It’s been awhile since my last post and my delayed blogging is due to a combination of laziness, “busy-ness,” perfectionism, and a lack of a computer during the day. I find myself with the time to blog late, late, late at night/early morning and by then my brain is too tired to write the perfect post. To those of you who have been following the travel adventures of the Pagapops, I apologize for the delayed post and thank you (!) for reading. I owe you all a post of Fallas and our side trip to Barcelona and those are on the way…I promise. For now, here’s a short one on our adventures with public transportation.
While we’re here in Europe, we are living without a car and so far, we don’t miss it. On the times that we’ve gone to towns and areas outside of the center of Valencia, Luis has taken us in his car. Since his car has become our default car, we ended up just leaving Analea’s seat hooked up in his back seat.
Honestly, though I can’t imagine driving in Valencia. I’ve driven in big cities before – mostly Chicago and sometimes Philadelphia so I understand aggressive driving (I understand it but it drives *sorry* me crazy). I’ve ridden with John in New Jersey and those crazy roundabouts? Those are nothing compared to the ones here in Valencia. I’m really amazed at the organized chaos of it (driving) all. Surprisingly, I have yet to see an accident or hear a car honk – except once when a bus was blocking the box. Somehow because everyone else is also driving aggressively – perhaps because they are defensively driving aggressively – the traffic flows accident-free. And kudos to the bus drivers who manage to fit right in with all the other vehicles on the road.
While I can’t see myself driving here, I really can’t see myself trying to park here. Like any big city, parking is at a premium. There’s not much space for cars – even the little ones that most people drive. (John’s Honda hatchback with its two doors and manual drive would fit in quite well in Valencia.) Parking here is truly an art. I can’t believe the spaces people are able to fit into. Of course, it helps if you have a SMART car…they seem to fit anywhere. And where you can park is pretty much anywhere there is a curb that isn’t yellow. You know when you’re making a turn and there’s that bit of corner curb? You can park in that space here. I know it’s hard to picture; I’ll have to post a photo. And anywhere there’s an empty, non-paved lot, that’s used as parking. And when you’re walking, beware of the motorcycle or moped on the sidewalk. It seems they are allowed to drive on the sidewalk if they are going to park somewhere on it. It was a little disconcerting at first, especially when walking with Miia and Analea. Miia has since learned to look around her on the sidewalk for motorized vehicles and other things before she runs around.
The public transportation here is amazing and gets us from our apartment to anywhere we need or want to go within the city. We have several choices of bus lines to take to get to different areas of the city. I don’t know if this is a part of public transportation in Valencia for everyone or if this is just because our location. For our trip to Barcelona, we took the train (like Amtrak but way better. It’s what Amtrak could be with more funding). While there is a Metro and a tram line, we mostly use the bus.
I can’t mention riding the bus without also mentioning the attitudes of our fellow riders. I’ve become so accustomed to the courtesy of the other riders, that I was really shocked at how rude everyone was in Barcelona when we were trying to get on one of the tourist buses. I have to say though that the rudeness was on the tourist bus and NOT the public transportation. And yes, most of the people on the tourist bus were from outside of Spain. There is a courtesy level here, bordering on reverence, towards anyone traveling with children. I’ve noticed it each and every time that we’ve ridden the bus. People make way for us and our stroller when we’re getting on the bus – even the elderly. If I’m travelling with the kids by myself, there’s always someone willing to help me get the stroller on the bus, even if it’s clear that I’m not having trouble. On the bus, there’s a designated area for people with strollers and if someone’s standing there sans stroller, they move out of the way. People give up their seats to others with children. And if a kid is fussy, there is no shortage of people trying to help calm the kid down – not because they’re annoyed but because they’re really concerned. I haven’t ridden public transportation with kids in the States, but somehow I think it’s a bit different.
So we’re surviving without a car in Spain and seeing a very pleasant side of human nature. I only hope that our experiences in France will be the same.
While we’re here in Europe, we are living without a car and so far, we don’t miss it. On the times that we’ve gone to towns and areas outside of the center of Valencia, Luis has taken us in his car. Since his car has become our default car, we ended up just leaving Analea’s seat hooked up in his back seat.
Honestly, though I can’t imagine driving in Valencia. I’ve driven in big cities before – mostly Chicago and sometimes Philadelphia so I understand aggressive driving (I understand it but it drives *sorry* me crazy). I’ve ridden with John in New Jersey and those crazy roundabouts? Those are nothing compared to the ones here in Valencia. I’m really amazed at the organized chaos of it (driving) all. Surprisingly, I have yet to see an accident or hear a car honk – except once when a bus was blocking the box. Somehow because everyone else is also driving aggressively – perhaps because they are defensively driving aggressively – the traffic flows accident-free. And kudos to the bus drivers who manage to fit right in with all the other vehicles on the road.
While I can’t see myself driving here, I really can’t see myself trying to park here. Like any big city, parking is at a premium. There’s not much space for cars – even the little ones that most people drive. (John’s Honda hatchback with its two doors and manual drive would fit in quite well in Valencia.) Parking here is truly an art. I can’t believe the spaces people are able to fit into. Of course, it helps if you have a SMART car…they seem to fit anywhere. And where you can park is pretty much anywhere there is a curb that isn’t yellow. You know when you’re making a turn and there’s that bit of corner curb? You can park in that space here. I know it’s hard to picture; I’ll have to post a photo. And anywhere there’s an empty, non-paved lot, that’s used as parking. And when you’re walking, beware of the motorcycle or moped on the sidewalk. It seems they are allowed to drive on the sidewalk if they are going to park somewhere on it. It was a little disconcerting at first, especially when walking with Miia and Analea. Miia has since learned to look around her on the sidewalk for motorized vehicles and other things before she runs around.
The public transportation here is amazing and gets us from our apartment to anywhere we need or want to go within the city. We have several choices of bus lines to take to get to different areas of the city. I don’t know if this is a part of public transportation in Valencia for everyone or if this is just because our location. For our trip to Barcelona, we took the train (like Amtrak but way better. It’s what Amtrak could be with more funding). While there is a Metro and a tram line, we mostly use the bus.
I can’t mention riding the bus without also mentioning the attitudes of our fellow riders. I’ve become so accustomed to the courtesy of the other riders, that I was really shocked at how rude everyone was in Barcelona when we were trying to get on one of the tourist buses. I have to say though that the rudeness was on the tourist bus and NOT the public transportation. And yes, most of the people on the tourist bus were from outside of Spain. There is a courtesy level here, bordering on reverence, towards anyone traveling with children. I’ve noticed it each and every time that we’ve ridden the bus. People make way for us and our stroller when we’re getting on the bus – even the elderly. If I’m travelling with the kids by myself, there’s always someone willing to help me get the stroller on the bus, even if it’s clear that I’m not having trouble. On the bus, there’s a designated area for people with strollers and if someone’s standing there sans stroller, they move out of the way. People give up their seats to others with children. And if a kid is fussy, there is no shortage of people trying to help calm the kid down – not because they’re annoyed but because they’re really concerned. I haven’t ridden public transportation with kids in the States, but somehow I think it’s a bit different.
So we’re surviving without a car in Spain and seeing a very pleasant side of human nature. I only hope that our experiences in France will be the same.
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