I've been here many times, and I keep passing by... without more, last week, a morning when the sun began to stand out above the clouds that were disappearing. And that light gave the whole area a different effect, a still early peace in a setting that has been widely photographed, visited and used for television commercials of the best car brands, for example, and several series or movies... such as Westworld, Doctor Who, Brave New World or Tomorrowland.
Futuristic series in a futuristic setting, with a relevant, modern and unique architecture signed by the architect Santiago Calatrava, also from the city. Which is the city? It is Valencia, in Spain, and all this is called "The City of Arts and Sciences".
In this enclave we find the "Príncipe Felipe" Science Museum that on the outside looks like the ribs of a dinosaur, that's how I saw it years ago as a child when it was built, also the giant eye that is L'Hemisfèric, the planetarium. Further on, behind is the Agora, which hosts events such as fashion or international tennis tournaments, and behind it also the largest aquarium in Europe, and on the other side of the bridge is the "Reina Sofia" Auditorium for opera. I say on the other side of the bridge because I cross this entire white design complex, because it is located on the old bed of the Turia river, which was diverted outside the city sixty-four years ago after terrible floods.
At that time there was nothing else here, it didn't even look like the city it is today, but it wasn't twenty-five or thirty years ago either... in fact I remember then that it was a bad area, and we would quickly cross the bridge to get to the shopping center that there is in front, what old times! And how I was able to witness its change and its evolution, I was able to see the plans and the construction work that was being done in stages. Being the planetarium the first work and the auditorium the last, in fact the auditorium was quite delayed and compared to the other elements it is much more recent, it was not opened until just a few years ago and it had problems with leaks, now it is fully operational and also a reference.
So from those memories of the past, we travel to the future of those films and series, those structures that are reflected in the water of the ponds, and are protected by a park of palm trees on the side L'Umbracle, where there are outdoor exhibitions of sculptures many times that you pass, in addition to a very busy nightclub in summer. A nice setting for locals to enjoy too.
And on any given day we walk over the bridge, we admire those imposing structures again, when the day begins without the hustle and bustle of tourists, it's different. And leaving aside the past, and the atmosphere of the future, we enjoy the views also in the present.
And maybe in the future I will pass through this place again and I will write and show more things, maybe with another different sunlight too.
I'M ALSO HERE:
Noise.cash / Read.cash / Publish0x / Odysee]