This is what our Falla looks like in all of its pre-Crema glory

We arrived just before midnight to stake out our spot. The burning was only about 20-30 minutes late as we waited for the fire men to get in to position. There was a sudden detonation of some aerial fireworks and then the lights went out and this happened.

And POOF!

All gone!

We walked back to our hotel exhausted, but satisfied. Tomorrow we head off to Madrid to spend the night and the fly back to Houston for some much needed rest and relaxation.

We were pretty tired after this, but we needed to stay up for the Crema which happens at midnight, give or take. That will be in the next update.

After two days of The Ofrenda, The Virgin is complete.

She is beautiful. We got out early to see her and beat the crowds.

We decided to spend the day at L’Oceanogràfic in the City of Arts And Sciences complex. L’Oceanogràfic is the worlds largest salt water aquarium and is something to see if you like aquariums. Probably the best in the world.

I think the best feature of L’Oceanogràfic is the Beluga Whale. This guy seems to ham it up for the camera.

After visiting the aquarium we walked back to the hotel, stoping to take a few daylight photos of the City Of Arts And Sciences.

When we got to the hotel we knew we were going to need to get some rest. This is the final day of Las Fallas and the two most important events happen this evening. The Cabalgata del Fuego (Fire Parade) and The Crema (burning) of the Fallas where the burn all the sculpture to the ground.

I will post some photos of those events in the next two updates.

She’s coming along quite nicely.

We took the day and walked around the area near the Ruzafa district where there are some magnificent Fallas

That night we stumbled upon the most magnificent Galician restaurant called A `Peregrina which is Spanish for “Of The Pilgrim” or something similar. The whole restaurant is themed in a style you might expect to see if you were walking the Way Of St. James, a famous pilgrimage Cynthia and I would like to walk some day.

Cynthia had said she just wanted some soup for dinner, but soup is not a common menu item so we decided to see what we could get here. Right after we were seated, the waitress brought us each a bowl of complimentary hot vegetable soup. It was, in a way, a miracle and set the tone for the evening.

Once again we had found a fantastic restaurant with wonderful food and a great atmosphere.

The Ofrenda is when all the people of Valencia put on their traditional costumes and parade in from all corners of the city to offer flower to build the statue of the Virgin Mary in the cathedral square.

After chasing the Falleras for awhile we decided to go to the City Of Arts And Sciences so I could take some night shots.

Later in the evening we found this restaurant called Alma del Temple that was simply fantastic.

Everything was presented well and the restaurant itself had a nice atmosphere. Oddly, the music playing over the sound system was 80′s gothic new wave. Bands like The Cure and Joy Division with some Brian Ferry and the like sprinkled in. I enjoyed it quite a lot and asked our waiter about it. Turns out it was his selection of music. I let him know I appreciated it and that seems to please him to no end.

We had a bottle of wine and enjoyed our meal and finished the evening off with a coffee and postre (desert)

After this we were pretty beat and called it a night.

We’ve both been a bit more ill than we would care to admit.

We both managed to catch whatever that funky virus is that’s currently spreading from the UK (thanks a lot, Brits!) Sore throats, lots of congestion and body aches. It has made for some restless nights and has made Cynthia quite upset.

I, being the quick healer that I am, was through the worst of it in a few days. Cynthia, on the other hand, has had a more difficult time shaking it. On top of the virus she ended up with dual eye conjunctivitis which caused her eyes to swell up and fill with mucus (blech). And to add insult to injury there’s apparently a giant pollen explosion going on here in Spain which is making it even worse for her.

We spoke to the proprietors of the hotel and they said they could call a doctor and I told them to please do so.

The doctor came to the hotel (free of charge) and diagnosed Cynthia with conjunctivitis in both eyes and faringitis and prescribed medicine for the virus and the conjunctivitis and also dispensed quite a bit of useful tips for getting over this.

A modest walk to the pharmacy and the prescriptions were filled for under 15 euro.

Cynthia took it easy today and her stress levels are way down. She’s in the best spirits she’s been in in days. I’ve got her iPad filled with a few seasons of Torchwood to keep her occupied while I went out and take photos.

