#do get in sketchy vans and tour buses

[im-goin-mad]

i'm so jennifer if she couldn't drive

[bryonysimcox]

Quenching my thirst for Urbanity: Week 7, Spain

Wow. It’s been one of those weeks that have been crammed full of stuff - from arriving into València to now feeling settled in the city, from connecting with new people and clients to rekindling my love for urban exploring. It’s been a week full of sunshine and surprises.

My first thought is that in light of the current Covid-19 crisis, this blog feels truly ridiculous and self-indulgent. What started as a handful of people showing flu-like symptoms has escalated into a pretty scary global health threat, and I must admit I’ve gone from passing it off as ‘something that will blow over’ to really taking it seriously. I’m not into scaremongering, but I now see the potential impact of a virus like this on each and every one of us and on the liberties we are so used to.

All that considered, it still feels important to document our travels and to celebrate the good stuff that’s still happening. Life here in Spain feels fairly unaffected by the Corona virus at this stage (apart from a conference I attended today being about 75% empty), but we’re also following developments across the global stage where life really is being affected. I would at least say that it’s encouraging to see the way in which countries are rallying together and catalysing action to tackle this crisis (if only we could do the same for the climate crisis). Our own plans have been affected as we were headed to Italy next, but for now I’m going to focus on the last seven days that have passed here on the Spanish coast and which have marked our seventh week on the road. In reflecting on this I hope to send out a little ray of sunshine!

(image) The sun sets from our parking spot in Valencia and we’re thinking of friends and family around the globe.

This week started with our final day on the road coming into València. We were treated to a chilly ocean swim, a daytime wander around Castellón, and an adventurous evening drive up to an incredible panoramic camping spot.

On that first day of the week we woke up in an eerily deserted coastal spot, and then drove a little further south to ‘Playa Miami’ to have an ocean swim and a wash under the outdoor beach showers. Locals wrapped in layers walking past thought we were nuts, but were all pretty friendly and made us feel very much welcome - which is such a nice feeling when you’re in residential neighbourhoods and you’re concerned about being perceived as unwanted van-dwellers...

I was pretty chuffed to find a cheap refill for our gas bottle in Playa Miami too, half the price that we’d paid in France a month earlier. Spain is definitely a fair bit cheaper than France, not only in terms of fuel but also food shopping (which makes sense given that more fruit and vegetables are grown here). Restocked with supplies and setting off again, we continued southbound towards València, making our next stop at Castellón de la Plana for a lunch break.

I didn’t know much about Castellón, but George and I were enamoured by its character and spent a few chilled-out hours there. 

(images, left to right) People-friendly streets with integrated bike lanes in Castellón, gorgeous orange blossom on our walk into the city, and one of a few murals I spotted and really enjoyed there.

The first thing we observed was how cool the city’s public transport was. The tree-lined boulevard we had parked on was a key spine providing access into the city, and while we opted to walk along its generous pavement, the road also offered a bus route and city bikes. The buses weren’t just any old buses though. They were electrified buses with movable electrical conductors which flipped up and down depending on if there were overhead powerlines. The bus effectively acted as a tram, moving in a dedicated lane and with raised stops with digitised signs.

Closer into the city, the buses merged with normal traffic lanes and (presumably) ran off batteries which store power from being charged by the overhead lines. The bikes were also pretty innovative - being the most basic design out of all the city bike schemes we’ve seen but clearly being well-kept and effective. Seeing places like Castellón, which isn’t even one of the major cities in Spain, simply offer inventive and effective urban mobility solutions as part of everyday life gets me even more frustrated about the state of transport in the UK and Australia. We could learn a thing or to from mainland Europe!

Walking from the edge of Castellón into the city centre and old town, our journey was a delightful multi-sensory experience. Orange trees blossomed, letting off a sweet aromatic smell, and electric buses left the streets peacefully quiet. The town itself boasted attractive historic buildings like the Cathedral and Theatre, with pedestrian-only lanes animated by the mid-afternoon lunch break (which sees shops shut down and cafes come to life between 2ish and 5pm or so). After a coffee and cake in a charming plaza, we hopped back into Suzi and continued on our way towards València.

Up a steep and sketchy road, our parking spot for that first night offered one of the most incredible views down towards València and across the ocean.

(images) Tackling the ascent to our camping spot to the north of Valencia. Not sure if George is loving the 4WDriving or fearing for his life!

In order to feel safe and secure we decided to park a fair way out of the city, and were not disappointed by the camping spot we chose on Park4Night. Suzi handled the rocky ascent really well (even when she was still in 2WD) and we finally reached the parking spot on El Picaio in the Parc Natural de la Serra Calderona, next to the Santuari de la Santisima Verge de la Medalla Miraculosa, a small catholic chapel atop the mount.

With a celebratory beer in hand, we watched the sun set over the ocean and looked into the distance at the city of València, beyond the rocky hill and the green expanses. I felt overjoyed to be in such a stunning spot and really cherish these moments which are free and yet bring us so much value.

(images, left to right) Walking to a vantage spot from our parking, a couple of celebratory beers at the top, and the chapel we parked next to.

On Wednesday, George and I drove into València. I visited once before back in 2012, but had very few memories of the place and didn’t really know what to expect this time. The main reason that this city was on our itinerary was cause of a guy I met through Twitter, four years back. Ramon is a Spanish economist and urbanist, who was undertaking some research in Australia back in 2016. He discovered me online and we were brought together by a shared interest in placemaking, eventually meeting for a drink along with one of his colleagues at the Bank Hotel in Newtown, Sydney. We have since stayed in touch, and I followed the impressive progress he was making as Chief Strategy Officer at the emerging ‘Marina de València’. The more I learnt about the waterfront project, the more it seemed that La Marina was an intriguing subject matter for a documentary, and as such it was arranged that we would come and stay in València to film.

