INNOCENTS ABROAD

My daughter Lora and I recently returned from a trip overseas.  Years ago I made a deal with each of our children that if they study a foreign language for four years in high school and get all A’s, then dad would take them to visit a country where that language is spoken.  For some reason, each of our children have taken me up on this bribe, and I too have gotten to see a bit of the world as a result.

Of course, being the youngest, Lora has higher expectations, so in addition to Spain, we had to drop by England, Gibralter and Morocco.  As we traveled, I couldn’t help but draw some comparisons with Visalia.  The following are some of my observations:

Strong City Center:  I noted that in each successful city we visited, they had a strong city center, whether it was Puerto del Sol in Madrid, Placa de Catalunya in Barcelona, Main Street in Gibralter, or the Kasbah in Tangier.  Visalia’s downtown and Mooney Blvd. are its vibrant core.  As we continue to emphasize this area it will remain a draw, not only for our citizens, but for visitors to our city.

Nature Connection:  We visited a monastery and took hikes in Montserrat outside of Barcelona.  Although it was high in the mountains, we had easy access via local train, then cable car and funicular.  Visalia enjoys a similar natural setting close by in our national parks.  Visalia has contracted with the National Park Service to provide bus service to Sequoia National Park, as well as within the park itself.  The more we can identify with the national parks, the better for local tourism dollars and to put Visalia on the map

Culture:  I was struck by the beautiful architecture and age of many of the monuments and buildings of Europe.  Art and museums everywhere enhanced the experience.  Add to this the unique inventiveness of such geniuses as Antoni Gaudi, who created the Sagrada Familia basilica and Park Guell in Barcelona, designed in modernistic style.  While Visalia is only about 160 years old, we have our own historic homes, western era downtown, and more recent buildings of interest  such as the Fox Theater and Merle’s Drive-In, which is now The Habit Burger.  We have the county museum in Mooney Grove Park, and soon will have a new Imagine-U children’s museum which is being built downtown.  Don’t forget Rawhide Stadium.  The more that we can add to the mix, the better.  The historic buildings of Europe have been maintained, restored as well as retrofitted to modern purposes.  Likewise, we need to preserve our buildings and heritage.

Size: Many of the cities which we visited were huge.  I enjoyed just as much the towns and tourist attractions that were on a smaller scale and took advantage of rural settings.  Part of Visalia’s attraction is that it has so much to offer, but on a smaller scale in an ag setting, such that visitors can enjoy the unhurried and relatively simple lifestyle of Visalia.

History:  Again, the history of Europe is part of its vibrancy.  Visalia has its own unique history dating back to 1852, the oldest town between Stockton and Los Angeles.  Recently, Councilman Greg Collins and I assisted town historian Terry Ommen in giving a tour of historic downtown to a group of convention visitors.  They seemed to enjoy just strolling down our Main Street, soaking it all in, along with the amenities such as the numerous restaurants there.  Downtown also has a historic walking trail with plaques and markers which has been well received.  I hope that some day we can develop an app whereby people can follow the historic walking trail while listening on their smart phone to a narrative of our history.  www.visitvisalia.org.
High Speed Rail:  I’ve enjoyed riding the Shinkansen bullet train in Japan and the Eurostar high speed rail in Europe in the past.  The AVE high speed rail in Spain was not as convenient or as high-class, it felt a little bit like they were just herding cattle.  When high speed rail comes to California, we need to have a nearby station for not only the locals to use, but also for visitors to our area.  We need to ensure that high speed rail is done correctly and is first class.

As much as Lora and I enjoyed our travels, it was good to return home to America.  This trip made me appreciate what we have locally, as well as the bright future that Visalia has in store.  P.S. my apologies to Mark Twain for borrowing his title for this article.

If you have questions or topics regarding the city  which you would like to have addressed in future articles, please email Warren at wgubler@ci.visalia.ca.us, or call (559) 713-4400 x 3313.  For past articles, visit directfromwarren.blogspot.com.



Warren Gubler
Visalia Vice Mayor