Van Morrison Postpones Castellon Concerts

Van Morrison's two concerts at the Auditorio De Castellon have been postponed until the 22 June because The Man has a nasty chest and throat infection - it's a real disappointment for fans but here is hoping he recovers soon!

The Police announce a concert in Valencia

The Police announced an extra date on their world tour this week - it's going to take place in the Estadio Ciutat de València, Levante's Home ground, on the 02 July - Tickets are already on sale through ticktackticket.com and range from 87-270 euros. Needless to say they are selling fast...

The Cure are first up for the MTV Winter shows in Valencia

The Cure play the City of Arts and Sciences in a free concert on the 05 March. The concert is the first of the MTV Winter concerts planned for the Calatrava Masterpiece over the next months. Entry will be free and MTV will broadcast this and other MTV Winter show live around the world.

Mountain Bikes in the City

Sunday morning in the centre was filled with the noise of chanting, horns, and loudhailers coming from hundreds of Mountain Bikers protesting about new rules prohibiting them from using mountain paths.

Parque Cabecera, at the head of the Río Túria

There is a new park in Valencia. It's actually an extension of the Río Túria Park, and is call Parque Cabecera. Its 35 hectares are divided into 4 distinct areas, water, forest and garden, a bio park and an amusement park. There is an amphitheatre and the Valencia Zoo will shortly open its gates to the public.The view from the hill at its head over the park is excellent.

The Key to Reserva by Martin Scorsese.

Freixenet - there's a name to conjure with! Especially at Christmas time. The famous Cava in the golden bottle graces many a table throughout Spain and the world.
What you may not know is that each year the Spanish nation eagerly awaits the screening of the latest Christmas Advert on the television. It is such a popular event that it is even announced in advance in the press and on television and is allotted schedules, just like a normal Television Programme. It is shown on several nights on many channels, usually features a big international star, the Freixenet Bubble girls and usually has a running time of at least five minutes.
This year Freixenet (pronounced, fresh-e-net, by the way!) have scored a major coup by employing one of the world's great directors, Martin Scorsese, and given him free reign to produce their film for 2007. He has taken that free reign, has dispensed with the bubble girls, and has produced a brilliant homage to Hitchcock entitled 'The Key to Reserva'. You can see it online by clicking the headline

Christmas in Valencia

Aaaah, the lights are going up for christmas all over the city. We always like the lights on our town hall, El Ayuntamiento.
There seem to be less Bélens (Nativity Scenes) this year, in previous years there have been huge ones in the Ayuntamiento and Nuevo Centro. All we have seen this year is an exhibition of the Society of Bélen Makers at the museum in the Almudin.

The Cultural Event of the Year (possibly)

CULTURE AND BEER
BOB YAREHAM, journalist and author reading extracts from his highly unsuccessful book: ‘ENGLISH BEAUTY’, accompanied by penniless Patagonian jazz musician ‘MONO’ LEÓN.
AND……
an exhibition of signed prints by artist and graphic designer (and he’s not too bad) TIMOTHY-V. BIRCH of www.thisisvalencia.com fame.
SHERLOCK HOLMES PUB, PLAZA MANISES, 3. VALENCIA
Sunday 16th December 6.30 P.M.
10% of all books and prints sold will be donated to Médicos sin Fronteras

Restaurants, cafes and Bars in Valencia city

really amusing and informative reviews of the restaurants of Valencia, and great listings too.

read more | digg story

Flood Damage at the Palau de les Arts

Helga Schmidt


Contractors outside the Palau


In a hastily convened press conference at the Palau de les Arts, Valencia this afternoon, Helga Schmidt, the Palau's Chief Representative, announced that due to the damage to the new Opera House following heavy rains on the 11th and 12th of October, the new season that was supposed to begin with a new production of Carmen on the 26th will now be delayed until the 06 November.

Santiago Calatrava flew over yesterday with his team to survey the damage and had meetings with the Foundation, representatives of the City of Arts and Sciences and also the Generalitat. Meeting continued today to evaluate and identify the problems and so find solutions so that the new season can go ahead. The date of 06 November will, they feel, give the various sub-contractors time to rectify the damage.

The rest of the season will go on as advertised, with the exception of the production of 1984, whose staging requires the hydraulic platform, the motors of which were damaged by the water and need to be replaced. 1984 will now be held another season, as Lorin Maazel is unable, due to other commitments to reschedule during the current season. (Any ticket holders for this Opera will be fully refunded.)

The main damage seem to have been electrical , and the Opera House is currently without power. The computer ticketing system has been lost, the audio visual systems in the main auditorium are damaged and there is still water in some areas. Currently only the contractors have access, though there is a meeting scheduled for tomorrow at 6pm to see whether the power an be put back on Wednesday. If successful, this would mean that rehearsals, which have been unable to take place so far, can begin in the auditorium on Saturday.

Ms Schmidt emphasised that the production is ready, that the costumes and sets were undamaged, it just needs the Orchestra, Choir and performers to get together in the main hall to rehearse. It is most important that the airconditioning i working for this to happen.