Reconnecting with a like-minded individual like Ramon after meeting four years ago has been a wonderful affirmation of the power of networking, the internet, and sharing with others.

Not only will Ramon feature in this upcoming documentary about La Marina, a transformative project on the Mediterranean coast, but he has been the most welcoming host we could have asked for. He has hooked us up with a safe and well-appointed place to park up, which is a key consideration when staying in a city, and he’s been a friend and tour guide too, introducing us to so many passionate individuals and revealing this city’s incredible places and the stories behind them. If George and I decide to stay in València forever, it’s Ramon’s fault!

(images, left to right) Creamy skies over La Marina, our friend and urban strategist Ramon, and some of the new branding for the La Marina, which I’m really fond of.

Against the backdrop of this picturesque city, the week that has ensued has been a mix of really getting to know La Marina, the usual film editing and vanlife admin, working on some exciting commercial videography projects and exploring this new Spanish city.

We coincidentally picked the craziest time of year to come, when the city’s annual festival, ‘Las Fallas’, marks the start of spring.

We’ve signed up for the city’s bike hire scheme, which although a little heavy, are a really easy way to get around the city. It also really helps that there is an extensive network of bike lanes, well signed, separated from traffic and all joined up to one another. On Thursday we used the bikes to explore València by day, pairing a ride around iconic large-scale landmarks like the Ciudad de las Artes y Ciencias with a meander around more human-scaled, everyday places like the twisting streets near the Mercado Central and the old town. Other days have seen us cycle into the city at night, when the continuous cacophony of people setting off fireworks and festivities spilling out of community centres (‘las casales falleros’) marks the start of Las Fallas.

(images, left to right) One of the remaining city gates retained from Valencia’s historic city walls, wandering the streets during Fallas celebrations, and the Centre del Carme brought to life for a night-time concert.

Las Fallas is pretty nuts, a pagan festival which was reappropriated as a Catholic celebration and is now a mash-up of satire, religion and anything related to fires and fireworks. It’s just hard to believe the Valencianos sustain this level of partying and putting up with perpetual fireworks for more than two weeks...

On Saturday afternoon, we filmed a free concert at La Marina, one of many socially-oriented initiatives which make what could be an otherwise exclusive yacht-owners’ paradise a place for the citizens of València to come, hang out, and connect to the waterfront (of course, there are yachts here too, but the place just has a really open and inclusive vibe). After the concert, we took another bike ride into the city centre (about 30 mins from the Marina where Suzi is parked up), this time for a jam-packed evening which started with a free concert at the Centre del Carme contemporary art space and ended with tapas and a midnight tour around the city’s landmarks with Ramon. After a cycle back ‘home’ at 2:30am, with full bellies and hearts, I was reminded why I love the eclecticism and vitality of cities so much.

Visiting València has strengthened my passion for urbanism and that renewal has certainly been a highlight of the week.

Stepping away from my ‘career’ as a placemaker last year was a big decision for me, and a lot of my focus over the last twelve months has just been to get the van built and make this trip happen. I haven’t spent much time in a city since we were living in Sydney, where we had access to many of the assets and activities that urban life can offer. So spending a considerable amount of time here in a major city, and especially making a documentary about La Marina, a strategic urban development with placemaking it its heart, has got me super inspired again.

(images, left to right) George attracted to a camera shop (like a moth to the light...), delightful laneways and street art, cycling around the City of the Arts & Sciences.

There was one really special moment this week, when George and I stopped mid-afternoon in a small plaza. We had been wandering through the old part of town, just south of the magnificent ‘Turia park’, a green corridor that runs through the heart of the city, and we found a spot to stop for a beer in the street. This plaza wasn’t necessarily anything special, and it certainly didn’t feature any dramatic design or grand gesture, but there was something about it that George and I both picked up on that made it a really great urban space: a place.

Perched on a wall with a cheap lager in hand, we analysed the square, full of the dynamism and complexity that just can’t be created overnight or by one master stroke. There was a restaurant with seats that spilled over onto the pavement, walls layered with peeling paint and posters advertising raves and protests, a bunch of homeless people sat nearby a lone tourist who was eating churros, bought from a temporary van selling the sweet treats for the festival period. On all sides, apartment buildings of different shapes and sizes, though mostly 4 to 5 stories, punctuated by balconies hosting flags and flowerpots and the occasional ‘to let’ sign. And of course, there were plenty of people sitting, standing, chatting, reading, busking, eating, looking and just being. And (surprise surprise) there wasn’t a chain store in sight.

A city which is layered, complex and contradictory, shaped by many hands, worn, colourful, intriguing to the eye, fun, full of confusing juxtapositions which harmonise and clash all at the same time - that is a good city.

I’m excited to see what this coming week has in store for us here in València. Wherever you are, remember to stay safe in light of the virus that dominates our headlines, but don’t forget to enjoy the layered spaces and places around you too. *Footnote*:

After finishing writing this post, I was informed that Las Fallas has now been postponed, yet another devastating impact as Covid-19 shuts down our cities. I'm gutted not to experience Las Fallas, and more importantly for all the companies, organisers and attendees affected. Pretty scary times ahead. We need collaboration, resilience, clearmindedness and positivity more than ever.