This trip didn't start that happily. I was surprised when my brother called me at the morning when I was at the railway station asking was I alive. Very sad news about how erasmus trip ended so worst as it can end.. :(
Valencia's railway station reminded quite a lot about airport because your luggage were scanned.. I bought my breakfast first because I saw the queue was so long already and well it looked like the same when I came back.. :D I was a little bit worried that I won't get through 15min before my train leaves because the queue was quite long but luckily I was in the middle queue which was the quickest! Choose that one if you are there :D But I made it and enjoyed the Spanish views during traintrip.
I stayed the night at Mediterrarian Hostel. The place was good and I don't have any complaining about that. Well I was also only one night there but anyway, everything seemed there to be good! Their one of the speciality is having a common dinner every night. On Sunday it was tapas but I decided to get tapas from another place even it would have been nice to get to know others..
Delicious tapas!!
And some more!
Well why I was only one night in Barcelona was because I got a straight flight to Göteborg and I had my exam of Swedish course next day.. It's always good to have the shortest way going back! This trip was also kind of exciting for me because I haven't traveled so much (only once to Monte Gordo, Portugal and once to Torrevieja, Spain to a training camp) so now I was totally alone and in a country where you maybe don't get along with English.. But there wasn't any problems, I was unnecessarily worried! :D
Platja de Sant Sebastià beach
Do you want to rent a boat? Only 400 000e/week :D
But even I had only one day I managed to go quite many place to my opinion. I walked through Las Ramblas on Sunday, which was good thing for my wallet because all shops except cafes where closed.. :D I saw ia the beach, the catedral and tasted tapas! Thanks to Minna and Teemu advice the street Carrer de Blai! :) There is small bars next to each others and you get tapas by 1-1,5e! So buy them called pintxos at first place and after you have ate move to next one! :P My visit was maybe too short there because it was Sunday and many pubs where closing at 23 but at least I got some delicious tapas!
Plaça Reial
There was a service going in the catedral..
Catedral de Barcelona
Catedral de Barcelona
Arc de Triomf
On Monday I went first to get some breakfast from Giulietta Cafe and after that to La Sagrada Familia. I tried to order tickets to there on Sunday but the tickets to Monday morning were already sold out so I had to contented myself to admire the building outside.. So next time I will buy tickets earlier! I spent almost whole Monday at the airport because there was a strike in France so my flight was late about four hours and I was home at 21 and missed therefore my student union's Eastern dinner.. :(
La Sagrada Familia
Plaça de Catalunya
Now I'm again in Göteborg and I have only one planned abroad trip to go this spring.. and it's Norway! I have one whole week off in April so I would totally loved to go for example just to hike for five days in the fjord! Well I have seen also really cheap tickets to London (one way 5e) and to Varsova (~8e) so let's see if Norway is my only abroad trip this spring... :D
Wou! My Spain trip was something what I haven't experienced before or couldn't even have dreamed about. Las Fallas is an incredible party!!
I don't know where to start. No, actually I know! This trip was planned already about a year ago. To be more precise we just planned to visit Valencia someday with Minna and Saila to meet Elena and others again. Luckily we, almost all of us, found days off for the Falles! It was totally worth to woke up at 1am to catch a bus to Copenhagen and take a flight from there to Valencia.
The sweet scent of orange's flower
Las Fallas is essentially a commemoration for Saint Joseph. The first Falles took place in the Middle Ages when the carpenters burned their planks of wood called parots as a way of celebrating the coming spring and the brighter days after winter. The parots was used to hang the carpenters candles during the winter so they could work. Over time it has evolved and achieved today's form of the ninots or the falles (the monuments). Nowadays they have the two-week-long festival (main days from 15th to 19th March) and you can feel it everywhere in Valencia; streets are full of people, the music, the sidewalk artists, wireforks (every firework have own name), noicemakers, national dresses, monuments and the joy. You won't get the feeling through my text and pics, you should really go to experience it on the spot!
The falla and La Cremà
Every falla have it's own theme which can take a stand to worldwide issues or just be with more humoristical theme. The biggest monuments can be 20meters high and they are made of including cardboard, wooden, cork and paper-maché. The small ones are for children and the big ones are for adults. All the monuments have been placed all over the city and I'm sure I didn't see all 700 of them.. The falla are categorized (if I remember right by amount of money what they have spent to building them) and certain board votes the best falla.
The winner falla
One of the children's falla
Las Fallas ends to La Cremà where all the monuments are burned at 19th March. The children's falla is burned first and after that the bigger falla one at a time. The monuments burned surprisingly quick and the firefighters were next to taking care that trees don't start to burn or the next buildings don't be damaged. The burning starts with fireworks and next the monument starts burn little by little. You can feel the heat far! The monuments are planned to collapse in a controlled way so everybody should be safe at streets which are so crowd that getting out of there takes minutes. The main falla is burned last that everybody can watch it. There is lots of fireworks surround the burning of the main falla.
We watched somewhere when a little monument was burned and after that walked to the City Hall to see the burning of the main falla. There was "a calling firework", firework when next to falla was burned and firework when the main falla was burned. So lots of fireworks and people itself threw also noisemakers (in finnish papatti), even the three-year-old kids did that.. (You could hear the noicemakers actually everyday from the morning to the night.) Streets were totally full!
On 19th March at 14 you should be at City Hall to "see" or rather to hear the loudy "fireworks". We were sadly under the wind so all the smoke came towards us so we didn't see so much and it started also to rain a little bit. But well, at La Masclèta you actually don't have to see anything. This firework is just because of the sound and you could feel them also by your feet, it was really impressive!
L'Ofrena de flors
In the streets you could see lots of national dresses. They paraded a specific route at the city to the Virgin Mary (Our Lady of the Forsaken) bringing flowers to her and the monument was built/covered with the brought flowers. At parade every fallas committee played also music from their regional area where they were coming.
National dresses
Building of the statue Virgin Mary
The finished statue of Virgin Mary
Falla Literato Azorin lights
The streets had their own lights and somewhere in the middle of the Las Fallas area was these lights which are in pics below. They had also a lightshow there with music!
The most spectacular firework is La Nit del Foc (the Night of Fire) is something you should also see at Las Fallas with other people (it took maybe 1h or more to get out of there..), but the firework was impressive!
Foodpics
Bravas and a orange from Valencia
(The best oranges come from here!!!)
Traditional food from
the northern part of Spain.
Paella to..hmm..many people and there was only eight of us... :D
Including hare, chicken, beans and rice.
And churros of course!!
Thanks to Elena, Aloma and Daniel! You were the best guides to have. I would have been so lost without you and wouldn't know how to enjoy Fallas! And I believe that without you came to do your exchange to Kuopio last year I wouldn't have experienced Las Fallas ever. It's impressive how much effort the Spanish do to Las Fallas. I liked Valencia really much and I know we will come to visit you again someday or we will see somewhere else! <3 Thanks also to others, see you next time in Finland!! ;)
More about Las Fallas: Wikipedia, Fallas de Valencia
I really recommend you to visit Las Fallas if you want to go someday to Spain!! :)