Later in the afternoon Cynthia was up for some roaming around and we set out to take some photos of the Falleras and the Ofrenda. We followed that up with a trip to the City Of Arts And Sciences and then a fine dinner.

I will have more to share tomorrow after we sleep this day off.

We had scheduled lunch with our friend Manel who we met during our first visit to Valencia. When he arrived at the hotel Cynthia simply didn’t have the energy to accompany us. This was unfortunate as Manel speaks little English and I speak little Spanish. Cynthia usually acts as the translator, but today we were on our own.

Manel and I had a good time using our iPhones to make the more difficult translations and it was a fun morning, if not slightly comical.

We made our way back to the hotel so I could check in on Cynthia and so that Manel could make his way to his other commitments. When I check with the desk clerk, Cynthia had left a note saying that she was feeling better and had walked over to the park to enjoy some sunshine and fresh air.

When she did make her way to the room she was looking to be in pretty good spirits, but confided that while sitting on a park bench and enjoying the various dogs and birds passing and flying overhead she apparently looked so sad and pathetic that a passing cyclist stopped and offered her food (which she politely declined).

Suffice to say, she was mortified. It took me some time to convince her that she did not look like a wretched, diseased homeless person with a bad eye.

Since Cynthia was feeling better we decided go for a walk and get some lunch. We enjoyed sitting outside the restaurant and soaking in the sunshine.

After lunch we went back to the room and had a siesta.

When we woke up we were both feeling a bit better. I wanted to go to the City of Arts and Sciences to take some photos and Cynthia was going to go see some things she wanted to see. I ended up making a short trip of it as the City of Arts and Sciences was having some kind of event and I couldn’t really get the shots I wanted. When I got back to the hotel I ran in to Cynthia who was excited that she was able to photograph an unusual pigeon we had spotted a few days ago.

We suspect he has been painted by someone. The bird seems ok and flies around the plaza without a problem.

We took the rest of the afternoon and evening to do some more site seeing. We’re still not 100% but we’re not giving up.

Tomorrow and Monday are the days of the Ofrenda when the women of Valencia parade in to the Plaza Of The Virgin and offer to her their prayers and carnations. The carnations are used to make Mary’s gown. It’s quite a site.

Sad to say, we are still quite under the weather. Last night was the worst. To make matters even more gruesome, Cynthia’s right eye is having some issues. We suspect a scratch on the eyelid that was likely inflicted during all the tossing and turning last night. She’s a little stressed about it, understandably.

It’s up and down. We sleep and it’s fitful. We get up and move around and we get back to something approaching normal. I think we are on the mend, but it’s slow going. Perhaps tonight we’ll sleep through…if we’re lucky.

We’re keeping our spirits up. The festival is still amazing and it’s picking up steam as the fallas continue to be set up all over town. And the crowds are growing.

You can tell the festival is truly getting underway as the explosions are happening with greater frequency. Festival goers, armes with fireworks the size of M80s and larger, are detonating at will all over town and all day long. The explosions bounce of the stone walls and echo down the streets. Tonight will not be quiet, but I don’t recall it being all that bothersome. You actually kind of get used to it.

On the plus side, I am getting some great photos.

We have made our way to Valencia via the high speed AVE train. The train reached speeds of over 180 mph so it took about 1 hour and 40 minutes.

We’re still not feeling great. I have a sore throat as does Cynthia and we’re both hacking and wheezing. The Madrid air is pretty dirty and it was colder than we expected so we think those things contributed to our ill-health.

But remain undaunted. After checking in to the hotel we took a walk and picked up some supplies. We then retuned to the hotel and enjoyed a siesta. When we awoke we were feeling much better and set out to see some sites.

It is the day before what is known as La Planta. La Planta is when all of the falla sculptures are finally put in place. Still, there are some already up and many others being built.

Our favorite falla so far is one that depicts the Garden of Eden

The interesting detail is Steve Jobs sitting atop the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, complete with Apple products like a Macbook and an iPad.

We’re calling it an early night as we continue to recuperate. Hopefully tomorrow we’ll be closer to full strength.

I think we have pushed ourselves a little too hard. Both Cynthia and I are both under the weather. Coughing, congested and fatigued. I have the tell tale body aches of a mild flue.

