Las Fallas

-5 people
-50 euro
-6 hour car ride
-24+ with little to no sleep (no sleep for our driver, thanks Josh!)
-Thousands upon thousands of people
-A lot of fire....
*priceless :)

Let me try to explain, although my words and these photos will not do the scene justice. I met some wonderful people at an international church called Oasis here in Madrid. I had heard about Las Fallas on the news and Antonio told me a little bit about what goes on during this "festival".
Every year the various towns in the city of Valencia construct these "ninots" which can range from 10 feet to 8, 9, 10+ stories high. It may be the angle of the photo, but the image below should give you a good idea of how large these works of art actually are.

Our group along with people from all over Spain and the rest of the world came for the final celebration on Saturday. Each ninot has a different theme and the majority display current political or social events in order to make a satirical jab at those unfortunate enough to draw the attention of the artist. I will spare you all of the details, unless you are so inclined to discover more here is a link to some fallas history: http://www.valenciatrader.com/valencia/valenciafallas2010/historyfallas

Many people throughout the communities are dressed in costumes from the middle ages. The young, old, men and women alike all participate.


When we arrived we walked around to see the ninots, those dressed up and to witness the countless firework spectacles around town. One of the girls who had been last year was kind enough to bring ear plugs for everyone since there was no telling when someone was going to light a firework a few feet away. If you like surprises and the feeling of adrenaline pumping through your veins then this is definitely the place for you.

After walking around and getting some lunch we agreed to head toward the beach! Many other people had the same idea, but it was a nice change of pace and scenery as we waited for evening to come.


And this is what we were waiting for....

Before each ninot is burned you will hear a series of firecrackers, then cheers and then the lighting! All of that incredible artwork up in flames in a matter of minutes! This one was my favorites because it actually burned well and I didn't feel like I was suffocating from all the smoke inhalation.

This is one of the better videos I took and it clearly shows the safety regulations on how far away fireworks can be shot off from nearby homes....




This was a crazy experience, but I actually think I would do it again. There have been some things like going to "El Rastro" which is a gigantic market near downtown Madrid that for me seeing it once was enough. I enjoyed las fallas, the creativity, the good food and even all of the people everywhere. So if you are loco enough to want to experience las fallas I would be glad to accompany you in the future and this time I will bring the ear plugs for all :)

I am not sure if my video is going to work so here is another link that shows much more than what we were able to see in one day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzbQfJGfONA&feature=related

Thank you to all who read this, leave encouraging comments and send e-mails, until next time...

"Let's risk the ocean, there's only grace."

ALCACHOFA

Me: "Artachofe? Acachofo? Ahh, como se pronuncia!?
Diana: "Aaallllcachooofa."
Me: "Alcachofa! Ah ok, I won't forget it now."
Diana: "And in English?"
Me: "ahr-ti-chohk"
Diana: "Alcarchof? Alcarchoke?"
Me: "No, no artichoke."
Diana: "Atrichoke! Woo, that's a hard word!"

Alcachofa is the word of the week! This was one of our daily conversations this past week, but I think I've finally got it down. I am going to quiz Diana when she gets home today. We also finished off the rest of them for dinner last night so perhaps I have heard the last of the alcachofas....

The mispronunciations, the meanings that get lost in translation and the searching for the right words all have the potential to be completely frustrate an individual. However, I think Diana, Antonio and myself have chosen to find humor in it all and can laugh (on a daily basis) over the slight misunderstandings or misinterpretations. I would not have it any other way.

This past week I chose to show myself around downtown in the heart of Madrid. This little journey started out as a self-guided tour. Diana and Antonio had shown me a couple places to go and how to get there on google maps the night before. However, I ended up starting a few hundred meeters northwest of where I was told to begin! Plaza de España is what I found...

I decided to turn and head south to see what I could see and suddenly I stopped in my tracks to behold an incredibly beautiful building of what I had no idea... Unbeknownst to me I stumbled upon Palacio Real...
I have never liked and rather feared being lost as I am sure many of you can relate. Yesterday, Antonito reminded me a lot of myself when I was a kid as he, on the verge of a major melt down asked mom and dad if we were lost. They assured him we were only taking a different route, but sure enough 1 minute later, "Are we lost???" I'm not sure what prompted me to go into a major city alone and mapless, but it was fun to discover an unknown city, go at my own pace, and take in all of the sites and sounds.
The next sound I heard was my stomach calling and then I knew this was no time for games and I bought a map in order to find Plaza Mayor! I thoroughly enjoyed the suggested item "Bocadillo de Calamares" as seen below.

I finished off the week by playing a little fútbol on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Antonio organized a match and it turned out to be a great time. He has an enormous family and out of the 16 of us playing I think at least 12 guys were either cousins, brothers or nephews. After 2 hours of playing soccer outdoors for the first time in a long time (ouch) I am going to have a relaxing Monday :) I am looking forward to the next match and what the next week will bring!

Wherever you are in the world reading this I hope you are well, enjoying every moment and living life to the full! Hugs to you all!