Travel and Adventure by Various Travel Authors

By John Blanchette

Rising like an orange above Valencia, the sun peeled the darkness from night as my flight descended into Spain's third largest city. Situated halfway between Madrid on the central plateau and second city Barcelona on the northeast corner, the Valencia region forms a crescent mouth that bites into the west coast of the Mediterranean, gateway to one of the country's great gastronomic areas. Creative young chefs and Michelin-starred restaurants are in abundance. This is also the home of paella, Spain's national dish, horchata beverage, turrones candies, and of course, Valencia oranges.

The Central Market of Valencia is one of the oldest food markets in Europe, and everything is sold here, from bread and cheese to wine, fruits and vegetables. An entire shop is devoted to saffron, which is indispensable in a good paella.

The city also boasts some of Spain's finest modern architecture that blends into a mix of stately government buildings and a charming old town. Brick and concrete high-rise flats that blight the edge of town is a sight familiar throughout Spain.

Turia Gardens, a walking park full of trees, flowers, pathways, restaurants and athletic fields, now fills the dry riverbed that runs through the city. Several years ago the water was diverted into a concrete canal to avoid the annual flooding along its banks. This area also contains the magnificently modern City of Arts and Sciences. This striking span of buildings stretches over a mile and includes the city aquarium, new convention center, opera house and art and science museums. Architect Santiago Calatrava's remarkable architectural achievements draw visitors from around the world.

Valencia is a major port city that harbors several Mediterranean cruise lines. The year-round mild climate attracts tourists to the stunning coast south of the city where the white sandy beaches roll into bays and sweeping mountains come into view along high arid plains.

About 10 miles south of Valencia, La Albufera is an inland lagoon and source for most of the "bomba" rice used in making traditional paella. The dish was created here in the town of Alfafar. Sitting on the edge of the expansive rice fields is La Matandeta restaurant that specializes in a seafood version.

The area's traditional paella is made in a giant flat pan, cooked over wood and contains chicken, rabbit, duck, snails, broth, tomatoes, onions, salt and rosemary. The saffron that flavors the dish is crushed before sautŽing, never used whole. The rice is added last, and the paella is complete when the juice has been absorbed. Proper paella is always dry and almost always cooked by men.

Other area specialties are olives, almonds, pomegranates and citrus. The Valencia tomato, an unattractive pink, yellow and green-striped fruit, is sweet, deep in flavor and best served chopped on thin-sliced toasted bread rubbed with garlic, drizzled with olive oil and dusted with sea salt. Valencia oranges are as good as you'd expect from a fruit named for a region.

Red and white wines from the area are the lush Monastrell and the crisp and fruity Verdejo. Some excellent Bodegas in the southern Valencia region include Felipe Gutierrez in Parcent, with daughter Violeta now taking over the winemaking duties; Pepe Mendoza in Alfas del Pi; and Sierra Salinas in Alicante, which received a score of 95 from Robert Parker for their 2004 red blend.

West of Valencia, Requena is a lovely medieval town perched on a hill dominated by its Gothic church.

At Dona Anita, a comfortable hotel in the town's open plaza, my companions and I were dining al fresco when we were joined by a local winemaker who shared his Macabeo white. Dominio de la Vega is located in a historic wine cellar in Requena, and the Museo del Vino in nearby Utiel offers an interesting introduction to the history of the wine industry in the Valencia region, with photos, old artifacts and wine available. Located in a beautiful wine valley that runs through the hills of San Antonio de Requena, Chozas Carrascal winery offers tours and tastings at the facility.

Leaving Requena, I arrived in the southern Valencia coastal city of Alicante on the day they celebrated the Fiesta de St. Joan with fireworks and the burning of giant whimsical sculptures they had worked on all year. It was a busy night for the fire department as they hosed down nearby buildings and the pyromaniacs who welcomed the water with chants of "agua, agua."

One of my best dining experiences was in the local tapas restaurant, La Taberna Gourmet. Most items were inexpensive and cheaper when ordered for the table. All were delicious, including the best rice dish I had experienced. I ordered a second helping of the deeply flavorful, saffron-infused tapas and washed it down with crisp and hoppy Cruz Campo beer. Also in Alicante is the Pura Cepa delicatessen, where owner Mariano Tortosa poured Spanish superstar chef Ferran Adria's signature beer, Estrella.

Michelin-starred chef Jose Miguel Ruiz is the creative force behind La Seu in the seaside town of Denia about 45 miles south of Valencia. I had a three-hour, 12-course meal here that was an amazing display of talent.

After all of this indulgence it was time to check into the hotel at the Sha Wellness Clinic, a beautiful modern facility in Sierra Helada del Albir overlooking the Mediterranean Sea by the picturesque village of Altea. The clinic offers spa treatments, weight-loss programs, and healing and well-being regimens using Eastern and Western techniques. The restaurant is macrobiotic, a nice respite after days of overindulging in an area whose food and wine are unforgettable.

IF YOU GO

Valencia:

Barcel— Valencia is a modern hotel with views of the opera house and the City of Arts and Sciences across the street.

Michelin-starred chef Alejandro Toro of his eponymous restaurant in Valencia is a rising star in the culinary world.

For a traditional tapas menu, Casa Montana in the old city is full of character and customers, and its huge wine list is presented in book form.

The modern Restaurante Vertical features a spacious and elegant dining room inside the Aqua 4 hotel.

La Horchata Valenciana serves the refreshing local drink, made of crushed tiger nuts (chufa, which looks like dehydrated garbanzo beans). Locals believe it has miraculous curing effects.

Carnicerias abound in ham-loving Valencia, and hind legs mounted on special slicing racks are common throughout the city. Look for the black-footed pigs fed on acorns.

For dessert, the local almond, honey and wafer confection, turrones, is best at Turrones Ramos, founded in 1890.

Alicante:

The restored Hospes Amerigo is a quiet hotel off a gated entrance. Here I dined at Restaurante L'Ereta perched on the craggy hill overlooking the city.

For information contact the Spanish Tourist Office at www.spain.info, (323) 658-7188, or www.comunitatvalenciana.com (in Spanish).

John Blanchette is a freelance travel writer. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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