On our way to our next sleepover we planned to stop at Valencia to visit La Ciutat de les Art I les Siències. A project described as a ‘white elephant that the country could not afford’. I must admit, it’s something special, and megalomaniacal. Calatrava at his best and his second most expensive project. Calatrava designed the project together with Félix Candela.
As the site is close to the sea, and Valencia is so dry, I decided to make water a major element for the whole site using it as a mirror for the architecture
Santiago Calatrava
Is it worth visiting? Actually, yes. You do wonder whether it was necessary to build such structures, but technically and architecturally it is a masterpiece. And it does what it was expected to do: attract tourists.
We didn’t stay there long. Mainly because it was so hot and we fancied a swim. And we could swim at our next place to sleep in Benimantell. Another two nights in nature with a panoramic view of the valley and a lake. Actually, it was a reservoir that was already quite dry.
After we checked in, we put our words into action and took a dive in the pool. The swim was refreshing, as was the gin and tonic.
During the second night of our stay, hundreds of litres of water were added to the reservoir. There was thunder and rain, just like in the tropics.
When we drove on to Madrid the next morning, it became clear how extensive the damage was. There had been landslides in several places.
