ACOMSDave

Community Journalist

A visit to Cullera, Valencia

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The drive from Real Monasterio DeSanta Maria de la Valldigna to Cullera is a relatively unexciting drive, it takes you along the CV 600 then the CV605 and takes about 28 minutes.

 

Part of the way is well signed, but when you get close to the town then things got slightly more difficult, but with luck and guesswork we found our way to the metal bridge at the Oliva/Gandia end of town and then down to the beach area.  Parking was relatively easy, as at this time of the year there was free parking up to 8.30 pm – please note that during the various holiday seasons parking charges are in force, don’t get caught out, it does get costly.

Cullera Beach - 1

Cullera Beach – 1

Cullera Beach - 2

Cullera Beach – 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Having successfully parked and made our way to the beach we walked up to the restaurants strip, and Eli my guide took me to her normal eatery – the service was attentive, and the food was lovely.  It was added to by being able to sit outside and look out over the sea and beach area and to see families and individuals enjoying themselves. There was a fair cross-section of ages, and a lot of those on the beach appeared to be Spanish.

Having finished and paid for our lunch, we then decided to go for a stroll looking at the few shops with things to sell – a lot of it was you would guess for the tourist market, but there were still some items of interest.  There was no point of us walking into the main part of the town, as it was Saturday and after 1.30pm which meant that the local shops had closed for the weekend.

At the end of the strip but the blue fountain, we were able to get a glimpse of the castle on the hill – or more rightly I should say  it is a fortress built in the 13th century over the old Moorish fortress.

Cullera - Fortress -2

Cullera – Fortress -2

Cullera - Fortress -1

Cullera – Fortress -1

It was then back to the car, calling into the Ale-Hop – a shop which seems to have a wild mix of items, but for myself I loved the books which they had for drawing and writing – wonderful exotic backs and covers, and not expensive for what you where getting.

 

ale-hop-cullera

ale-hop-cullera

The drive back to Oliva was uneventful, and everyone went home having had a wonderful day, both in terms of place and weather.

 

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Real Monasterio De Santa Maria de la Valldigna

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Today I had the lovely task of chauffeuring two friends to see the Real Monasterio DeSanta Maria de la Valldigna, followed by travelling to Cullera for lunch.  Both of these locations are located in Valencia, and both for completely different reasons are worth seeing.

Valldigna - Two Friends

Valldigna – Two Friends

 

The monastery is set in superb grounds, in a lovely valley, with a lovely backdrop of mountain ranges.

…The monastery was founded in 1297 by James II of Aragon. Since the beginning, it was one of the most important monasteries of the Cistercian order. It was founded by the monks of Santes Creus in the Tarragona province. The whole Valldigna valley belonged to the monks, according to a royal order.

The monastery was inhabited by monks until 1835, when a revolt in the Valldigna valley took place after the Ecclesiastical Confiscations of Mendizábal. After that, the monks were forced to abandon the monastery. Most of its goods and works of art were sold, plundered or destroyed….(Wikipedia)

I was immediately taken by the tranquility of the location, of the range of buildings and outhouses, and with the internal art work shown in the main building in the grounds.  The interior of the main building shows only a flavour of what it must of looked like at the high of its occupation by the monks.

20160917_113312

Valldigna – Interior

Valldigna - roof atrium

roof atrium

 

I fell in love with quietness of the location, and with the beauty of the craftsmanship and thought which had gone into the plans for the monastery.  It obviously was a place of work, but also of contemplation and spiritual retreat.

 

I have been smitten by this monastery and will be returning at least once a  month so that I can sketch and paint some part of it, and also to take time out to recharge my batteries.

 

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Course 2 – Day Seven: Glass — Interact with a Surface

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Experimenting with glass as a surface can create multi-layered and unpredictable shots. Consider this landscape from an estate near Inverness, Scotland:

glass

It’s a lovely scene, but what happens when we place an old, creaky window between the viewer and this garden?

window

Even if you prefer the view without the window, note how this pane of glass introduces a story and adds a layer of complexity to the image. What’s the story behind this estate? Who’s looking out the window?

#developingyoureye #surfacetension  #acomsdave

The challenge here was to find a photograph which generated interest, which was if possible outside the normal framework, and could lead to a story being formed, and also provide different surfaces for the viewer. I have also created a challenge within a challenge, in that I am only using my camera on my phone for these photographs, and the phone is now three years old.  I went out looking over a number of days and nights in Oliva, Valencia, and these are the pictures I have selected along with the surface:

Now choosing a favourite picture for this challenge was difficult, mainly because they were all giving a different story, and not one of them was what you would call a stupendous photograph, but in the end I have chosen Reflections on Reflections, a picture taken through glass at dusk, with little shade and a hint of flash of a shop selling high end sun glasses.

Surface - Reflections on Reflections

Reflections on Reflections

with a close second was, Shape of things to come, a photograph of a paint shop window whose display was of almost gouda quarters in different colours with paint tubes set in some of the holes.

Surface - shape of things to come

Shape of things to come

 

I hope that you will enjoy my choices, and would welcome any comments that you have.