Lavapiés, Madrid

The Lavapiés neighbourhood of central Madrid was once the Jewish quarter, up until they were expelled from Spain in 1492. The area is now the focus for the immigrant community of Madrid, reflected in numerous Arabic, Indian, and Far-eastern restaurants and shops. It is also the hang-out for the radical left and anarchist elements of Madrid, giving the area an edgy, run-down feel. I like it!

Madrid Atocha Railway Station

Of all the European railway stations I've passed through, Madrid Atocha is the only one that has been built inside a greenhouse. With terrapins!

Temple of Debod, Madrid

The last thing we expected to find when exploring Madrid was an Egyptian temple. But here you go! The 2nd century Temple of Debod, originally built south of Aswan and dedicated to the worship of the goddess Isis. It was donated to Spain in 1968 by the Egyptian government in gratitude for the help provided by Spain in saving the temples of Abu Simbel when the Aswan Dam was built and the area flooded.

Exploring the Gulf of Valencia coast

South of Valencia stretches a beautiful coastline with sandy beaches and the Parc Natural d'Albufera. The Albufera itself is a large fresh water lagoon with a rich diversity of flora and fauna.

The sand dunes are particularly stunning, with carpets of yellow cretan birds-foot trefoil, deep purple viper's bugloss, sea holy, and lilac sea stock.

The Albufera lake:

Further down the coast, south of Cullera, are fresh-water estuaries supporting small fishing communities and holiday residences.

Blue-domed church of San Pedro, Sueca, Valencia

Travelling around the Valencia region, you often come across stunning buildings in unexpected places. In this case, the gorgeous blue-tiled domes of the church of San Pedro (St Peter) in the town of Sueca.

It seemed rather busy in Sueca, and looked like it might have been market day. Note the 'living statue' handing out flowers on the left:

Also popular seemed to be balloon-sellers. This bunch of balloons has legs of its own!

Where there is a St Peter, there is usually a St Paul, but here it appeared to be just Paulaner beer that was around. Feels just like being back in Germany!

Mercado Central, Valencia

The magnificent building housing the Central Market in Valencia is in the Modernist style and was begun in 1914 by architects Francesc Guàrdia i Vial and Alexandre Soler, both from the Barcelona School of Architecture (Escuela de Arquitectura de Barcelona).

There has been a weekly market held on this spot since at least 1261, when the privilege for a market was granted by James I of Aragon (Jaime I de Aragón, el Conquistador). However, the origins of the market are in the souq's of Arabic Valencia, when this area was a maze of streets and merchants around the mosque. It is considered one of the oldest continuously held markets in Europe.

The Central Market is a big tourist magnet, and there seem to be more tour-guides leading groups of visitors from around the world than there are actual shoppers!