Tickets for the public which were due to go on sale on the 19th will now be on sale at the ticket offices at the Palau only on the 29th October. These will be for Carmen ONLY, and as the computer system will not at that time be functioning yet, purchasers are asked to bring cash and to be very patient as the tickets will be issued manually.

On the 26th of November, tickets for all remaining Performances throughout the season, by which time a brand new automated ticket system will be in Place.
More details Follow

HR Giger opens his first exhibition in Spain

HR Giger inspects the exhibition in Valencia today prior to tomorrow night's opening

Mr Giger and the head.


The first major retrospective of the works by HR Giger in Spain opens in Valencia tomorrow (18th October). It is to be held in the Sala d'exposicions at the UPV (La Universidad Politécnica de Valencia) and runs until december.
The man himself will be there to open the exhibition. The special site set up for the exhibiton has been flooded with visitors since it went live on tuesday and online sales of the merchandise have been extraordinary. www.hrgiger.com
There are over fifty works on display including the famous head from Alien.
We'll bring you a full report on thisisvalencia.com on friday -including a few words, we hope, from the great man himself!

Raquel Welch and Don Johnson Visit Valencia

Don Johnson arrives at the press conference.

Don Johnson with a thisisvalencia.com flyer.

Raquel Welch with Festival organiser Juan Piquer

Raquel Welch in Valencia

Mostra de Valencia, the Mediterranean Film Festival, started today with press conferences with two of its three special international guests.
First on the rostrum was the genial actor Don Johnson, who immediately told the attending press how impressed he was with the city of Valencia and how he would like to return with his wife and family for a holiday. Asked if it worried him that he is more remembered for his part in Miami Vice and his marriage to Melanie Griffith , than for his film work, he retorted that he was proud of Miami Vice and had a beautiful daughter with Melanie - what more could a man ask for?
Next came Raquel Welch, still looking extremely glamorous and trim. Though she has been to Spain many times, this is her first visit to Valencia and she also commented on the what a beautiful place it is. Her reply to the question, What is the secret to your continuing beauty, she replied shear hard work - I'm high maintenance!
After the press conferences they both went on to meet Valencia's Mayor, Rita Barbera, at a reception where they were presented with the keys to the city.
Tonight, there is a Gala to launch the Festival at Palau de la Musica.
The Festival gets under way at the ABC Park Cinema tomorrow. 166 films will be shown, several are Spanish premieres, two films are world premieres. There are 33 sessions during the festival with a choice of five films per session. Further details and links to the full programme on thisisvalencia.com

Read more of the interviews on thisisvalencia.com from 17 October.

Josep Renau - An exhibition at Octubre

Las Arenas, the beach of Valencia
War Poster
Photomontage
Picasso's Guernica - commissioned by Benau for the 1937 World's Fair in Paris

There is a fascinating exhibition at the Octubre Gallery/Arts Centre (C/Sant Ferran 12, 46001 Valencia), Josep Renau is someone you will probably never have heard of directly.

Born in 1907 in Valencia he was an Illustrator, Muralist and, in his latter years made a series of surreal photo montages.

His early years were devoted to magazine and poster illustration, beautiful graphic works. He joined the communist party in 1931 and at the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, began producing images for the Republican side. He became director of the museum of Bellas Artes and his main work there was to safeguard the art treasures throughout the Civil War (It is said that not one Art treasure was lost during the war) and it was he that commissioned what is arguably Picasso's most famous work 'Guernica' a mural which decorated the Spanish Pavilion at the 1937 World's Fair in Paris and depicts the bombing of the town of Guernica and was Picasso's protest against Franco and Fascism.

He fled, with thousands of others across the border into France when Barcelona fell and was interned in an Algerian Refugee Camp until he was able to get a visa to work in Mexico in 1939 where he worked on Spanish magazines and murals.

In 1958 he moved to Berlin and continued to paint, make murals and photo montages. He lived in Berlin till his death in 1982, though after Franco's death in 1976 he was to visit Valencia several times and bequeathed his works to the Josep Benau Foundation which is now housed at Valencia's Modern Art Museum IVAM.

This is a great opportunity to see some fine works by this fascinating man. Unless we missed them on our visit some of his earlier Valencian Magazine work or Posters, though they appear in the leaflet of the exhibition. The Centre has captions and information that is only in Castellano/Catalan and Valenciano. It is a nice space and has a bar/café where people were enjoying what looked to be very good food.

