Valencia: The most chilled hot city in Spain

Imagine a sunny Spanish city within a couple of hours flight from London, with a beach, a healthy portion of child-friendly culture, including a major football team, and little chance of walking for more than ten minutes without an opportunity to sit outside a cafe enjoying top quality beer, tapas, food or ice-cream as you desire. You may think of Barcelona here, but let’s take away the tourist throngs and flatten the hills so that children and idle parents can cycle around it, and welcome to Valencia.

For a family trip, the vast sandy beach at Valencia is a huge advantage. It’s similar in scale to the little visited beaches down the East Coast of England, but with brighter sunshine and softer sand. Even with the advancing ages of our children (10 and 14 by now, the eldest having been outsourced on a school trip), it’s easy to while away an entire day at the seaside. There was rather a strong wind while we were there, which made frisbee throwing amusingly unpredictable. The sea was pretty cold as it was early in the year, but the air was warm despite the breeze, and the sun was always always in the sky. A row of restaurants line the promenade along the edge of the beach, varying in quality but improving massively a few streets back into the old fishermans’ quarter. Around the corner from the beach lies the slightly faded glamour of the marina that hosted the America’s Cup a few years ago, with the super yachts still worth a wander to see. 

The truly unique and glorious aspect of Valencia with kidsis its river; or more correctly; the space where it’s river used to be. Like most medieval European coastal cities, Valencia’s historic centre is a couple of miles inland, having developed around a port upstream from the sea. However unlike most medieval European coastal cities, the river was drained after a serious flood in the 1950’s, and the river bed turned into a huge park stretching right across town.We hired a four-seater bicycle and pottered up and down the park to see the sights. Through several miles, the wide tract of traffic-free land is the home of a range of outstanding modernist architecture housing concert halls and museums; there are Football pitches, childrens’ playgrounds in a range of styles, shady meadows, cycle tracks and footpaths, lakes and fountains. A particularly inspired playground is themed around Gulliver in Lilliput, made up of an enormous concrete statue of Gulliver tied to the ground, with his coat tails forming a series of slides for the Lilliputian children. 

In a blur it’s the final full day of our extended weekend break, so time to explore the historic city centre. We again rented bikes to potter along, not just along the river bed, but across a network of fully segregated and connected cycle tracks around the city. This gave us a better idea of the general layout, so we the wandered through squares and alleyways of the pedestrianised city centre, dropping into the renowned market for the smells and snacks essential to sustaining a family, quick tick-off of historic sights and a surprising interest from #2 son in a castle that housed the exiled national government during the Spanish Civil war that he had been studying at school and I had vaguely absorbed via Hemingway. Our target, as recommended by a Valencia-based family blogger (https://www.anepiceducation.com/top-23-things-valencia-spain-kids/), was the ancient city gate of Torres de Quart. Well away from the tour groups in the central squares around the cathedral, this heavily fortified gate once guarded the main entrance to the city. It was one of those monuments with a crazily cheap entrance fee, and it’s castle-like construction with thick walls and winding staircases made it a fun excursion for all of us. We seemed to climb up, and up, and up; each level offering progressively more distant views of the squares below, the wider city, and eventually the surrounding hills to one side and sea to the other.

The vista across the flat roofs sprinkled with TV ariels was surprisingly ugly after the prettiness of the city at ground level. The occasional medieval tower poked randomly through the blocks of flats, reminding us that this is primarily a city for people to live in rather than visit. And who wouldn’t want to live in this sunny paradise between mountain and sea? And I think that’s what gives it the edge over Barcelona, less of a  tourist attraction, and more of a living breathing city for its own people. 

Kowloon: Bright Lights and Chaos

Kowloon. It's a name that conjures up choking tropical heat, dense neon lights, chaotic crowds  of people, exotic street food, pick-pockets, purveyors of fake watches and tailor-made suits. And it's all those. The assault of sights, sounds and smells on the Kowloon pavements is something that still excites me after visiting dozens of times, usually with the excitement of children emphasising the buzz.

Like most global cities, Kowloon hosts a set of museums to occupy the curious minds of children. Unlike the museums of most global cities, the Hong Kong science museum is so hands on throughout that its hard to leave. From a set of tricky logical puzzles and a mirror maze in the basement, through exhibitions on architecture, environment, sound, and on up to the transport section at the top with working engines to fire up, and Cathay Pacific's first plane hanging from the roof. Running top to bottom in the central atrium is a spectacular ball run which releases a set of balls every hour through a three-dimensional maze of pivoting beams, spirals and drops. If we are struggling to work out why Chinese children are so much better at maths and science than western ones, this isn't a bad place to start.

On the same site is the Hong Kong museum of History. Less hands on, but a well presented and interesting story nonetheless, it takes visitors from the early tribes settling on the flatter land, through colonial oppression and war, and economic development. It concludes with a slightly terrifying waxwork of Mrs Thatcher handing over the territory to Deng Xiao-Ping, followed by an optimistic view of the future of Hong Kong within a greater China.

