Las Fallas

Valencia turned out to be more beautiful and fun than I was expecting. It has a really Spanish vibe; by that I mean it's really laid back and everyone has a good time. Our bus ride ended up only being 6 and a half hours, not 8 like I'd originally thought, so we arrived at 5pm on Thursday with plenty of time to enjoy the festival. Our hotel, Hotel Neptuno, was right on the beach with a great view overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. We were able to stay in such a nice hotel because hotels run price specials during Las Fallas while the hostels mark up their rates. Also, the beach is the furthest away from the city center, and thus the main event of Las Fallas, so is considered a little desirable location for the festival. However, a 1.80 euro metro ticket got us from our hotel to the city center in 20 minutes, so we thought it was a great deal. We checked in, I took a bath in a jacuzzi for the first time since I left America, and then we headed out on the town. Over the course of the night, over 700 Fallas were burned all over the city. It's basically a huge Mardi Gras float that stays stationary and is about 10 stories tall. They are so incredibly detailed and each has a different theme-usually political in nature. The one here is called "Bancojo," or in English "The bank watches all." The streets were so crowded with people and at first I was a little afraid because people were carelessly tossing fireworks around. Two year olds and grandpas alike threw M-80s into the sky, oblivious to other pedastrians. Fortunately I never got hit by anything but falling ash from the Falla. At midnight all the Fallas are burned simoutaneously, so we stayed in one main spot until 1 am, when the final Falla is burned. The first place winner (judged for creativity, etc) is burned in front of the Ayuntamiento, or city hall, with tens of thousands of onlookers. At any random time firework shows (and I mean big ones) were going off across the city. It's said that Las Fallas sounds like the end of the world because of all the explosions. After seeing the first Falla burn, we were really pumped up to see the best one burn. The heat is really intense and for a while you can't believe you are watching a completely engulfed structure burn upwards of 30 stories into the sky. So how this stays under control, you're probably wondering. Buildings are covered in a fire retardant liquid and then there are a couple of firemen (literally only 2 or 3 for the huge blaze) on hand at each Falla. Once the Falla's fire starts to die down, the firefighters put it out. I can't imagine any American city taking the risk of purposely setting over 700 huge fires at the same time in the very middle of a crowded city. Fortunately nothing went wrong and it was a huge adrenaline rush to partake in this centuries-old festival. On Friday we went to the beach for a while, then ate lunch at a famous paella restaurant on the beach. Paella is the famous Spanish dish of rice, many spices, and usually seafood. It takes about 30 minutes to prepare and they don't serve it unless two or more people order it. Valencia is the paella capital of Spain without a doubt; it was way better (and cheaper) here than the paella I ate in Barcelona. After lunch we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening walking all over the city. My legs are sore today from the probably 20 miles we walked sightseeing a beautiful city. We got on the bus Friday night at 11 and got in Saturday morning at 5am. Now, I am about to go to a birthday party for one of my friends from California. On Thursday I fly to Nice, France, and then take a train to Monte Carlo to celebrate Jill's birthday in Monaco! Good times in Spain :)