 I visited Valencia for the second time in 2021, it was a one-day visit while, together with my travel partner, we were on holiday in Alicante. Knowing Valencia well, I planned a strategic visit so as to be able to see the most important things and leaving out the places a little distant and difficult to reach even if they were perhaps interesting destinations. The goal was to show this city to my partner and at the same time see a couple of buildings that I had not seen during my first visit because I did not know them at the time. For me Valencia had a very particular meaning because it represented in a certain sense the quintessence of the trip. The first time in Valencia in fact, the pleasure of discovering a city full of beautiful places and buildings with exotic tones, was perfectly balanced with nightlife where each night was more epic than the other. This aspect happened to me several times during my travels but in Valencia in a certain sense it was the peak especially for the quality of the experiences lived. Clearly returning to Valencia with a partner would have been a different experience, where I would have had to focus mainly on the aesthetic beauties of the city; the one to be experienced during the day. The train ride from Alicante to Valencia took almost two hours and we arrived in the city shortly after 11 A.M. The Joaquín Sorolla station was merged with the Valencia Nord station, however the latter was about a kilometer away. I like to mention the “Estación del Norte“ because it is a simple architectural masterpiece, a work that for me was born as a palace and then converted into a station, at least this theory of mine has an objective logic. The station overlooked two large and strategic arteries, the one in front of it, led directly to Plaça del Ayuntamiento. That day, however, when we arrived, the streets were closed to cars and they were full of people walking around with great enthusiasm. That day, as we discovered soon after, was not a day like the others; that year, exceptionally, the famous Fallas of Valencia was celebrated at the beginning of September rather than March and it was a beautiful surprise. Many times, not being super organized has its positive sides. I didn’t know that Fallas 2021 would be celebrated in September and if I had known, I definitely wouldn’t have organized that day trip to Valencia simply because I don’t like celebrations and I prefer to visit places when they are in normal conditions and not during official celebrations. However, having already visited the city in the past, it didn’t bother me to find myself in a place during the most important festival in the city. Already outside the station there was a large Fallas on the left, that view took me back in time to when in my city they organized the parade of floats during the carnival. Walking along one of the streets that I loved to take during the first visit to Valencia, together with my partner we headed to Plaça dell’Ayuntamiento. There too the situation was surreal because the whole area had been pedestrianized and among the many Fallas there was a very large one right in front of the round fountain in the square: it was a beautiful woman’s face with her eyes closed. The Fallas was stormed by people for photos and personally, studying the face I noticed that there was something sexual in the expression. The face was not lustful but rather satisfied by something, if I really have to be explicit, that face seemed that of a woman during foreplay. The Town Hall square was one of the places that I liked to experience the most during my time in Valencia and seeing it in that new guise made me appreciate a side of it that I had not considered. Right at the end of the square was another large Fallas that saw a warrior from the past who had been struck by divine lightning and sank together with his horses in a scenic effect reproduced really well. After a short visit to Plaça Redonda, we passed through Plaça de la Reina where it was practically all fenced off and closed; a very important construction site that I managed to photograph by raising the camera above the fence. I had no idea how the square would be renovated but I remember that I didn’t like the old version very much because it was full of cars both parked and in transit and this just a few dozen meters from the entrance to the cathedral. Between the Fallas, the huge construction site of the square and the multitude of people celebrating, Valencia had a completely different look, a new version that I saw in interest and that led me to make comparisons during the walk. The furthest point of the center that I had planned to see was Torres de Serrans, a structure that had struck me a lot and that I really wanted to see again. Even outside this old gate as in the Town Hall square, there were two large Fallas as if to welcome you in front of the entrance. Luckily it was possible to visit it, however access was limited to the first level while the large terrace was closed to the public. Even from the first level there was a nice view of the historic center and I was happy to be able to show my partner the city from that different perspective. According to my plans, I wanted to be at the Llotja for lunch, so that I could stop at a restaurant where I had eaten the best paella ever in 2017. I had really liked the area around the Llotja back then and I loved coming back and spending time there. To my surprise, Plaça de Mercat was also being renovated, it wasn’t fenced off but it was still a major construction site. All that work going on in the important squares of Valencia made me think about how the face of the city would change for the better in two strategic and very popular locations. On the one hand, I was happy to see that phase of work, but on the other, I was incredibly curious to see the finished work. With these thoughts, my partner and I stopped for lunch at the restaurant next to the Llotja where I was able to enjoy the best paella ever again. After lunch, we went to the Mercat, a place I had never visited. This one in Valencia had a very characteristic design with the structure that was made of decorated iron on the inside. The other thing that immediately caught the eye when visiting the Mercat were the various shops that sold “jamones” which were displayed in such a way as to look like a choreographer rather than hams for sale.   