Contemporary Art and Fried Bananas!

The next morning on the advice of Nuria, I headed into the city to see a new Art Gallery in a restored Palace in the old quarter of Valencia. After a wander around a street market, and, the Plaza Redonda; now sadly depleted of the many traditional ceramic shops previously there I headed to the Centro de Arte de Hortensia Herrero. It certainly did not disappoint. A varied selection of artists from around the world including Mat Collishaw, David Hockney and Manolo Valdes to name but a few. A dominant theme in the works was the use and effect of light in both sculptures and paintings. My favourite was a video linked to ‘Fallas’ with the theme of destruction and rebirth. All housed in a beautifully restored palace with archeological evidence of the Roman occupation on the site many years previously. Certainly I would recommend this for any visitors to Valencia.

Prior to entering the gallery, I decided to have a cold beer, (the temperature was much warmer than I’ve been used to of late.) I opted for the neares bar/restaurant and mistakenly ordered a ‘doble’ beer which when it arrived was enormous! I made a further mistake by being adventurous and ordering a dish which I knew was cheese possibly served on a wooden board. I was a bit surprised when a plate of fried bananas, rubbery cheese and a mint mayonnaise arrived. Probably not the best choice!