1/3 Taking Care of Business, 2/3 Play

Needing to buy our train tickets for our travel from Valencia to Barcelona, we decided to make it a family outing.  We had heard that the North Train Station (Estacion del Norte) was beautiful and thought we could enjoy it more if we were not trying to make a train departure.  The exterior is plastered with plants, oranges and orange blossoms, inspired by the Valencian agriculture.  The interior has a combination of glazed ceramics, wood, metal, glass, and marble.  It was fun admiring the building, but also watching people come and go.  

The ticketing windows where Bobby bought the tickets.

Surrounding the room were signs in different languages saying "buen viaje" (have a good trip).

The station is located in the Plaza de Toros (city's bullring).

The eagle seen at the top of the building is a symbol of speed.
Amelie and Liam love the wide open spaces to run, run, run!

We ate a quick [McDonald's] lunch and then headed towards home.  Since it was a cloudy day, we stopped by Guilliver's park for more fun on the slides.  Bobby borrowed a tray from McDonalds to use on the slides.  (Yes, he and Amelie rode back to the McDonalds to return the tray).  We had so much fun playing while everyone else was doing their siestas.  The weather was absolutely perfect!  There aren't many playgrounds that the playground equipment is fun for adults while being safe for toddlers.

Liam and Amelie both took turns riding with Bobby on the tray.

After the park, we split up.  Bobby and Amelie returned the McDonald's tray while Liam and I headed to the apartment so Liam could do his rest time.  Navigation is always challenging for me.  Using the maps function on my iPhone had been a saving grace for me over the years, but not having use of it for our travels in Europe have put me to relying on my memory/poor sense of direction.  I was fairly confident that I could make it back to the apartment on my own, but there is always that chance that I will make a wrong turn.  In Paris I walked a block to a nearby playground, and then by the time we headed home I couldn't figure out which direction to walk.  I walked around the square looking down different roads a couple of times until I felt confident I knew which direction was our apartment.  Anyways, so as I was riding back towards the apartment two women called to me and another biker asking for help finding the beach.  The other biker said something, and then just kept going without looking back.  I almost kept going as well, but then felt bad.  I stopped and told them I was headed that way and they could follow me.  Here I was, traveling through the back streets of Valencia guiding two tourists.  They commented that they liked the local tour and appreciated the help as I sent them on their way to the beach.  I couldn't wait to tell Bobby when he got home of my success!