Stretching North from the Museums are the craziest sets of markets, which amuse kids and parents alike; both beautiful but sickening at the same time. The bird market in particular has stunning brightly coloured creatures crammed into tiny cages with an impossible number of other birds. Onto the pet fish and reptile markets, where our children reliably plead with us to buy them some form of oversized lizards. Then around the corner to the flower market, where the splendour of the tropical flowers that bloom naturally in the heat of South East Asia make Columbia Road look quite drab. Finishing up in the dense crowds of Mong Kok, the most densely populated region in the world, but known to regular visitors as the ideal place to buy the latest electronics, generally cheaper than at home. Suddenly the familiar pressure to buy ipads for the whole family appears, so perhaps this bit is best avoided.

Around the Southern tip of Kowloon is the Tsim Sha Tsui, more popularly known simply as TST. Here are the bright neon lights in Chinese and English that are instantly familiar from films and pictures of the City. Its worth a stroll through Kowloon Park, a strange oasis of peace and tropical birds built on the sight of the previously crime-infested but self-governing Kowloon Walled City. The shock of then being plunged into the hectic noisy chaos of Nathan Road is all the more intense from here. Personally I prefer to navigate around rather than through the dozens of shopping centres clustered in this area, however the sheer scale of the Harbour City shops could make it a day out in itself. Aside from the welcoming Air Conditioning, the basement dedicated to childrens clothes and toys – covering the scale from Dior Kids to Toys R Us, will please some in the party. The top floor dedicated to electronics stores will please others. However you might struggle to squeeze a 60 inch TV into your suitcase if that appeals.

The final piece is a stroll along the waterfront itself, along the Avenue of the Stars, where you can pose alongside statues of Cantonese and International film stars. You may of course need to queue to model your Kung-Fu pose next to Bruce Lee, or simply photograph everyone else doing that for you. The walk takes you past plenty of other air-conditioned diversions; yet another amazing shopping centre in the Former Marine Police Headquarters Compound complete with unusually sympathetically restored colonial buildings, the Space Museum, and the Peninsular Hotel with its fleet of green Rolls Royce Phantoms and surprisingly accessible baby-changing facilities. All of this whilst presenting a spectacular view across the harbour to Hong Kong Island itself, only £2 away for a family of four by Star Ferry.

Hong Kong is an amazing destination. But to me, the buzzing life and chaotic activity of Kowloon is the most exciting part of it.

 

Marbella, an easy family holiday

It’s well known that there are a lot of wealthy people on the Costa Del Sol, and somewhere amongst them, the worlds most successful concrete salesmen live  a glamorous high life of fast cars, flash villas, and fun. They sold a lot of concrete. It coats the ground from the sea towards the mountains, and stretches skywards in a quest to occupy all three dimensions. Huge concrete highways connect the concrete airport in Marbella to the concrete hotels and resorts along the coast in a topography where concrete salesmen outnumber conservationists.

Cross the highway, and a different Spain opens up. Whilst the continuation of concrete suggests this is not exactly the “real” Spain, it is still real enough to have proper tapas for 5 people and get change from EUR50, then slip next door for crunchy Churros dipped in thick warm chocolate. English is barely spoken this side of the road, a world away from the holiday-makers across the road taking conference calls from the sun-loungers. As ever in a Spanish-speaking country, the combination of children and something kickable allows a game of football to initiate. Whilst more children join, more beer is drunk… and there goes another afternoon in the sunshine.

Flights and accommodation are plentiful and inexpensive, and activities for children boundless, making this part of Spain a reliable recipe for a pleasantly easy, if unadventurous, family holiday. And the beach itself, whilst only a thin strip between the concrete and the sea, is sandy and virtually deserted during our visit over Easter. The distant views of the romantic mountains of Morocco in the distance across the sea add a stunning backdrop to a lazy day.

We stayed in one of hundreds of very similar concrete timeshare resorts sandwiched between the concrete highway and the sea, chosen mainly because the apartment easily accommodated our family of five with two good bedrooms and a sofa bed in the living room.  The resort facilities included the standard set of indoor and outdoor swimming pools, restaurants and bars, a little football area and a kids club. Even with all that however, the most fun is to be had on the beach. The sea was just about warm enough over Easter for a swim, the sand was just firm enough for us to create our own fortifications, and the space enough to run around.

Despite our general idleness on this trip, we did one day set off with a plan and caught the bus along the concrete highway to Marbella, and its jolly pretty old town full of Orange Trees and shady passageways. A statue of the King commemorating the restoration of the monarchy reminds us that this modern European country was a dictatorship in our lifetimes.  Despite my fascinating lecture on twentieth century Spanish history, the children decide that getting ice-cream would be a more interesting option at this point. Both of the overpriced restaurants recommended by the resort are closed, so we follow a group of hungry looking builders into a café and order by pointing at neighbouring tables – and ate like – well – hungry builders.