Beautiful house for sale in the hills above Benissa

Here is another beautiful house for sale in the pretty Village of Benissa, midway between Valencia and Alicante.
There is a main house and a great casita for guests, all set in the most wonderful terraced gardens. The gardens are around 100m2 and consist of great shadey areas and there is a small dip pool with wooden chalet (for more guests!) The Main house comprises large salon, kitchen, two terraces (one glassed) two huge bedrooms and two bathrooms. The casita has one room finished as a large bedroom and space for at least one more bedroom and bathroom. There is over 7,500 m2 of land
This is a wonderful buy at only 590,000 euros
click the headline to be taken to our property pages

Beautiful Fully Furnished townhouse for sale in Altea

Want to live by the sea in a well-established resort town just over an hour from Valencia and Alicante?
Here is your chance, this is a lovely townhouse with spectacular views over the town to the sea. It is 3 storeys and has 3 bedrooms (one of which is enormous) two bathrooms, fully equipped kitchen and lovely roof top terrace overlooking the town and the sea.
As we said before, it is fully furnished and ready to move into.
The Price? 450,000 euros
get in touch now by following the link on our main property page by clicking the headline.

THE RACE FOR VALENCIA HAS JUST BEGUN

The continuing development of Valencia as a property hotspot has been in the news of late, not least because of its growth as a sporting centre of excellence. Just as Barcelona saw its image improved and its waterfront transformed by the 1992 Olympics, so Valencia has been enjoying the benefits of hosting the Americas Cup this year. It also saw huge investment in the redevelopment of its marina and waterfront, an added bonus to the attraction of the city. The successes of the local football team has also played its part in recent years, with Valencia CF winning the Spanish league title, triumphing in the UEFA Cup and reaching two Champions League finals to prove there is life beyond the giants of Barcelona and Real Madrid. The new Mestalla football stadium is being built and the foundations are being built as we speak on the edge of the city.
The America’s Cup aside, the most exciting news has been the recent announcement that the city will become the home for the Formula One European Grand Prix from 2008-14. This will not only ensure further sports tourism, including the wealth that comes with such a high-profile event, but will also create possible prime buy-to-let opportunities for those with the resources to obtain houses with a direct view over the Monaco-style street circuit that the city will create.
Investors looking for a piece of this action will be glad to know that the ease of low-cost access is growing. Easyjet,Ryanair, Clickair, thomsonfly and Jet2 fly here from UK, with Ryanair opening Valencia as a hub in the November.
Overall, there can be little doubt Valencia is booming. Prices have risen by one hundred per cent in the past six years and are still increasing, something Barcelona and Madrid cannot match. Much of this is undoubtedly due to the America's Cup, with the advent of the Grand Prix next year providing a further boost.
And it's not just Sport, the city was already making a name for itself, thanks to the incredible Millenium Project that is the City of Arts and Sciences, with the beautiful new Opera House, Palau de les Arts, about to embark on its second season of international Opera and concerts.
Valencia is now firmly on the map as a city attracting the wealthier set looking to live or enjoy a holiday home here; something which investors in property will no doubt be interested to learn. The city is also beginning to attract middle-class professionals and younger people who want a city which is both safe and has a vibrant nightlife.
Investors who miss the boat will be left to stare wistfully after those already lined-up on the grid. Pole position hasn’t yet been decided. What are you waiting for?
More on this and the new Ryanair hub - click the headline.

Anita on heat, and Punctuallity

It looked warm and sunny out this morning, and I had had the fan on all night as I slept, so I got dressed in last year's silver thong sandals, my thinnest black skinny trousers and a plain, loose, white tee shirt and had a light chicken salad and some chilled water for lunch in my best efforts to remain refreshed and unruffled. Then I left the flat and stepped out on the street and boom! Right into the blast of someone's hot air-dryer. Or so it seemed. But no! Alas, I was mistaken, it was just the lovely end-of-June air blowing a gentle breeze across my face. Or rather, the lovely end-of-June 40º gale blowing its way into the City from the lovely and cool Sahara desert. Running late, as always, I could barely move through the soup-like air to cross the bridge but the plus-side was that my wavy hair was poker-straight by the time I staggered into the office to be greeted by puzzled glances at my otherwise dishevelled appearance. And immediately broke into a sweat. Or, as I am a lady, began to glow, as my grandmother would have me say.
read her full column now by clicking on the headline!

Jason Webster - Author of Guerra! - Talks exclusively to thisisvalencia

I’m currently working on something looking at the Spanish Civil War. Modern Spain was forged by that period, and is still trying to move on from what was a great cataclysm in many ways. Even today, ‘The Two Spains’ are very visible and the right-left divide in politics is much more important than, say, in Britain. To understand what’s going on today in the country you have to know what the Civil War was all about and the loose-ends it left behind. Also, I’m trying to look at some of the darker sides of living in a foreign country. It’s not all ‘driving over lemons’.
Read the full interview by clicking on the headline

The New Mestalla - The works begin

Work has begun on the new Mestalla, home to the Valencia Football Club.
This amazing building is to be located by the huge blue head you see as you enter Valencia from the CV35, La Dama Ibérica by Manolo Valdés.

The F1 Urban Grand Prix in Valencia

A provisional date of 24 August 2008 has been announced by the FIA for the first Formula One Grand Prix in Valencia. Work has now started on the 5.4km circuit which will have its paddocks in Port America's Cup and will pass by the AC Team houses. The circuit has 25 bends, eleven to the left and fourteen to the right and will pass through areas close to the City of Arts and Sciences.