We went out this morning to take in a few sites, but our physical condition combined with the 35 degree temperatures had us retreating back to the hotel after only a few hours out and about.

We took a nice siesta and then ventured out for some lunch and came back to the hotel for another siesta.

When we woke up we just stayed in the room watching TV and waited to see who the next Pope would be.

Later in the evening we found a restaurant to have some dinner. Hot soup and some grilled chicken for me and a bean soup and some grilled eggplant for Cynthia.

This has greatly lifted our spirits. We’re going to stay in the hotel tonight and relax. Tomorrow we take the train to Valencia for the Las Fallas Festival. This is going to be one giant party and we’ll be up all hours of the night and day so I think it is good we conserve our strength.

It seems to me that this was a lot less strenuous in years past. They say you are only as old as you feel. Today I feel as old as Methuselah.

From there we made our way to the Naval Museum for a nice dose of Spanish naval history. The museum is very nice and well laid out. I was especially fascinated by the models and miniatures featured in the museum.

After visiting the Naval Museum we found our way to the Barrio de las letras (the literary district) to take a walking tour of the neighborhood which is filled with wonderful old bars, restaurants and shops decorated with ornate tile work.

While we were there we stopped for lunch at a restaurant called Miau where I discovered that I really like grilled pulpo (octopus).

We wandered the area at a leisurely pace and once we had our fill we headed back to the hotel and had a nice, long siesta.

When we awoke from our siesta we relaxed in the hotel room before heading out to find some dinner.

All in all, a very nice day and a chance to regain our strength as we get ready to wrap things up here in Madrid.

Cynthia has been a real trooper on this trip. And she always manages to look great.

At the Atocha station there is a memorial dedicated to the victims of the explosion.

From Wikipedia:

The Atocha station memorial is a memorial monument located at Atocha station in Madrid, Spain, that commemorates the 191 victims of the 11 March 2004 Madrid train bombings and the special forces agent who died when seven suicide bombers blew themselves up on 3 April 2004.

The 11 m tall (36 ft) cylinder stands above Atocha station, the destination of the four trains that were attacked. Thousands of messages of condolence made in the days after the attacks are inscribed on the inside of the tower. The messages of grief can be seen from a chamber beneath the hollow monument.

It was a somber experience visiting this memorial on the anniversary. Something akin to visiting Ground Zero in New York, I would imagine.

From there we walked over to the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum to view some more art. Because when you are travelling in Europe, you can’t see enough art. Visiting the Thyssen completed our Madrid Museum trifecta.

After this we were fairly tired and headed back to the hotel to readjust and then get some lunch. After lunch it was back to the hotel for a nice siesta.

When we woke up we made our way west to watch the sunset and take some night shots of the Temple de Debod, an ancient Egyptian temple that was rebuilt in Madrid.

It was cold and windy and we were anxious to get back to town where it might be a little less breezy.

Having had a rather substantial lunch, we were not all the keen on a large dinner. So we opted for some Churros con Chocolate at the famous Chocolatería San Ginés which first opened its doors in 1894.

It was delicious, in case you were wondering.

After that I wanted to stop by the La Torre del Oro which is a bar dedicated to bull fighting. Many bull heads on the walls and photos of fighters getting gored quite gruesomely. It’s an interesting experience to say the least.

After that we we’re pretty much spent. Tomorrow is another day.

Today, to our surprise, the sun came out again. There was still enough cloud cover to indicate that rain was still a possibility, but we ventured out without our raincoats or an umbrella anyway.

We decided to go to the Reina Sofia to see Picasso’s “Guernica” painting. This was our second opportunity to see this painting and it always moves me. Sadly, no photos allowed.

From the Reina Sofia we made our way to The Prado to see even more masterpieces.

This museum contains the definitive Goya collection. It is also home to Las Meninas by Velázquez which is always worth seeing in person. Sadly, no photos allowed in this museum.

We walked down Paseo del Prado taking in the sites. We stopped and had some lunch and the went off in search of the Caixa Forum to see the living art wall which is an outdoor vertical garden green designed by French botanist Patrick Blanc. This wall of green has 15,000 plants of 250 species covering a 460 meter square wall.

