It's a Saturday, so the dentist is closed and we have time for a day trip to Sagunto (Sagunt in Valencian). It's a town of just over 70,000 about 23 km (15 mi) north of Valencia. We took a train from Valencia Nord station (16 EUR/18.70 USD for both of us round trip) and it took about 40 minutes to get there.
Our local train. "Renfe" is the Spanish train company.
We arrived around 11:30 or so. You can see Sagunto Castle as soon as you exit the station, but it's a bit of a hike to get there--1.3 km, or 0.8 mi. We weren't going to do that before lunch, so we headed to the city center.
Fe and I with the castle on the hill behind us.
Closeup of the castle--it reminded me of Alicante on our last trip.
We found a place for lunch just as you started the climb up the hill--Mesón el Castillo. This is the interior but it was hot and we ate outside. I also ordered too many tapas: tomato toast, patatas bravas, and eggs with potatoes and ham. It was good, but we left some on the table.
Street view beside the restaurant
Street view
Ermita de la Sang (Hermitage of the Blood)
This little chapel was our second stop, and I'm really glad Fe found it. I'm using chapel as the translation of ermita, but I found out from our guide that "hermitage" is more correct, since masses are not held here. Instead these hermitages are meant to house relics. I've seen the term used in Spain in several places (like Montserrat near Barcelona), but I can't remember seeing the term used anywhere else.
Inside the hermitage
More about our guide--he met us at the entrance and asked us where we were from. I said the US, but added Pennsylvania--which he knew about from being a fan of The Office. I had to tell him we weren't from Scranton, but that I knew people there and I'd tell them that he said "hi."
We went into the back of the hermitage and saw where they kept the effigies, the heavy displays of Jesus, Mary, and the saints that are carried through town. Our guide said that some weigh about a tonne (that's a metric ton, 2200 lbs) and that penitents used to carry them, but now people bid on a spot--sometimes up to 400 EUR (467 USD).
One of the effigies with the Virgin Mary
I saw this one and said, "You don't see Judas' betrayal very often." Our guide agreed and said this was one of only two in Spain to depict this.
This is what the penitents wore when they carried the floats.
We also saw this--a reproduction of the Holy Grail and a piece of the True Cross, a very tiny sliver in the center of the silver cross. He said that Queen Isabella procured it, though I can't find anything online about that.
Penitent statue
Church of Santa Maria. I'd have liked to see inside this huge church, but it was closed.
The side door
Another street view through an old arch.
We finally made it to the old Roman Theater. I say "old" since it was built in the first century, but a lot of it was remodeled for present-day use in the early 1990s.
Entrance to the theater
View of the stage where they saved some artifacts. They did a good job on the reconstruction, but I wonder what it looked like originally.
Modern steps, ancient walls
View of town from the theater. It's up the hill a bit.
Full disclosure--I got this from the web, but I wanted you to see the whole thing.
View of the castle from the theater. We did not make the climb up there--don't judge, we needed some refreshment.
Sagunto City Hall. The Christian and Muslim flags are there for the upcoming holiday--Day of the Valencian Community, which celebrates King James I's 1238 entry into Valencia, freeing it from Moorish rule.
Sagunto street view
I'm glad we had time for this. It was a busy day but we saw a lot, and I think it's a place that a lot of tourists miss. The big attraction may be Castello, which was the next (and last) stop on the train. I say that because when we left about 4 pm, it was standing room only. Maybe we'll go there next time.
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