When I anticipated soaking in Valencia's scenery and sights, I had no idea how much actual moisture would be involved.

The wind and rain persisted almost nonstop from Friday onward, dampening every square centimeter of the outdoors, and on Saturday even reducing access to some of the museums. But it allowed me to wind down from the rapid pace I usually maintain on vacation. (Rather than darting from one activity to the next, we played cards and watched Australian television.)

My habits need some time to slow, however, so I braved the wet wind and wound my way on a solo walk to see a bit more of the city. What better way to spend Good Friday than in a pair of art museums?

The Fine Arts Museum lies on the edge of Túria park. Its focus tends toward Spanish artists, who by and large are underrepresented in museums outside of Spain. The close ties between Spain and the Be-Ne-Lux countries are evident in the lighting and chromatic themes. The works come primarily from the Renaissance (which is largely religious) and Baroque (more openly secular) periods. There was, in addition, a lackluster exhibition of Picasso ceramics.

Next stop was the museum of modern art, which was in a slightly less modern mode as it highlighted its 30th anniversary and art from 1989 and before. Much of it was provocative, but lots of it hadn't aged well.

On Saturday we tried to see the Fallas museum, where they display some of the best comic papier-mâché figures from the annual festival. Sadly, it was inexplicably closed.

Instead we tried to see how the beach looked in the rain. The wind had blown sand upland to cover the bike paths and block pedestrian access. After grabbing lunch in a nearly deserted café, we simply went back to the flat.

This is a rather soggy end to a genuinely wonderful vacation, so don't let the last day take away from the great time.

I now have to board my flight home. Check out the photos as before, and I hope to see you soon back in the US.

Blog to you later!