el corazón de valencia

I found a runner's paradise today.  I felt like I had been transplanted onto another planet- one with an unwritten rule that you must be either running, biking, or playing fútbol to be there.  

It's located along the old river that used to run through Valencia, in los jardines (gardens) de turía.  The best part of it, if you can top beautiful fountains, gardens, trees, and bridges, were the 5 or 6 fútbol fields crowded with people of every age playing soccer.  That part was called El Camp de Fútbol.  They were all dirt fields, except for one that was grass.  The paths were dirt as well, so it was a complete 180 from the busy, concrete sidewalks I had previously been sticking to.  


Now I know why I never see any runners on the streets- because anyone doing any type of sport is in los jardines de turía.  I even found some kind of dog park where the dogs were pretty much just running wherever they felt like it.  
Valencia might just turn me into a real distance runner.  I always want to keep going to see what else I can find.