2011 July
Jul 22
The Botanic Garden in Valencia
icon1 valenciablogger | icon2 Valencia | icon4 07 22nd, 2011| icon31 Comment »

The Botanic Garden is one of the best kept secrets in Valencia, a city that hides hundreds of them.

The Botanic Garden of the University of Valencia was founded in 1567, but it’s current location dates from 1802. It’s located to the south of the old riverbed of the Túria river and it almost links with it, next to emblematic buildings of the city like IVAM, or the Casa de la Beneficiencia, both also a must see. A few meters away are the Torres de Quart, one of the entry gates to the Barrio del Carmen, the old town part of the city.

jardin botanico valencia

Accessing inside it is entering a nice, cultured and refined world and, on many occasions, exuberant also due to the whims of nature. Its collection holds over 4500 species of the plant kingdom, exhibited in their best part on a grill of streets ordered in a geometrical way. But it’s in its tropical greenhouse, a 19th century building of steel and glass, and in the shade house, originally of the same time but reconstructed to the end of the last century because of a fire, where the species that require a special environment for their development and conservation.

It also holds a vegetable garden, a nice and simple contrast to the other imposing exhibits.

Palm trees and lettuces, orchids, carnivorous plants and aromas of fennel, thyme, sage and lavender. Aquatic plants in the main pond.

The Botanic Garden houses a small society of cats, who wander around here and there, fat and happy. If the visitor asks for it, they can sponsor one of them and contribute to their maintenance.

If this wasn’t enough, inside there’s a wide cultural agenda, form photography exhibitions and concerts to cooking contests, languages, different botanical aspects or night strolls accompanied by music and poetry.

The Botanic Garden, a discreet but proud place which is justified because of its beauty, finds the balance between the shadows, the silence and the rays of light that filter through the leaves, and the visitor just has to enjoy it. It’s, without doubt, one of the most civilized sites in Valencia, alienated from the big crowds.

The best time to visit is during midday, when the unique Valencian light illuminates it, rotundly and fully envolving. Or benefit from one of the nocturnal activities to enjoy it at night, saturated with vegetal fragrances.

The website: http://www.jardibotanic.org/

 

Estelastar Only-apartments AuthorEstelastar

A refreshing walk through the Botanic Garden will be the cherry on the cake of your stay in Valencia. Don’t forget to rent apartments in Valencia

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aleixgwilliam Only-apartments TranslatorTranslated by: aleixgwilliam
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Jul 19
The pillars of the Valencian PP
icon1 valenciablogger | icon2 Valencia | icon4 07 19th, 2011| icon3No Comments »

On June 9, while the police charged with brutality against peaceful demonstrators protesting against political corruption in the community, in Valencia the opening in the regional parliament of the new term policy was taking place. This  grotesque spectacle took place in a secular State like Spain, where Juan Cotino, the new president of the Valencian Parliament and prominent member of Opus Dei, decided to be sworn before a Bible and a crucifix. The fact, that was denounced by the left wing opposition  would be blatantly illegal passing the socialist government in 2010, as the reformation of the Religious Freedom Act in force in Spain since 1980, according to which, everyone has the right to freely express their religious beliefs and be sworn on a Bible. In any case, this unorthodox and provocative political act is just a glimpse of  the dire political situation that exists in Valencia.

pillars Valencian PP
The result of the last regional elections have set up a government and parliament in Valencia unsuitable for sensitive noses unaccustomed to rot and corruption. Despite his  aspirations of  expanding the  odor of sanctity Juan Cotino a  radical pro-life defender happens to be the uncle of the director of Sedes, a business group, involved in the alleged plot of illegal financing of the Popular Party (ruling in Valencia and is whom Cotino is a member of), the well known Gurtel case which presently  is being investigating in the superior courts.

Fun continues. The president of the Generalitat Valenciana Francisco Camps and his right hand Ricardo Costa are charged with accepting gifts and have been sprinkled directly by the Gurtel case along with the First Vice President Vicente Rambla, the members David Serra, Yolanda Gonzalez and Milagrosa Martinez (former President of Las  Cortes). As if this wasn’t  enough we must add, other corruption cases,  where Valencian government members are suspects or alleged of urban crimes and political corruption being at this moment investigated by judicial system, we are talking about the congress members Sonia Castedo (Mayor of Alicante), Luis Diaz Alperi (the predecessor to that  position), Jorge Bellver, Pedro Hernandez Mateo (former mayor of Torrevieja) and the  congresswomen Rita Barberá, mayor of Valencia

That  such a sinister bunch has managed, despite a significant loss of votes, an gain absolute majority to renew their term in office is attempted to be explained in the recently published book The Kidnapping of democracy, by university professors José Antonio Piqueras, Antonio Laguna, Francesc Andreu and Gallego Martínez Antonio Alamitos. They attributed the phenomenon to the establishment by the Valencian PP since 1995 of a neo-populist network client list that seeks to establish a connection between party and government  to have total control reinforced by media and the purchase of wills, Rita Barberá producing  a situation similar to that Match-regime created by the Mexican PRI.