Plaça del Ayuntamiento          Plaça de Mercat  On my way through the center to reach the other part of the city, right near the Ayuntamiento, I discovered a couple of simply spectacular buildings. One of them was Banco de Valencia building, a triangular shaped structure but with a rounded front. With its shape, the building divided two streets and had a colonnade of very similar proportions that covered at least three floors of a normal building. Above the colonnade there was, let's say, the second part of the structure that had five floors full of decorations and above them a terrace with a central tower. The building that I glimpsed from afar was like a vision, an alien element emphasized by the fact that there were no cars on the streets. The grandeur of Banco de Valencia was such that it made an impression and fortunately, even if only partially, I managed to capture this aspect with several photos. Without a doubt, Banco de Valencia building will be one of the structure to which I will dedicate at least a hundred photos the next time I return to Valencia. The Fallas through the streets of the center were a continuous and surreal choreography and it was through them that we reached Pont del Mar and its beautiful staircase. The one near Pont de les Flores was one of the views of Valencia that I liked the most and it was always a pleasure to pass by there and cross the bridge. From there, along what was once a river, we arrived at the large complex of the “Ciutat de les Arts y les Ciènces”. This beautiful modern area with many works by Santiago Calatrava was one of the things that had initially made me discover Valencia and that made me dream about it madly. The place was truly a visionary work in the sense that you had the impression of immersing yourself in a different dimension. From this point of view, the complex was a singular and pleasant experience with the white buildings and turquoise pools. However, over the years I discovered that in reality Calatrava’s architecture was not original but was strongly inspired by Googie architecture. Getting inspired was a normal and legitimate thing but not advertising this aspect and not even bringing Googie knowledge to the masses was like a form of plagiarism. The “Ciutat de les Arts y les Ciències” remained a fascinating place but I personally no longer recognize it as original. Anyone who sees it for the first time including my partner, is amazed, personally returning there, and today that I have studied even more about architecture, I see it as a work that will age quickly especially from a structural point of view because it is essentially made of aluminum and glass. For this characteristic, it remains an interesting place to take fine art photos and it is in this perspective that I will certainly return to visit it. That day however the visit had a different interest because I was accompanying another person to discover this place where I then finished enjoying that visionary art born from an explicit “inspiration”, sitting under the Reina Sofia building enjoying a cold beer and regaining energy. On the way back as a last visit, I had planned to pass in front of a building that I had never seen before and it was Casa Judía, a structure made in Valencian Art Dèco style that beyond the references to the style, was still original in itself. The six floors plus a terrace were made in different ways where the columns on the first floor gave way to geometric figures on the subsequent floors which in turn went from horizontal to vertical lines. A unique building whose colors gave the final touch and decontextualized it with style. It was a building that seemed to have come out of a comic book and I loved it immediately. Unfortunately due to its location on a narrow street, it was impossible to photograph it in a decent way and personally I would have pedestrianized the street and paved it in order to create a different effect and emphasize the beauty of the building. The visit to Casa Judía was the farewell to Valencia and at about 6:30 PM we reached the station that was on the way. The return to Valencia for one day was very interesting but not exactly how I wanted. To be honest, I would have liked to go back alone and stay at least one night. I wanted to dedicate myself more attention to photos and meet people who lived in the city. However, beyond these selfishnesses, in Valencia, in addition to discovering and appreciating the Fallas, I found new photographic ideas for a possible return, ideas to which were added other buildings that I discovered after my second visit. Valencia in 2021 was certainly not like the first time, nor will future visits ever be the same. The genuine approach of the first time is something unrepeatable, the discovery of places combined with night-time adventures is not something that can be easily replicated. However, as a creative person, I am sure that if I return to Valencia, I will find other stimuli that will lead me to leave a new mark by creating new experiences and new memories, perhaps not as unpredictable and genuine as those of the first time but certainly indelible in my memory.   Banco de Valencia             Casa Judía     A.M.
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