To reach the Costa Blanca Mountains, we trained from Barcelona to Valencia, then rented a car.* We glimpsed the city only briefly, but it seemed intriguing. So before our flight** from Valencia to the island of Mallorca, we devoted an afternoon and evening to exploring the city. We’re glad we did.

Most European cities have interesting historic centres. Naturally, some are more compelling than others. Barcelona’s ancient centre, for example, is fascinating, whereas medieval Valencia is more oppressive and dilapidated.

Most of the architecture here—including the Longa de la Seda (silk market), Torres de Serranos (Europe’s largest Gothic city gateway), and heavyweight cathedral in the Plaza de la Virgen—is somber. The National Ceramics Museum is a weird, garish, rococo affair. The modernisma Plaza del Mercado is unimpressive from the outside but houses an enormous, thriving market.

Urban floating (walking through a city at the pace of a float in a parade, slow enough to see and be seen) is always enjoyable. But in Spain, the joy is marred by smokers. Apparently, lung cancer is to the Spanish what global warming is to Americans: a myth. When we weren’t dodging the cigarettes they thoughtlessly wave about, we were ducking the clouds of smoke they spew.

Having seen enough of old Valencia, we began navigating back toward our hotel.*** En route we entered the Jardin Del Turia. In 1957, the Turia River flooded, wreaking havoc on Valencia. Fearing a repeat disaster, the city diverted the river and reclaimed the riverbed, cultivating it into a lovely, sinuous, leafy park running 7-km (4.3-mi) through downtown. It was now dark, so we were wary about walking here, but we soon realized this is where athletic Valencianos exercise after work. The former riverbed was coursing with joggers.

The Turia led us directly to La Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias (The City of Arts and Sciences). We anticipated contemporary architecture, but La Ciudad is magnificently futuristic, as if it had been beamed down from a distant planet whose civilization is far more advanced than ours. And La Ciudad is huge, comprising several, glorious structures. This, we realized, was all the reason we needed to visit Valencia.

La Ciudad ranks among Europe’s great monuments. The architect was Valencia-born Santiago Calatrava. The scope of the project he completed is staggering. It’s originality is inspiring. Its beauty is stirring. And the details he incorporated, such as Gaudiesque fragments of tile (an historically important industry in Valencia), are brilliant.

But La Ciudad isn’t just a monument. It functions as a performance venue, an oceanarium (Europe’s largest marine park), a planetarium, and more. In addition to the photos we’ve posted above, you’ll find more under “Spain” on the Photos/Videos page of our website. And La Ciudad’s website (http://tv.cac.es) is rich with imagery. Right of the main, homepage photo, scroll down to, then click on, “Great Events.”

*In Spain, we recommend renting a car from Gold Car (www.goldcar.es/en). Their Valencia office has a free airport shuttle. Gold Car’s rental vehicles and the quality of their service are excellent. Yet their rates are much lower than those of their international competitors.

**From Valencia to Palma de Mallorca, we recommend flying with Air Europa (http://www.aireuropa.com/en/default.html). Compared to other airlines, Europa is less expensive yet allows a higher weight allowance (23 kg) for your one, allotted, checked bag.

***In Valencia, stay at the NH Villacarlos (http://www.nh-hotels.com/nh/en/hotels/spain/valencia/nh-villacarlos.html). It’s clean, modern, quiet, reasonably priced, and the staff is very helpful. It’s also within easy walking distance of La Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias. And it’s very close to the busy roundabout graced with a fantastic sculpture by Juan Garcia Ripollés. To us, it looks like a huge, childlike, dancing, sun god. You’ll no doubt have your own creative interpretation. You’ll find it at the intersection of Eduardo Boscá and Paseo la Alameda, at the end of the Puente Angel Custudio, just above the southeast side of Parque de la Rambleta, a mere 2.5 blocks from the Villacarlos.

Resuming our anniversary tour (celebrating 20 years as Canadian citizens), we’ve spent the last several days in Quebec City, Ottawa, and Montreal. Here are a few observations:

Quebec City… The European charm seduced us, but it was quickly evident the old city comprises more tourist-oriented shops than authentic businesses serving locals. Compared to  Montreal’s Plateau Mont-Royal, old Quebec feels like shallow entertainment. We were also startled to discover that locals call Quebec City “the national capitol,” one of the city’s most impressive buildings is labeled “the National Assembly,” and not far away is a regional park that Quebecois call a “national park” and where we were told our Canadian National Park annual pass was invalid. So is Quebec a Canadian province, or not? We think all Canadian citizens should be deeply offended by this national posturing within Quebec. If Quebecois are that desirous of independence, let them have it.

Ottawa… We arrived here hoping the capitol of our adopted nation would impress us. It didn’t. As capitol cities go, it’s very modest. Parliament Hill and its immediate surroundings (the Chateau Laurier, the Rideau Canal, the Ottawa River, the Museum of Civilization) are beautiful. But the Parliament buildings are so slavishly imitative of British architecture, it’s rather embarrassing. Nothing original here? No innovative Canadian architecture? What a disappointment. And while touring Parliament, we were reminded that for any bill to become law in Canada, it must have “royal assent.” Come on, Canada, why do we continue to bow and scrape like this? Let’s have some self respect and sever these humiliating Commonwealth ties. What did impress us in Ottawa was the extensive network of bike paths. Bravo! We spent most of an entire day cycling throughout the city. The sight we found most engaging was John Félice Ceprano’s balanced-rock sculpture garden in (yes, in) the Ottawa River. We admired it for half an hour. While touring Ottawa, it was continually apparent that residents of our nation’s capitol are unhappy. Almost nobody smiles at, or even makes eye contact with, passing pedestrians. They all appear to be shouldering a weighty mental burden. What’s the explanation for this? In New York City, people recognize each other, often smile, and appear very content.

Montreal… A beautiful city, with many elegant, historic, stone buildings. The stately, leafy neighbourhoods of the Plateau Mont-Royal (north of Rue Roy, south of Ave Laurier, in the vicinity of Rue St. Denis, Ave Duluth, and Ave Laval) are a national treasure. Very European yet distinct. We walked here for hours. Not just on the more commercial Blvd St. Laurent (shops, boutiques, restaurants) but also through the residential enclaves, where three-story homes rich in character are squeezed together for block after block. We call this kind of walking “urban floating,” because we have no particular destination and we’re sauntering at about the pace of a float in a parade: allowing time to see, be seen, and interact with everybody and everything we pass. Urban floating in Montreal is a joy. The city oozes creativity and fashion. And the people who live here are obviously very social. Restaurants everywhere, and most of them full! If we were urbanites, this is the Canadian city we would call home. We especially appreciated how alive the city is at night. People are out, the sidewalks are buzzing, the shops are busy. It’s invigorating. What also astounded us about Montreal, however, is the high percentage of citizens who smoke cigarettes. Everywhere you look, you see people lighting up, puffing away, blowing smoke in your face, tossing butts in the street. It’s disgusting. Nowhere else in Canada have we seen such a high concentration of smokers. These people are apparently oblivious to the health risks of smoking and the unfair burden they’re placing on our healthcare system. Still, we loved Montreal.