Valencia Las Fallas

Bullfights take place in Madrid, Toledo, and Valencia (Barcelona thinks it is archaic ... me too).  Dave was so excited that a bullfight was going on while we were there that he bought tickets even after the event had started.  I watched the fight and took pictures (notice the blood on the matador ... a sport?) and got up to leave.  Imagine my surprise to find out that there are 6 rounds.  We compromised and stayed for 3.  The first bull was rejected by the spectators because he stumbled.  Enter bull number 2.   All bull meat is donated to the poor - is that redemption?

Now, the Fallas (pronounce Fiyas) is a whole other story - very fun!.  The entire town dresses up and parades from their neighborhood with flowers in hand, and brass bands playing, to give their offering to the Virgin Mary near the main cathedral.   Then they continue in parade form back to their neighborhood, the whole process taking hours (lots of walking in high heel shoes).  There are many parades going on at once.   The women and girls had the most beautiful dresses

 Here is a falla.  In the old days they were made out of wood, but today they are made out of paper mache.   Some are several stories high and some are only one story.  They are situated  through out the town, and on the last day of the celebration they are burned, with fireworks and bands announcing which fara will be burned next.  The Spanish are very friendly people and just when you think the street is packed, 100 more friends squeeze it.  The more the merrier.

 Churros.  I think they are fried in olive oil, so I am sure there is some nutritious value, but boy are they good dipped in their hot chocolate (which is like thick syrup).

 At the main square by the cathedral the paraders place their flower bouquets in the cape of the towering Virgin Mary.

Notice the over-the-ear hair piece and tiara which each girl wore.  I couldn't get enough of this little sweetheart.

 Tapas are the small portions that you eat in the evening (usually with a toothpick).  The main meal is eaten at midday, and tapas are served after 8:30pm.  No restaurants served dinner between 6-8:30pm, so my American stomach had a little adjustment to this way of eating.

 The most entertaining falla 

Their fireworks were crazy.  Tons at once, loud, and fun, 

and not starting until 1:30am

 The original gate to the city

 Paella is the traditional Spanish dish with rice, veggies, seafood, or chicken all cooked in this special pan.

 Viewing the flower offerings the next day

Mary with her dress and cape out of the flowers that the girls carried in the parade.

Here is the large fallas being burned as the culmination of the last night.

Modern side of the city:  The river running around 3 sides of the city overflowed several years back, so they diverted it away from the city and used the riverbed for a huge city park and these modern civic center buildings, a stark contrast to the old part of town.

 I fell in love with doors in Valencia.  These are huge, carefully crafted, old, and everywhere in Spain.  Every door seemed to have a story to tell, lives that had passed through the portal, generations observed, some loved, some neglected.