Shopping in Castello(n)

Today, I took the train to Castello(n) la Plana - the 'n' is in brackets since that's the Castilian spelling, but it's dropped in Valencian and Catlaunyan. This is one of the provincial centres of the Valencian area of government - the 'Generalitat' as it's known, so many of the public buildings are given over to civil administration. The town has a long history having been founded in 1251, eighteen years after the reconquista. The Moors had established a town and castle in the mountains behind, but permission was granted to relocate to the plain. 

Its Cathedral has been there since the thirteenth century, but only acquired cathedral status in the seventeenth. It has a sixteenth century bell tower separate from the church, tall enough to have been used as a look-out post in the days when Barbary pirates were busy on the Mediterranean coast, and there were no high rise blocks. The church was re-built in the twentieth century in a simplified Valencian gothic style, after its demolition had been ordered in 1936, following damage during the Civil War. The old town centre is several kilometres from the sea, where there are holiday beaches. There's a long avenue linking the centre with the sea, along which I believe an electric trolley bus called a 'tram' runs.

With the modern development of the town, the path coastal railway line was diverted inland by half a kilometre. A grand new transport hub was constructed, catering for long/middle distance services, plus suburban 'Rodalies' lines linking it with Valencia. Outside there's a coach station. The former railway station building has been preserved and transformed into a local police station. Behind it stands a huge monumental modern multi-storey 'El Corte Ingles', my shopping destination after I'd toured the town to take photos. I was impressed by the amount and variety of modern sculpture in the streets typical of the effort to give prestige a provincial capital city.

I bought one gift in the Christmas market in the Cathedral Plaza and another in El Corte Ingles, but that was all I could manage in the time available. There's just too much choice.