But the holiday is mainly a good value week of quality time with children. We swim, we read, we play football, we colour in princess pictures, we eavesdrop on conference calls taken by the pool. We buy fresh food in the market across the road, and serve up on the balcony of the apartment having leisurely late evening meals all together. We talk to each other, often without shouting. The ipads and phones stayed locked in the safe forgotten about. And at the end of the week, we follow the concrete strip back to the airport and home, having properly unwound ourselves.

Marrakesh - the Magic of the Souks and Snakes

Marrakesh with family is a magical place. The childrens’ awe at the unfamiliar just emphasises the disbelief of adults’ minds at the wonders of what they are seeing. There is no point in preparing for what you might see, smell or hear – it will just hit you as you get lost.  Plenty of people will tell you that the hygiene makes it an unsuitable location for family travelling, but that’s madness – there is nowhere quite like it to challenge yours and their perceptions and stimulate their imaginations. It’s Aladdin made real.

The central Square of Jemma el-Fnaa is the starting point for most visitors. This vast square, partly a market place, partly a performance area, partly a refreshment zone, partly an enormous crossroads that mixes ancient produce-laden donkeys with gleaming black Mercedes, struggling through the throng. At each turn, something else attracts your attention; water sellers with their complex hierarchy of cups, toothless beggars pleading for your tourist cash, vibrant colours of singers and dancers in competition rather than harmony; it’s a continuous string of amazed yells of “look!” with arms outstretched to point at yet another extraordinary vision. Scattered around the squares are various trailers selling freshly squeezed orange juice. We know they are freshly squeezed because the children did the squeezing with some rather elderly looking machinery. Luckily no fingers were added to the mixture, so the taste from the huge sun-ripened juicy oranges was delicious. Take care with the cost though - the price quoted is around ten times what they expect you to pay at the end of the haggling process.

 Snake charmers abound beneath sunshades around the square. This is the oddest Arabian vision; the turban-headed charmer sitting cross-legged as if in a trance, playing a quite mesmerising form of music to entice cobras from their basket to an unreal semi-standing posture, swaying eerily with the music.  They will also entice you in, draping water snakes around your neck, and quoting an extortionate price for photos (again somewhat negotiable). I hate snakes, the children are more enthusiastic on this point.

The major souks lead off the square through a series of narrow passageways. You might have somewhere in mind, you might even have a map, but either are pointless as the maze of streets, alleyways, and narrow passages will lead you where it will lead you. Seemingly broad thoroughfares end in a dead end, seemingly abandoned alleyways suddenly open up into a sports hall sized market-place, stacked floor to ceiling with perhaps rugs, maybe brassware, possibly pottery. A dense canopy of lamps in all colours  hangs from the ceiling of the glassware soul. The colours of the olives and spices in their respective souks defies belief. And in between them all shops the size of phone boxes sell cloths, souvenirs, jewellery, anything really. Craftsmen turn wood on hand operated lathes, they will shape a pendant while you wait, the smell of the sandalwood filling the air as the rope shapes it. 

 Just as it all seems to be getting too much, a sign in English appeared to suggest drinks are available somewhere. We followed it into a narrow shaded passageway lined by a pair of tall featureless walls; featureless but for a single small door on one side. Tentatively we pushed it open, and stepped into such a beautiful small indoor courtyard with a small pond fountain in the middle. It was suddenly and surprisingly cool after the heat of the souks. The inner walls were quite decorative, with ornate gilded carvings in the masonry and brickwork. From a hidden corner somewhere a lady suddenly appeared and led us to a table - turned out she was English and has abandoned a mundane life like ours to run a riyadh in Marrakesh. Seemed like a good idea, but for the moment we needed sustenance, so out came the water and coke. Suddenly everything felt better.

Most visitors to Marrakesh stay in riyadhs like this, however the small rooms and lack of interconnecting doors mean that the search for something suitable for a young family is tricky. In our case, we had booked far too late anyway, so stayed in a family suite in the Sofitel, which is more of a resort style hotel between the city and the airport. Whilst this meant that travelling into the city involved a taxi, the pool was very welcome at the end of each hot day exploring. There was plenty for the children to amuse themselves with all day, with a tennis courts and playrooms close to the pool. 

A particularly fun feature of the resort  was that the hotel entertainment staff joined us at our table each evening to improve their knowledge of English and our knowledge of Morocco. Its unusual to have the chance to really talk to local people informally like this, and really added to the experience.

We came away thinking that we really needed to see more of Morocco. Marrakesh was a magical introduction to meet the country, enticing us to see the mountains and beaches on a future visit.