Valencia - Work & Play

MAY 4 - Friday

For me, the holiday doesn’t start yet. I have to remember the excuse for this trip is actually work – the Modern and Contemporary Mural Paintings Conference.  As a poster author and member of the closing panel, I have to keep my work-brain engaged. The Universidad Politecnica de Valencia is not walkable from the hotel, so we take a taxi to get there on time to hang my poster. Peter comes along to help me before setting off on a day of exploration of the Santiago Calatrava masterpiece, the City of Arts and Sciences.

The conference sessions are dense with highly technical presentations by conservators and scholars; only one artist on the agenda. Ignasi, tells a fascinating story about his painting on the 1.5 km reconstructed Berlin Wall. Many of the sessions are in Spanish, but the simultaneous translation is excellent. I hook up with Veronica Werkmeister from Vitoria, Spain whom I met when she attended Mural Routes symposium in Toronto last year. She is a godsend when it comes to lunch time and we are set loose to fend for ourselves on the campus. She quickly explains the system of full course lunches for a set price - called Menu. Excellent value and a traditional way for the locals to eat. We lunch at a student cafeteria where 4.5 euros gets you three courses and a drink (not coke – that costs an extra 50 cents.)

Together we find our way back to the hotel on the #41 bus and later after we meet up with Peter and stop for a beer at a sidewalk bar before heading through the main square where the buildings are glowing with golden light. We join a large group from the conference for a meal of typical Valencia tapas.

Peter's gives us a review of his exploration of the City of Arts and Sciences. He is enthusiastic about the architecture, but the museum and some of the interiors are not so grand. The setting beside the Truria Park is magnificent. He has taken so many stunning photos it is hard to choose just a few to show.