Las Fallas

So one thing you learn about Spain very quickly is that they will give any excuse to throw a big party. This week was the Las Fallas festival in Valencia, basically the history of it is that during this time Spaniards would do a sort of spring cleaning and take their junk out to the street and burn it. Over the years people got into the idea of building statues out of the junk they were burning and have a competition over the best one. Now they don't build statues out of trash but put a lot of effort into them. These are huge structures that take months and months to create and in a few minutes it all burns to the ground. We arrived in Valencia at noon, there are parades throughout the day with bands and people dressed up in traditional Spanish clothes. Every hotel is booked months in advance, there are street vendors, tons of food and fireworks all day long. The city of Valencia is really cool to see, the architecture is really modern and there are tons of parks. I have never been in crowds like this before. If you put your arms up, you literally could not get them back down. I don't recommend it for anyone with personal space issues, people are definitely all over you. We walked around most of the day, got some really good treats, everyone enjoyed chocolate covered churros and croissants while I had some amazing gelato. Valencia is also known for its paella, it was so nice to get a small plate for a couple euros on the street. There is a lot of waiting around since the fires don't actually begin until midnight and thats only the smaller statues. The big main section doesn't go off until 1 or 1:30. We got a good spot right up front for the big show 2 and a half hours ahead of time. We stood on top of each other literally not being able to move an inch. It took so long to start the fire because the police kept moving everyone back because we were too close. I was almost pushed over by a cop forcing us back. There were a few moments when I wanted to just get out of there and forget about the whole thing, it was not the most enjoyable experience. Finally at 1:30 the fireworks started, these are unlike any fireworks I have ever seen or heard. The ground shakes so much you can feel your insides moving. So much smoke fills the street and the flashes are so bright it feels like you are in war. There are very few safety regulations here, so the fireworks were right over our heads. It was crazy, but also frightening! A stray fireball flew out of the sky right next to us and everyone started to scatter, I was almost trampled by the crowd and was suddenly very aware of the fact that if something happened, I would not be able to get out! Luckily the fireball went out, and we enjoyed the rest of the fireworks, we were covered in ashes though. After probably ten minutes straight of fireworks, they light this string on fire that goes across the street to the statue. It lights on fire immediately making huge clouds of black smoke. Once the enormous fire got going, you could feel the heat! It was honestly one of the most intense experiences of my life. The whole time your watching this your amazed at everything, the amount of people there, the months of work burning right in front of you, the noise, the heat. Its so crazy. We were exhausted, walking from noon until 2 in the morning when our bus showed up to take us back to Alcala. We arrived back home at 6:30 in the morning, a little hard of hearing and ready to go straight to bed. Although it was a little uncomfortable at times, and a little nerve wracking, it was so amazing. I can't say I would do it again, but I am glad I experienced this crazy tradition at least once in my life. 

                                                           My favorite...paella!

                                                             Just some of the crowds!

                                                         The city of arts and sciences