Today was for relaxing from travel deadlines, sightseeing, and recovery from 9 hours of jet lag and 24h of travel. In the process, I walked over 20 km.

I’m staying in Casa del Patriarca right in the centre of Valencia. Booked in advance at €75. Rates have gone up since then, with the weekend demand.

I started by making my own brekko with supplies bought from the Corte Inglès yesterday – muesli, added nuts, banana and UHT milk. (I bought a pack of 6 small cartons, so now I must carry the rest until I use them. At least I won’t carry any extra “emergency” water until they are gone.) My backpack is a bit stuffed, with this food plus a spare pair of my bulky shoes, my older ones to be abandoned after about 200 km.

After breakfast I headed to the Cathedral where I did the audio tour. Workers were busy getting ready for tonight’s celebration of the Feast of Our Lady of the Forsaken.

Then I went up the hundreds (? It sure felt like hundreds) of stairs to the top of the Torre del Micalet. Nice panoramic views. A brief rain shower ensued.

For further sightseeing, my plans were to see the Calatrava architectural complex inaugurated in 1998, and to see the port and the beach on the Mediterranean.

Finally, I returned to the Cathedral to wait in the gathering crowds for the procession. Our Lady arrived amidst clapping and crowds, but oddly, no (literal) fanfare.

I was too tired to hang around for more, but I understand that Valencian dancing would follow, and that all night devotions took place in the Cathedral.