I've just returned from our "beach day" in Valencia. This has been one of the most-anticipated days on tour--it was an entirely free day to do as we wanted. I had several criteria for the perfect day: sun, soft sand, a shallow beach, not-freezing water, sun, not too much wind, the presence of an ice cream stand. I was hoping for maybe about half of those things to come through.
Amazingly, they were all there. The orchestra spent the entire afternoon lounging on towels and chairs, getting very sandy, reading, relaxing and generally having a good time. Personally, my favorite part of the day was swimming in the Mediterranean. The water was just the right temperature for swimming and towards the end of the afternoon, the waves were just right for jumping and body-surfing.
It hasn't all been fun in the sun. As Jen mentioned, we gave a concert in Torrent last night. It was a nice hall, so the orchestra sounded great for the few people who were there. This concert followed a day of free time in Valencia--a walking tour and then time spent exploring. Valenica has been an interesting city for me. It has a very clear divide between old and new--our hotel is in a modern part of the city, with the "old town" about a 20 minute walk away. There also seems to be a lot of city pride, especially with the new "City of Arts." I get the impression that Valencia used to be more of a sketchy port city and is trying to grow out of that image. It seems to be a city in transition.
Tomorrow we head off to Madrid for our final concert. Tour is almost over. It's hard to believe...
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