Plaza del Virgen-12/11/2018

We are now plaza del Virgen, a very lovely square located in the Old town.

Valencia Cathedral entrance from Plaza del Virgen

The pink building is called Basilica de La Virgen de los Desamparados (Basilica of the Forsaken and/or Forgotten)

The Basilica is the second most important religious structure in Valencia (The Valencia Cathedral is first) and one of the earlier Baroque building in all of Spain.

Built between 1652 -1667 on the site of a Roman temple and is the only church in the old town of Valencia that is not built on the site of a former parish church or convent.  A Renaissance arch leads from the Basilica on Plaza de la Virgen to Valencia Cathedral.

Buildings surrounding the square.

The Turia Fountain (la Fuente del Turia) is an elaborate oval fountain about 60' across by 26' wide. It was created by sculptor Silvestre Edeta and dedicated in 1976.

A bronze statue of the Roman god Neptune sits on a platform is in the center with a cascade of water flowing down to a lower level from all sides.

The lower level contains bronze sculptures of eight naked women. The fountain is an allegorical representation of Valencia’s Turia River. The eight statues of women have water pouring from jars representing the irrigation channels of the river.

Back side of the fountain.

Lots of coffee shops and restaurants around the square.

A little garden grove with orange trees.

Valencia oranges.

Snack

It's time for a little snack and drink.  We saw this really cute shop and we decided to stop by for a quick drink and a few munchies.

Tapas menu written on a black board and posted at the entrance.

They also sell a lot of products on display and for sale.

The restaurant is fairly small but really charming and also welcoming.

Starting with pickled vegetables and beer.

We ordered a plate of Jamon and our waitress is preparing to cut the Jamon.

It is really fascinating to see how thinly the Jamon is cut...

Here is our order of Iberico Jamon-We are taking advantage of being in Spain and we are eating Iberico Jamon everyday.

The owner stopped by and they were tasting new dishes and figure out if this blood sausage is good enough to be part of the menu.

As they were discussing, we request to be the first customer to try it.  We gave them 2 thumbs up.

I cannot remember her name anymore but she was really nice and friendly.  We told her we will be back for the remaining of our stay in Valencia.

She works here part time so she told us she will leave a note for the waiter at night so that he can take good care of us when we get back.

Next..Dinner at Los Gomez Taberna