Valencia y Las Fallas

By the end of our time together on Thursday evening, Igor told me to have a backpack ready and he would pick me up at 4:30 on Friday to start our tour of Spain. He told me that there was a big fiesta going on in Valencia, Las Fallas (a celebration in Valencia in praise of Saint Joseph- fallas (ll is pronounced as a y)is the term for the celebration and the creations), and we just had to go! I wasn't sure what to expect about any of it, but when in Rome... or Spain...

I had my bag ready before I left for school on Friday morning and was picked up within 15 minutes of getting home from school. We met Igor's friend, Oscar, in a town outside of Santander for drinks and then went back to his flat to cook dinner. The first half of the night was spent in English, because Oscar is practicing for their trip to Chicago next April for a wedding. After our "English hour" we spent the rest of the evening, and really the rest of the weekend, in Spanish. Something pretty funny happened at dinner. We had pasta, and when it came time for eating, it had gotten cold. Both Igor and Oscar commented on this and asked me how mine was. I said that it was fine it didn't need to be warmed up. Oscar asked me if the pasta was cold- "La pasta esta fria?" I responded, "No." Then he asked, "Me mientes?" I responded, "Yes." I heard, "Me entiendes?" This means, "do you understand me?" That is why I responded with yes. Yes, I understood what he was saying. In reality, he was asking if I was lying to him. My natural, quick response of "Yes" got both Igor and Oscar laughing quite hard. I had no clue why, and was quite embarrassed once I found out what he really said. It became quite the joke, and now I really have to think every time someone asks me one of those questions.

We hung out at Oscar's until about 10:30, and then we got on the road to start the trip to Valencia. There is no direct way to get there, so we had to go about 4 hours south to Madird and then about 4 hours east to Valencia (right on the Mediterranean Sea). We drove through the night (more like Igor drove through the night) and we got to Valencia at about 10ish in the morning. We started the tour and walked through a park. Where the park currently is, used to be a river, but it dried up. The park was gorgeous, and really went on forever. We made our way to the heart of the city and had a breakfast typical of Las Fallas the name of the fiesta (or festival).

From there, we ventured all around the town. I saw things like I have never seen before. The old buildings were incredible. It was so awesome to step foot in a cathedral that was build hundreds of years ago that has entry ways more detailed than I could ever imagine. We went to a fresh-food market, and I'm sure I made a lot of "gross" faces at the fresh lobster, pig legs, or . We went up towers that were the forts of the city that over looked the whole town. The four main towers were left, but the walls that connected them and protected the city were torn down. We went to the sea and I put my hands in the Mediterranean. It was incredible. It was great to travel with Igor because he knows the history behind everything. We wouldn't just walk past and think, oh-what a cool old building. He told me about them, and we went inside if we could. I got so much culture and history... all in Spanish!

Those were just the "normal" things you could see in Valencia, but then we got to experience Las Fallas. I still don't totally understand it, but the fiesta lasts from March 1 though the 19. Basically, the city parties for three weeks. The festival is all about fireworks. Almost every street corner had a Falla on it- a HUGE creation made of styrofoam that was sculpted and painted to tell a story. These fallas ranged from about ten feet tall to about five stories tall. It is so hard to explain. Next Saturday, all of the Fallas will be burned at the same time. There will be fireworks placed inside of them, and they will all be ignited at the same time. There are also fireworks shows every afternoon at 2 in the center of the city. People packed in there, and Igor, myself, and bout 2 million of our closest friends stood packed like sardines waiting for the mesclata (the fireworks show). Igor was so excited about this and kept telling me it was incredible; I believed him. As it started I was thinking to myself, yes, this is cool, but why was Igor SO worked up about it. The last few minutes of the show I knew why. I have never heard anything so loud in my life! It was so loud that my pants were literally shaking and the ground was moving. The entire crowd started yelling and jumping up and down... it was incredible! We saw this on Saturday and Sunday. Every day for the 19 days of the fiesta, a different "company" does the show and it is a competition, so they are all good shows because every company wants to win. We also saw a fireworks show on Saturday night (after a long parade- long enough to leave, have a drink, return, and the parade was still going on)... or more like Sunday morning. Only in Spain would a fireworks show start at 1am in the middle of a large city. Along with the street intersections having these Fallas in them, different barrios (neighborhoods) decorate the streets with lights. That is a competition as well. We walked down the winning streets, and we had to turn around because we couldn't move forward because it was so crowded. What an incredible place!

To go along with the fireworks shows, a big part of this festival is the popping fireworks. We used to have the little poppers that you throw on the ground and it makes a little pop. Yes, those were around everywhere, but there were also tons TONS more that were so SO much louder. You would be walking down the street, see some kids standing there throwing things on the ground towards your feet, and then all the sudden BANG! It was sometimes terrifying, but sure made life exciting! That constant BANG (or BOMBA as they say in Spanish) almost got tiring, but was all part of it. I sure soaked it in!

After the late fireworks show, some more walking, and finally making it to the car, we went to bed at about 3:20am (en la madruga), but were up and at it again by 11am. We took our time eating breakfast at a coffee place in an old market (with a live orchestra playing), walked around a little more, and headed back for the fireworks show. After that, we headed out of town to go to the sea. It was gorgeous, and the sand was SO soft! It was absolutely beautiful.

I know I've been scattered with what I've been saying, but there is just so much to tell. I want to tell it all, but I really don't have time for that, and you would all probably get bored with it. The drive home was great. Igor and I conversed in Spanish the whole way home, and I learned SO much about Spanish culture, and about my own as well. There is so much that opened my eyes this past weekend. I have spent time journaling about it and digesting it. It would be impossible to share it all with you, but I will have MANY stories to share when I get home. Some aspects that really stuck out to me were:
- "To-go" doesn't really exist in Spain. There is no hurry. How long does it take to sit down and have a cup of coffee?
- People are honest and trustworthy. For example, you go to a restaurant or bar and order. You take your time enjoying. There is not rush whatsoever, and when you're done and ready for the bill, you go to the counter to tell the waitress what you had. I asked Igor if people ever "cheat the system" and he looked at me like I was crazy. Why would people do that?
-People aren't walking around with a cellphone glued to their ear. I think during our day and a half in Valencia, I noticed maybe three or four people (out of the thousands and thousands that I saw) walking with their cell phones. The rest of the people are walking (a lot of times arm-in-arm), strolling along, and chatting.

I definitely think Spain has their priorities in check. It made me think about the way I am, and the way America is. For a country who often times has the view of "we are the best," we've got a long ways to go!

I'm sorry if I've bored you with this, or if it was too scattered to follow. I just have so many thoughts of things I want to share with you firing in my mind that I can't say it all. I'm not sure what is in store for me this weekend, but from the sounds of it, I think Igor has plans for the rest of my weekends here... hence SPAINexperience2010TOUR!


Standing in front of the entrance to Valencia. This is one of the four towers that was part of the wall surrounding the city.

Standing in the doorway of a typical Roman home

Jamon- pig legs in the market

Still living!

A Cathedral

Una Falla

Spanish flag on top of the tower

The sunset over Valencia from the top of a tower

On the stairs going down the tower

Una Falla

Street light decorations

Decorated street

Paella cooking in the street... streets were lined with different groups cooking their own paellas

Waiting for the mascleta (fireworks show)

Mar Mediterráneo

Mar Mediterráneo