While we were admiring the wall it started to rain a bit so we made our way to the subway to go back to the hotel and have a siesta. I have to say, the siesta is now my favorite Spanish tradition.

After sleeping for a few hours we made our way to the Metropolis for some night photography.

(thanks to Cynthia for this photo!)

It was cold, but we had a great time shooting the Metropolis and the Plaza de Cibeles

After the photo session Cynthia and I found our way to a lovely tapas restaurant and had a fantastic dinner and a bottle of wine. We sat down around 9:30 and left around 11:30. Dinner comes late in Madrid.

We woke up to rain this morning. We decided we would go to Atoche Station and get our train tickets to Valencia. As we made our way there the sun came out and blue skies were punctuated with moody clouds.

We walked around the train station and wanted to see the Atocha station memorial which is a monument that commemorates the 191 victims of the 11 March 2004 Madrid train bombings and the special forces agent who died when seven suicide bombers blew themselves up on 3 April 2004, but it was closed for maintenance. We hope to get back and see it. The 11 March 2004 bombing is the equivalent of the 9/11 attack in the U.s. and the anniversary is coming up on Monday so they are making ready for that.

Since the sun was out we headed over to Retiro Park to take in the sights. We visited the Fallen Angel Fountain, possibly the only monument to The Devil in the world.

After the fountain we visited the Crystal Palace which is a spectacular glass structure in Retiro Park.

We wandered over to the Monumento Alfonso XII after that.

After touring Retiro Park we took the subway to Puerto Del Sol and walked over to Plaza Mayor.

Right off the main square of Plaza Mayor is a restaurant called Casa Rua which serves the best squid sandwich you can imagine.

After Plaza Mayor we walked west to the Royal Palace, but by now we were getting pretty tired. We turned around and headed back to Puerto Del Sol and caught the subway back to the hotel where we enjoyed a 2 hour mid-afternoon siesta.

When we woke up we walked over to El Corte Ingles to pick up some soft drinks and toiletries.

For the evening we met up with some friends for a leisurely dinner and a few bottles of wine.

All in all, a very good and very productive day. But now we’re beat. It’s near midnight and we’re turning in. Tomorrow is open, but we may try to hit up the museums.

We’ve made it, safe and sound, to Madrid. Let me say that flying British Airways first class is an experience unto itself. Access to the VIP lounge at the airport with free food and beverages and having a seat on the plane that lets you fully recline is something that can’t be beat. The flight attendants bring you champagne and the food is actually quite good.

I was able to sleep for about 6 hours our of the 9 hour flight so I ended up in Madrid in a lot better shape than I had anticipated…even with a 5 hour layover in London.

The hotel we booked is fantastic. We have a balcony with a fantastic view of the Gran Via.

We set off to El Corte Ingles to lay in some supplies like water, cookies, cokes and the like. I was also able to buy a SIM car for my iPhone so I have data and a local phone number while I am here.

We had dinner at an Italian restaurant called Da Nicola which is right of the Gran Via and came recommended by the hotel. It was very good.

It’s now 10:15 pm local time and we’re beat. It’s been a long couple of days and we are ready to get some sleep.

It is raining and that’s kind of a drag, but we can deal with it. Tomorrow we’re off to the Atocha station to get our train ticket to Valencia for next week and then off to see some museums.

I didn’t think much of it after posting it and I’d pretty much forgotten about it over the years.

Today, as I was reading some discussions about people having their photos used to create fake online identities I decided to use Google Image Search to see if any of my self portraits could be found anywhere on the vast Internet.

Honestly, I was not expecting to find anything. It was more of an expression of idle curiosity that I thought would amount to a few minutes squandered before moving on to bigger and better wastes of time.

Imagine my surprise when I found this “interpretation” by a Flickr user called Leeber

I have no idea who Leeber is or why he chose my picture to transform. But unlike *that* previous experiences where I have had a photo I created used without permission, I’m not really offended nor am I seeking to have the photo removed. Mostly because I am amused.

