A second 2015 trip to Valencia was only a bit different than the first. A second walk through ancient streets and peeks into churches that took hundreds of years to complete and another opportunity to taste the local food.

The streets were just the same, the churches were still populated with more tourists than worshippers, and the local food was very good again. Maybe this is what makes these old cities so immortal. People pass through them yet that which makes Valencia, Valencia, remains the same. Treasures like this city exist as they have for thousands of years and the character remains largely unchanged; whether the political system is inclusive or oppressive or secular or religious. Valencia suffered through the Inquisition and through the Islamic invasions hundreds of years earlier, and the wars to literally push the Islamic hordes from its shores. Now there are the cruise ships with their hordes, just waiting to sample local cuisine and Spanish hospitality.

Truthfully, the second time at Valencia is probably the last. I’ll leave it for others to explore and experience. The old city takes only an afternoon to see and I have little appetite for the encroaching modern buildings. There is little in the way of perspective that modern architects can bring to bear and city planners are probably beholden to those who put them in office.

So, I am on the cruise ship watching Valencia disappear in the distance while the sun sets on the day. I look forward to recommendations that might bring me back to this part of Spain. I look forward to being surprised and I look forward to finding a new reason to come back to this part of the world.