You build your city alongside a river. The river floods. A lot. And after a while, the flooding is so frequent and so bad you get sick of it. So what do you do?

You divert the river around the town and turn the Old River bed into a miles-long park.

Better yet, how about you turn part of the old riverbed into futuristic museums of science and art to contrast with the classical look of the rest of your city.

In 1972, the City Hall geniuses in Valencia, Spain did just this, and perhaps more than anything it’s what put the city on the tourist map.

Valencia is the third largest metro area in all of Spain (1.5 mil), and its port accounts for 51% of Spain’s GDP! Their Department of Tourism would have you believe the Holy Grail (the cup from which Jesus served wine at the Last Supper) is in Valencia’s cathedral, but a fact more widely accepted is that this is the birthplace of paella. We believed that one, so of course we had to sample some ourselves.

Unlike paella I’ve had in the past, this version did not taste like saffron, which made it delicioso!

At the restaurant chosen for our sampling, two varieties were offered: seafood, or chicken with vegetables. Given my strong dislike for eating food that is staring back at me as I eat it, we went for the latter – and were not disappointed. Splashing it down with some local sangria didn’t hurt either.

As we toured the city’s delightful Old Town,

I was stunned to see myself honored with a large fountain in the town square. I guess 23 and Me was wrong about my lack of Spanish ancestry.

Walking out of Old Town we found a thoroughly modern, vibrant, clean city with highly appealing architecture (and a Taco Bell).

Of all the places we’ve been to so far, Valencia is likely the #1 place I’d choose to live if forced to leave the U.S. We’ll see if that honor holds.

One city that will NOT be chosen for future residency is Cartagena – which was our journey’s next stop. The only thing we felt excelled here versus other stops was the number and tenacity of the flies following us around. That said, we did relieve some local shops of merchandise, filling our coffers with gifts to bring home. Hope everyone likes fly swatters!!

Tomorrow, I will check another continent off my list. But for now, adios Europe!