Peñíscola

For our last day in Valencia Manel agreed to pick us up at the hotel and drive us the 120 kilometers (75 miles) to Peñíscola which is a beautiful city located on the coast and is topped by a castle that was once home to the Knights Templar and Benedict XIII (an Antipope). It was also the filming locations for the movie El Cid.

When you climb to the top of the castle you have a pretty spectacular view of the beaches and surrounding city.

The full sized version of the panoramic image can be seen by clicking here.

We had a fun time climbing around in the castle and shooting pictures.

Eventually we climbed back down and walked the beach for a bit for some lunch and then headed back to Valencia with a stop at a Horchatería where Manel introduced us to horchata which is a traditional Valencian beverage and quite tasty.

We’re very grateful to Manel for all of his kindness and hospitality and we could not have had a better send off!

Life Is A Beach

Friday was the first day after the official end of the Las Fallas Festival. We needed something peaceful and easy going after a solid week of late nights, loud noises and huge crowds so we decided to hop the bus and head to the nearby beach.

I forget sometimes what a beach with clear blue water and light colored sand looks like. Valencia is right on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and it is a magnificent beach.

We just spent the day walking along the paseo from one end to the other. We came across this cool fountain which we’d seen pictures of previously

The beach was not overly crowded, but there were a number of people out. Some were walking like we were, others were sunning themselves on the beach or fishing. Some were running and launching themselves into the air

Around 2 pm we headed to an area on the beach that was lined with upscale restaurants and took a seat on the patio to enjoy some sangria and world famous Valencian paella.

Everyone we knew who has been to Valencia said the paella was fantastic, and they were right. It was a tasty tasty meal!

After a bit more walking we headed back to the bus stop and made our way back to the hotel.

It was a great day!

La Crema

The main event. Midnight is the time all the fallas are burned.

We decided the above falla would be the one we watched burn. It was within easy walking distance of the hotel and was facing a wide open area along the dry riverbed so we would not be crammed into a small space by the throngs of onlookers.

We got there an hour before the burning time which was midnight. The crowd was very large and enthusiastic. Once the firemen cleared the electric lights and lowered the fire screens that protected the nearby buildings a series of fireworks detonated and the falla began to burn. At one point the fire was so hot we could feel it on our faces. It’s a wonder the people up close were not injured. I suspect there’s more than few eyebrow-less festival-goers after this.

It burned to the ground in about 10-15 minutes.

By the time we got back to the hotel there were plumes of black smoke all over the city, billowing into the Firework were going off everywhere. Within a few hours the entire city was covered in a haze of smoke.

The next day, silence….

Cabalgata del Fuego (Fire Parade)

The fire parade was a must see. It started just after sunset and was not too far from the hotel so we headed out early to stake out a spot for an unobstructed view. After the crowd filled in there was a reconfiguration of the barricade that actually put us behind some people. Most unfortunate, but not as bad as it could of been.

The parade started on time and at the beginning it was peaceful and really rather tame. The dancing girls moved along the parade route followed by a live band.

They were followed by a slow procession of Falleras (the women in traditional costume seen in my previous post. Apparently only a select few. Probably award winners from the champion fallas.

Then the main event.

Men and children dressed in flame retardant devil costumes with all manner of fireworks in tubes, on sticks and as part of elaborate constructs that looked like engines of war. The ran up and down the street and at points in the parade we were showered in sparkling fire embers. It was kind of scary. Cynthia thought we would be set on fire as she huddled behind me. I shielded myself as best I could and took some pretty satisfying photos.

This is only a small sample of the photos. Check out this Flickr slide show to see the entire collection

Last Day of Las Fallas

Thursday, the final day of the Las Fallas festival. I will tell you this, we are tired. VERY VERY tired. Late nights, huge crowds and lots of noise.

Fireworks are constant. It literally sounds like a war is being waged all around us. Starting around 8 am and going and going and going. It’s not horrible, it’s just the background noise to this festival and it somehow fits. Being the last day the crowds are HUGE. I think a lot of people come just for this day.

This was the day we were to meet up with Manel. Manel is the person I reached out to on Twitter to see about making a local connection during our trip. Manel was a fellow twitterer and flickrer and seemed like a nice guy.

As it turned out, he didn’t speak much English, but fortunately Cynthia speaks pretty good Spanish.

We met up in the morning and he took us around the city and we had an awesome time. He offered to drive us to Peniscula on Sunday which will be very cool!

A success for social networking!

The last night of Las Fallas is the night of the fire parade and La Crema. Post about those coming soon.