 

Paul Oilzum Only-apartments AuthorPaul Oilzum

You should read the book to find out why despite the problems the capital of the community has enough beauty in its light, its people and its streets so the traveler who rent apartments in Valencia barely notices anything wrong is happening

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Marc Only-apartments TranslatorTranslated by: Marc
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Jul 11
Day without bathing suits
icon1 valenciablogger | icon2 Valencia | icon4 07 11th, 2011| icon31 Comment »

The return of the modern man to natural life is something some people dream of. And why not? It would not be a bad idea; at least for one day a year, to free ourselves from worries, to be surrounded by a natural scene and to leave aside the social rules that humanity has created in order to survive. It would not be a bad idea to live according to Nature, with no tricks, no vicissitudes and even no clothes.

dia sin banador

On the third Sunday in July in Spain, the “Day without bathing suits” will be celebrated. On that day, people can opt for getting undressed and go “au naturel”, with no prejudices in any beach of the country. This celebration was proposed by the Spanish Naturist Federation and it was approved by the International Naturist Federation, organizations that promote familiar nudism. The purpose of this event is making no difference between nude and non nude beaches, in order make the naturalist philosophy more popular.

According to INF, naturalism is a lifestyle that conceives the harmony of man and nature by means of the common nudism, favoring the respect for nature, for the others and for oneself. The INF defends the right to public nudism and it states that the embarrassment caused by nudity is a cultural limitation, since the exposure of genitals is not necessarily related to sex, and it does not represent a shameful act in all the human cultures, but it is a social taboo that we should leave apart. This organization has around 350 thousand fans in the entire world, with headquarters in 32 countries across five continents. Among its members there are young people, elder people and even entire families, with no distinctions of age, gender, race or economic conditions. From time to time, they attend lectures, meetings and workshops, in favor a good rapport in the families in natural recreation areas or private swimming pools.

The Spanish Naturist Federation has offices in several provinces and cities: Tarragona, Madrid, Asturias, Zaragoza, Murcia, Valencia, Cantabria, Euskadi, Galicia, Lanzarote, Andalucía, Cádiz, Nueva Umbría, Alicante, among others.

Although few know it, Spain does not punish public nudism as a crime. So, it is practically legal to “stark naked” in the public Spanish squares, because since 1978, with the approval of the constitution, this law cannot be appealed only from a moral perspective. Besides, from 1995, the “public scandal” stopped existing as a crime. Even if the law regarding this issue is very clear, those who exert their right are still chased by police, because conservative organizations have lodged an appeal against the use of public areas by naturalists, stating that it is a “criminalization of human body”.

In any case, the “Day without bathing suit” will take place on the 17th of July. If you are interested in learning more about naturalism or if you want to become a member of the organization and to have information of their activities, you can visit their webpage http://www.naturismo.org.

ArBlanco Only-apartments AuthorArBlanco

For this celebration, you can rent comfortable apartments in Valencia take your bathing suit off and feel the freedom of going “au naturel”.

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Hans Only-apartments TranslatorTranslated by: Hans
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Jul 8
José Tomas in Valencia
icon1 valenciablogger | icon2 Valencia | icon4 07 8th, 2011| icon31 Comment »

In his book La Vista y la Velocidad (sight and speed), the Samoan writer Albert Hanover relates some stories about the biography of the director of the Berlin School of Dramatic Arts. In the beginning of the XXI century, she earned a living by giving classes of the British aesthetical movement and of the influence of Oscar Wilde and Aubrey Beardsley in the center European underground after punk culture of the 1980’s.

jose tomas valencia

For some reason, Annemaire, which was the code name he gave to his boss, got along with him and she even defended his heterodox methods before the school owners. Those methods included teaching totally in English –Hanover’s German was not very good by that time, or that was what he pretended in order to cover his secret purpose. It is a big surprise that is revealed at the end of the book and it makes the reader want to read again the 300 pages from a completely new and unsuspected perspective.

Despite the fact that Annemarie’s musical taste was not beyond Das Lila Lied and Kurt Weill’s and Marlene Dietrich’s songs (she loved some songs by Reynaldo Hahn and Hugo Wolf), one of the things that Hanover and she had in common was their love for Proust and the numerous Proustian worlds. Probably, that was one of the reasons why he became a regular guest in the monochromatic dinners that she and her girlfriend Andrea offered every week for their closest friends. With the flavor of the delicious Rhine wines, the biggest pleasure of those meetings was just listening to them. Annemarie and Andrea were extraordinary narrators. Once, they told him the origin of their absolute passion for bullfighting, although it was not very convenient to talk about that in Berlin, where it was a taboo.

When Annemarie and Andrea were on vacation in Madrid, they decided they wanted to go see a bullfight, which was a spectacle they deplored. Their mental integrity demanded that they were witnesses of the phenomenon, so that they could not be accused of judging something they had never experienced. During the time the first four bulls were fought, despite their body malaise, their consciences were tranquil. Everything was so savage, cruel, outrageous and indefensible as they had imagined. But all of a sudden, something ineffable happened in the bullring, and none of them remembered what it was exactly (maybe a gesture, a silence). All they remembered is that they looked at each other, full of astonishment, like wanting to ask each other, in the middle of the quiet music of bullfighting: “You are seeing and feeling this too, right?”

Since then, they have not stopped attending to the Feria de San Isidro, where they long for the fleeting and sporadic return of that shocking instant.

José Tomás is one of the bullfighters that expresses in a brilliant way the indescribable and ancestral moment of bullfighting that seems to connect heaven and earth. He is a bullfighter that challenges the bull to death. After 15 months of the attack that was about to kill him, he will return to the arena on July the 23rd in the Valencia Bull Ring.

Paul Oilzum Only-apartments AuthorPaul Oilzum

This will be quite an event, as happens every time that José Tomás appears on the arena. This is another reason to rent apartments in Valencia

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Hans Only-apartments TranslatorTranslated by: Hans
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