all honesty, I didn’t do a great job of preparing for the ports on this trip, figuring we’d figure it out as we want along… of course, this has been my modus operandi for years now. So, why change?
Unfortunately, my guidebooks had limited or no information about Valencia. So, we started at a bit of disadvantage. As a result, I just arranged for a $12/pp. shuttle offered by Norwegian to take us into the historic district of town (some distance from the pier). This seemed like perhaps a dumb move (as the shuttle schedule was fairly limited and $48 would be a lot of cab fare), but it turned out to be accidentally brilliant (as the cabs drivers had a strike / protest in the middle of the day)!
While logistics made out planned visit to the science museum and planetarium impractical, we enjoyed strolling around the historic center of Valencia. We visited a number of churches, including the cathedral, which Emerson always seems to particularly enjoy. We also visited the Mercado, which I think rivals Barcelona’s La Boqueria. We bought citrus, strawberries (and then more strawberries at Emerson’s request), and orange juice — all of which was delicious.
I was also especially enamored with the public citrus trees that perfumed the city. I picked a tangerine and ate it (not sure if that’s allowed or not) much to Libby’s chagrin. But, it seemed like the thing to do.
Libby’s parents took a bus tour of Valencia from the ship, which allowed them to visit the Cathedral as well.
For dinner, we all had an excellent meal at Cagney’s, the ship’s steakhouse.