A similar incident came up with this photo I took of my dentist

Years later I found this posted as a winner of a Photoshop contest at Worth1000.com

Again, I’m not so interested in asserting my copyright because I find the work creative and amusing and I don’t see that the person is profiteering off of my work.

I guess it just goes to show that you can never fully tell what people may be doing to the content you post to the Internet or how they might be using it.

We’re headed back to Spain and to our favorite festival, Las Fallas! We’ve tacked on a week in Madrid to round out this overseas adventure. I’ll be making my usual trip updates here on this blog as well as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Chronicles of our previous trips to the Las Fallas Festival can be found here and here.

It’s our last day in Munich. We head home in the morning. As much fun as this has been, I am ready to come home and so is Cynthia. Munich and Salzburg have both been great destinations and we have had such a good time, but we both look forward to not carrying around our heavy packs and having to put on and take off our heavy coats and scarves and hats.

We woke up this morning to temperatures well below freezing, but with lots of sunshine and blue skies so we decided to go to the BMW complex wich features a museum.

I have to say, this museum was one of the highlights of the trip. It is well laid out and very engaging. It’s like history meets science meets modern art.

The entire history of BMW was on display and it looked really cool seeing it presented in this venue.

After touring the museum we made our way back to the hotel to recombobulate and then treated ourselves to a very nice, very leisurely lunch/dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant.

We spent the rest of the day just relaxing and packing up. Our flight is at 7:00 am so we’re getting up pretty early to get to the airport.

The sun was out today. Bright, clear skies greeted us as we found our way to the transportation museum. We arrived around 9:00 and, as it turns out, they closed at noon so admission was free.

They had some interesting vehicles on display, All the way from bicycles to trains.

We took our fill of the museum and then found our way back to the hotel room and then went for some lunch. After lunch we went to the Isar River for the ritual releasing of the Zippy feather

The sun was shining so nice, but was on the way down so we took the opportunity to shoot some pics down by the river.

After this we went back to the hotel room and kicked off our shoes and relaxed for a few hours. After that we went back out and had dinner and a beer at the Hofbräuhaus

Cynthia is not a beer drinker, but decided that she would try one since we were there.

To her credit, she managed to drink half of it and even said it tasted good.

After dinner we went back to the hotel to get some more rest. The temperature outside right now is 17° F so we’re content to hole up here and save our strength for tomorrow.

It has been snowing pretty steady now for the last few days and it is building up. The city is covered in white. I have not had any experience with this much snow and I have to say, it is a lot of fun. Of course I don’t have to deal with it in any practical sense, being as I am a tourist and will soon be returning to balmy Texas soon enough.

Today we decided to go to some art museums. We hit up the Munich Glyptothek as well as the Alte Pinakothek and the Pinakothek der Moderne.

The Glyptothek is a museum which was commissioned by the Bavarian King Ludwig I to house his collection of Greek and Roman sculptures. It makes for an interesting stroll. It’s not too big and it is well laid out.

From there we headed back in to the snow to walk to the Alte Pinakothek which is one of the oldest galleries in the world and houses one of the most famous collections of Old Master paintings on the planet. Suffice to say, we saw some really amazing paintings. Notable artists such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Anthony van Dyck, Peter Paul Rubens and El Greco to name but a few. Check out the link above to read more about the gallery and the works that are housed there.

After taking in all that the Alte Pinakothek had to offer we made our way to Pinakothek der Moderne which is a modern art museum.

Now frankly, I don’t get modern art. Most of it is not very compelling. But it was interesting to walk around this space and see the exhibits.

I will confess, I was rather amused at one display which was part of a modern design exhibit that featured 80′s era computers.

And I was mildly excited to get to see a few original Andy Warhol paintings. I suppose mostly because it was a name I recognized.

By the time we had finished touring these galleries it was rather late in the afternoon. We found our way back to the area near our hotel and found some food.

I will say this, walking around in the cold takes it out of you. Between the freezing temperatures and the wearing of pounds and pounds of winter clothing combined with moving in an out of the cold it wears me out.

We rested up for a few hours then went back out to just walk in the snow amongst the booths in the Christmas markets. It is still very idyllic with the snow on the ground and the warm lights glowing from the booths.