Y'All Come Back Now Ya' Hear

After leaving Granada, we caught an incredible sunrise over the mountains of southern Spain. We finally got to Valencia around 1 p.m. and checked into a real hotel. We started our tour of Valencia under Tori's guide at the Plaza de Ayuntamiento ("Town Hall"). From here, we walked down the street to a great café a rock's throw from the Plaza de Torros (Bull Ring). After lunch, we walked into the "Basilica of Our Lady of the Foresaken". Although smaller, this was one of the most beautiful churches I have seen. The altarpiece was extremely gaudy-- nearly everything was covered in gold. The most impressive aspect was the mural painted onto the dome of the Cathedral. It looked like it belonged in St. Peter's (I will have to determine that for real in a few weeks). From there, we continued to the Torres de Serranos- one of the twelve gates guarding the entrance to the city of Valencia. The doors are apparently the largest Gothic doors in Europe (Tori will have to correct me on that). After seeing these, we walked to the Valencian ghetto- don't know why Tori thought that was important, hahaha. From the ghetto, we were able to walk through the "Saint Mary of Valencia Cathedral". Its claim to fame is that it houses the true "Holy Grail" used at the Last Supper. It is the most likely candidate for the Grail, dating back to the 1st century. For dinner, we went to a restaurant on the beach and shared a couple of Valencia's famous paellas. This basically concluded the Spanish vacation for Mickey and Linda because they left early the next morning to catch their flight in Madrid. As for Tori and I, we were able to spend another full day thanks to a day off from classes due to San Isidro's Feast Day----- Thanks San Isidro!