Jardins del Real
Royal gardens seem to be a thing in every city in Spain, it seems. OK, my sample size is pretty small but here I was again, planning a visit to the one here in València. On the map the Jardins del Real look really large and that’s something that I quite like: there is more to explore and hopefully multiple ways to spend an afternoon. To get there I thought it would be fun to try the tram and go a few more stops than just the two that connect to the metro. The tram is definitely a pleasant ride, it doesn’t go super fast, it doesn’t stop too frequently, and you get a wonderful view of the neighbourhoods it goes through. I really like that both Barcelona and València have large areas dedicated to knowledge and education, as evidenced by their spread out university campuses. The tram goes right past Universitat Politècnica de València (covering an area of about 750m by 1.5km) and Universitat de València (covering roughly the same amount of space) on the other side of Avenida de Blasco Ibáñez, a massive boulevard, in the original sense of the word. The buildings for both universities are quite large and definitely architecturally interesting. I’m surprised I didn’t get a kink in my neck trying to see them all. These by no means are the only universities in Valencia; there seems to be a plethora of higher education institutions all throughout the city, and a high number of students from all around Spain, Europe, and–I will venture–the world, come here to study.
The tram deposited me fairly close to the north end of the Jardins which I found with no problems at all. As with most of the large city parks in Spain, this one, too, is surrounded by high walls, so while I question the need for walls, I also appreciate the visual help they offer: when you see a long wall, it must be a park and it must have a gate nearby.
I spent a bit of time just wandering around until the sound of music drew me to an open area: a rose garden with a singing AND dancing fountain! What a joyous place it was, offering both classical and rock’n’roll music, and who knows, maybe if I stayed longer I would have heard some jazz or Spanish pop. As it was, I was quite happy with the choices presented. As I circled the fountain smelling the still-blooming roses (at the end of October!), an older lady sitting on one of the benches asked me if I had perhaps lost some glasses. It appears she had found them on the bench and was hoping their owner would show up looking for them. I kindly replied that no, they were not mine, but she seemed in need of some company and kept chatting at me. Not having anything better to do, I spent a few minutes trying to keep up but also managing to converse without sounding like a total doofus, or so I hoped. She was really lovely and truly concerned the owner of the glasses would be missing them.
As I continued, the terrain changed: sometimes the paths took me through areas darkened by the shade of enormous trees, most totally unfamiliar to my uneducated (at least when trees are concerned) eye; sometimes the paths were classical hedge-lined and straight, with various sculptures peeking out here and there. As a matter of fact, there were lots of sculptures, some old statues and some modern art, often side by side. I eventually came to a rest area where people were having food and drinks, but the sound of all the kids chased me away. I found myself next to a building I’m still trying to figure out the function of; what I found striking about it was the beautiful bougainvillea growing up against the wall. Have I already mentioned bougainvilleas to you and my fascination with them? If yes, forgive me for going on and on about them, but they are one of my all time favourite flowering plants and I can never get enough of them. I’ve promised myself that as soon as I plant roots somewhere warm, I will have a bougainvillea growing on the balcony, terrace, or patio, maybe even more than one. I absolutely adore them and they seem to bloom here all year round. I’m sure I will find more examples to share with you so be prepared.
Moving through the park towards the old city (the park runs north-south and almost touches the Turia Gardens bordering the old city), I found what looked like an ancient formal garden, based on geometric shapes, and multiple fountains with benches surrounding them. The trees here were also quite tall and old-looking, so the spaces were a bit more shadowed again, with an air of mystery. This area also seemed to be home to many cats, most scampering away before I could say hi. I sat on one of the stone benches for a while, just breathing in history … I’m sure this corner of the gardens was the original garden of the now nonexistent royal palace that stood on a spot about a 100m away, as I have since found out. It seems a royal palace, or Palau del Real, stood on this spot beginning from the XI century, thought the last version, also referred to as the Palace of 300 Keys (apparently that’s how many rooms it had), was built around 1609. It was also destroyed, on purpose, in 1810, during the Spanish Independence War (1808-1814), by the local army in order to prevent the attacking French from establishing a stronghold there. Unfortunately, this was totally unnecessary as the Spanish forces regained possession of València very shortly and without firing a single shot. Talk about a waste of a beautiful building, and judging by the sketches Wiki has, it was quite lovely. What a shame.
I’m sure I only touched on a small portion of the whole park and I vow to go back and explore further. I think there is a museum of some sort, and an aviary or two. I did spot one but there may be more. I also have to go back and check out the ruins of the palace, I totally missed them this time, or I just didn’t understand what all the random columns were. Do check out the Gallery for more photos. I may add more pics there in the future as I revisit the park; I may not always feel like writing a new post. I will try to figure out how to let you know I’ve added some – this WordPress thing is a beast I’m slowing starting to understand.
