At Easter, I went to Valencia to see the ultimate in holy relics - the Holy Grail.
The Valencian people do not seem to realise that they have a great tourist attraction in their city - the one Holy Grail in the world that is officially recognised by the Vatican. The websites on the subject are remarkably poor, the tourism office is poorly informed and the brochures have the wrong information. Contrary to what we were told and able to discern from all of the sources, the cathedral was not open on Good Friday, it did not cost anything to go in (we just walked in) and there was no museum associated with it.
It is located in a little chapel inside the cathedral with a little sign pointing the way to the chapel but not saying that the holy grail is in there (I had to ask the desk in cathedral). It sits cordoned off high up on a shelf behind 2 glass cases with a gold background, making it very difficult to see clearly. The actual cup is a plain bowl perched on the top of a bejewelled stem, which was made in the 11th or 12th century, I suppose to make it more special. Reminds me of Indiana Jones... :)
The old town surrounding the cathedral is tired and worn. The beach is likewise. They are not what you would expect from a seaside resort town.
The other thing that Valencia is famous for is the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, a series of futuristic buildings housing the Performing Arts Centre, Science Museum, IMAX theatre and Aquarium. The white tiles and shallow pools reflect the sun. They really are very impressive & beautiful.
The food in Valencia was very good. The seafood was all delicious and the oranges were sooo sweet! They must keep all the good ones for themselves and export the inferior product. The one other thing I found in Valencia is cafe bomba - an expresso with condensed milk - yum! I had 3!
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