The Other Side of Túria

Technically, I don’t mean the other bank of the river that used to flow here — I do mean the side of the Jardí del Túria I haven’t actually explored yet. When I normally mention going to the park I usually mean going through the Porta de Serrans and then down the ramp to the river bed where I promptly turn left (west) and plunk myself down on my favourite bench in the middle of the northernmost point, just before Pont de Sant Josep (St Joseph’s Bridge). All my other long walks down the park were always in this direction as well: Bombas Gens is that way, so are the botanical gardens, and the Parc de Capçalera at the very end (and just before the Bioparc). I have, of course, spent quite a bit of time at Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències and I had managed to make it to Palau de la Música de València. But that was always by bus or from the direction of the waterfront. It was finally time to turn to the right and check out the other half of the park.

Sunny days have, for now, been replaced by cloudy ones but even with no blue skies to accompany me, the temperature was in the high teens and rain wasn’t in the forecast. It promised to be a pleasant walk. One of the first things I noticed were signs of spring. Some of the weird trees (and there are so many weird trees here) were starting to show hints of green and some bushes were already in full bloom. I’m sure I got a whiff and a glimpse of forsythia which reminded me of the one growing in Pete’s yard across from my front door in Fernwood: a sure sign of spring … in February. I did manage to find some early flowering trees though what kind they were, your guess is as good as mine. I did also come across this lonely leaf that simply refused to fall down all winter; it must have been waiting for its new siblings to arrive. For now it looked a bit lonely though.

There were a lot of people in the park; it was a Saturday and a few clouds do not keep anyone away. I had to keep dodging quite a few runners and bikers, never mind all the kids. It was a great surprise then to come across a nice doggie park and by “nice” I mean surrounded by actual trees and not stuck under a bridge like a couple of the ones I’d seen at the other end of Túria. I simply had to hang out here for a while trying very hard to not look like a creepy weirdo taking photos of strangers’ doggos.

I couldn’t stay and watch the pups forever and as hard as it was to leave them, the road beckoned. It was interesting to see how the paths changed all the time. The scenery changed from the typical large avenues among large trees to a football field, then, in total contrast, came the artsy concrete expanse under the Pont de l’Exposició, itself a stylish modern bridge. The next part would normally be home to a fair-like section with stalls selling all types of crafts, plants, and food, but now there was none of that, sadly. As I crossed underneath Pont de les Flors, the bridge that is always covered in colourful (mostly red right now) flowers, I came to a large round water feature that somehow I have no pictures of. I think my photo stealing gnome has struck again, sorry. On either side of Pont d’Aragó, another bridge, I did find a couple of hidden gems: maze-like gardens planted in the shape of the València shield, though at first I thought they were in honour of the football team. Silly me. I did have to break through some shrubs to see these up close which makes me wonder if I hadn’t broken a rule doing so. Perhaps they’re only meant to be seen from the bridge? 🤷‍♀️ Next came the large square pergola which immediately brought back memories of the Quad at SFU, if only in shape and its central path. I’m sure if there had been rain I would have been transported back in time to my days at university: I just love the smell of wet concrete. That’s not sarcasm, btw, I really do as I have very fond memories of my days at the top of Burnaby Mountain.

Soon thereafter I was finally at a place where I wanted to sit down and rest for a bit. The only problem was the whole city was also out here with me taking up all the benches and any low walls suitable for sitting. I really must learn to bring a small blanket or towel though as sitting on the grass isn’t my knees’ favourite thing. The spot I did find was in front of Palau de la Música de València, the same place I was just at the other evening for the weird concert, as you may recall. From here I could see what that space looks like from the outside (hint: quite impressive). The huge plaza in front was teeming with families and many kids were taking advantage of the smooth surfaces to practice their rollerblading, skateboarding, and scootering. To be honest, I tried very hard to rest and chill while attempting to read my book but there were so many people around and so many kids making way too much noise, I just had to run away and find a quieter spot. That spot turned out to be above the park …

… I took one of the many ramps back up to street level and walked back a bit to Pont de la Mar which is a really cool bridge as it not only crosses the river at a sharp angle, it is also pedestrian-only and ends in a set of stairs people–mostly young–use to meet up at and often just hang out. I had walked by here a few times on the way home from the Babel movie theatre and have always seen couples or groups of young folks sitting and doing whatever it is that young people do these days. The stairs (and bridge) have some convenient stone benches built in as well so I decided that was a much more comfortable way to spend a little time while the knees recovered. I was a long(ish) way from home and didn’t want to have to pay a high price later for too much exertion now. We were going to a play later that evening and I needed them to work a while longer.

After my rest and a few chapters it was time to walk back zig-zagging through the Eixample neighbourhood, this time the northern part of it. You’ll probably never believe what I took photos of there …

I did manage to again snap a picture of one of the ubiquitous clocks showing temperatures. It really was 20°C (and not 120° as the photo suggests) and glorious, sun or no sun. Some blue skies were also attempting a return, after all.