Aquarium

On Friday we went to the aquarium - another of the new futuristic buildings in the old river bed. It was a bit of disappointment given the space they had with everything feeling a bit cramped. The penguins were particularly sad - Valencia isn't really the place for them! 

Bioparc

On Thursday we headed off to the Bioparc - again just by the old river bed. Some great urban landscaping in this part of the river bed.

The zoo was very nice. A good size and lots of space for the animals. Another day of great weather.

Ciudad de las Sciencias

We walked on Wednesday morning to the area with the new modern science and culture buildings in the dry river bed of the Turia river. The buildings look fantastic from a distance and are very photogenic. They're not quite so impressive close up but still very interesting structures.

 We went round the science museum exhibits which was faily typical of science museums with some interesting stuff and lots of exhibits not well maintained and working.

We then walked back up the river bed to visit some gardens. First stop was the Jardines de Monforte. Small but very nice.

And then on to Los Viveros which were OK and nice place to stop for an ice cream.

Valencia

Tuesday was a day for a tour around the Valencian old town. Saw the Bull Ring and the intricate ceramics at the Estacion del Norte before strolling through the old town and the various churches and cathedrals. Our progress was eventually stalled by an official event with lots of police meaning the gallery we were visiting was closed. Instead we hired some bikes and had an excellent trip along the old dry river bed which was really nice.

Castle of Santa Barbara Alicante

We headed out on Monday morning for a long and interesting climb up Castle Santa Barbara. It was a winding path to the top and we were never quite sure if we were going the right way. Got their eventually and enjoyed a free visit round the really interesting Castle with great views over the city.

A nice walk down through a very old quarter of the town and nice views back up to the Castle. Definitely recommend Alicante and the castle for a day or two visit.

Later in the afternoon we got on the train to Valencia.

Holiday - Alicante

Hannah, Cherry & Colin got the bus to the airport and were again delighted by the lack of queues and hassle free check in with Jet 2. After a reasonable flight we were in Alicante by late afternoon and went for a quick stroll before the sun set. Nice city centre and harbour and beach.

Carnethy 5

Conditions were pretty tough for the Carnethy 5 race with slippy snow in many parts and water and mud on others. It felt like a downhill skeleton event at times as I slid front ways or backwards down the hills. Time was pretty poor at 170% of the winning time.

ESOC Sprint O at South Queensferry

Weather was very mixed this morning. One minute sunshine and the next freezing rain. Sprint O this year was on the streets of South Queensferry with bits in old town and cycle ways but mostly in modern housing estate. Good event. The Prologue was tricky with a few early legs having multiple height levels to negotiate. Did OK with a couple of mistakes making up around 2 minutes.

Made up some ground on the Chase which I did pretty much error free.

Tri Trail at Dunbar

Very early start for a race at the very scenic John Muir Country Park in Dunbar. The weather was surprisingly nice with clear sky and even a bit of sunshine. There were a number of CaniCrossers out running with their dogs - I got beat by 4 or 5 of them ! Felt fairly heavy legged over the 14 km course but the time wasn't too bad coming in at 1 hr 16 mins against a winning time of around 50 minutes.

Great event.