11.19 – A Walk in the Park
Not a single day so far has been a disappointment. Each moment has been drastically different than the last. Today was no exception…
After a late night of drinking and an amazing conversation with Melissa, I awoke around noon. As I came downstairs the sound of whistles and drums began to fill the air 
. Directly in front of the hostel was a parade/demonstration to change a local law involving child custody rights. Pretty random, but only held interest for so long.
I met with Melissa, who spent the morning befriending a cool girl from Canada named Emily. The three of us decided to find some food. A few minutes into our walk we drawn to the sound of live music coming from the nearby Plaza De La Reina. We found a lot of people hanging out continuing the demonstration that we witnessed earlier. We only stayed a short while… enjoying the beautiful weather, and listening to the sounds of a funk band.
After we found our meal in a sub shop, we decided to head to the Turia Gardens. As we strolled through the park we came across a variety of unexpected locales and interesting characters.
The first thing we found was a large plaything constructed of elastic rope. We climbed to the top, bounced around, and played along side the children.
Continuing through the park we met a skateboarding kid, a musician playing some sort of Middle Eastern instrument under a bridge, a group of people practicing Capoiera, and a couple of inline skaters who told us about a skate park seven-hundred meters further along. I took another 360° panorama at this cool fountain.
On the way to our new destination, we came across a massive playground structure of rather strange design covered in steps, slides, rope ladders. After climbing to the top, sliding alongside children, and rappelling down the sides we discovered a smaller model of the curious sculpture we were playing on; it was a very model “life-size” model of Gulliver tied to the ground! Very cool and unique! Where were these playgrounds when I was a kid?!?
Onward… we found more fountains, and orange trees which were begin to ripen. There were human-sized chessboards, a free miniature golf course, and even a public shuttle design to look like an old steam train. As the girls said, it was as if we stepped into Alice’s wonderland.
At last we spotted the skate park. I met a few BMX cyclists, and inline skaters doing all sorts of cool tricks. I busted out the SLR and the fisheye and got a couple decent shots. One of the skaters did an amazing back flip, which the photo regrettably does no justice.
On the way out of the skate park, I found Melissa admiring the playing of two guitarists . Rafa and Juan-Pedro were playing a mix of classic rock, blues and flamenco. It didn’t take long for me to rip the drumsticks from my daypack and join in . We played a few songs and drew quite a large audience from the skate park. These guys had a lot of talent. We decided to stay in contact and try some international recording projects in the future.
As we moved on, dusk began to set and we came across a few buildings and sculptures that were very unique and modern. After a little bit of night-time photography fun, we called it a day and went back to the hostel to cook dinner. Even on the way we happened across a break-dancing crew. The constant flow of diverse youth subcultures never seemed to stop!
To end the last night of my excruciatingly short trip I went out with Melissa and Luca (a friendly Italian I met at the hostel when I arrived). We sought out a highly recommend bar, Radio City. The three of us enjoyed a couple hours of relative solitude and great conversation set in the dim lighting. By 1am the bar was packed with locals and a few friends from the hostel walked in. We drank, we talked, we danced (yes… you read that right… I danced!), and had an overall amazing time! It was the perfect culmination to this ideal trip.
I only have four hours of sleep before twenty hours of transport tomorrow…. Buenos Noches!
Tags: - Audio, - Music, - Panorama, - Photography, - Reflection, Park, Photo, Spain, Valencia
Adam Shane
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