Legend of the Fall(as)

While we were on our way to Valencia for Las Fallas (more about that below), we ended up in the town of Almeria as we needed a toilet break and CS was lured by a picture of grilled meat he saw by the roadside. It turned out to a totally correct decision as the pork ribs were absolutely delicious. There was only another table in the restaurant other than us but the food was so so yummy. Just look!!!

Charcoal grilled pork ribs!!!

We eventually arrived in Valencia after lots of driving and it was Fallas hunting from there onwards. The whole reason we were in Valencia was for the Fallas festival and not for the oranges (haha...), though they are really quite yummy. CS saw a picture of the festival in Rough Guides and since he’s actually a closet arsonist he just had to see this festival where they burn burn burn.

Structures taller than buildings!

Larger than life!

Smaller ones competing in kids categories

To give you some background information, according to Frommers, Las Fallas is supposed to have pagan origins where carpenters would throw out offcuts of wood into the street and set fire on them to welcome spring. It has evolved though into a huge festival where each neighbourhood will produce fallas and compete for the top prize. The festival itself is 2 weeks long but the city is most crowded in the two days leading up to March 19 when the fallas are "cremated" and the entire city goes up in flames (La Crema!). The fallas are usually made (some may costs up to $500K euros) according to a theme and are meant to be a satirical jab at anything from religion to politics and films to football. We saw quite a few fallas that poked fun at certain politicians and also the events that were taking place such as the protests taking place in the Middle East. During the 2 weeks, there are various events taking place and the whole city is just one big party.

the Comical..

the Dark..

the Beautiful.

One of the first things you have to know about Las Fallas is that during that period, kids and adults go crazy lighting firecrackers, petards (something that explodes and sounds like you are in a warzone) and borrachos (tubes which once ignited, move around in frantic thrusts, with a long tail of sparks coming out of them). The firecrackers and borrachos are fun but petards are seriously annoying cos its seriously loud. We had one thrown near us while we were waiting for La Crema (when they burn the falla) and I think I went deaf for the rest of the night.

How man has evolved from Adam to a bazooka wielding baboon.

We spent the four days in Valencia "fallas hunting" (as I call it) and it was quite fun. As all the fallas are burnt on March 19 and the 800+ fallas are spread all over the city, you have to look for one you liked so you can go camp there on the night of March 19 and see it burn. Some of the fallas were very impressive and we kept detouring from where we were going as we kept seeing fallas at every corner. The most amazing thing is that you turn one corner and there’s a falla, and then at another corner you see another one. They actually print a map which shows you where the top fallas are located, they also have smaller ones throughout which are not marked so it’s a bit of a treasure hunt.

Spanish theme?

Some of the fallas were quite amazing and you can actually pay to get up close to the falla. There was one we paid where you can actually go inside the falla and they even had performances by a student theatre group!!! Very cool. They also had a booklet which explains the various parts of the falla and what it symbolise which was rather interesting to read.

Hordes of people everywhere

Day and night

Other than fallas hunting, we also attended the other events held throughout the festival, one of them being the Mascleta where they set off fireworks in the afternoon at Plaza del Ayuntamiento. Yes its afternoon and you can’t actually see the fireworks but the point of the event is to hear the explosions and not see the fireworks. We had a good spot the first time we attended the Mascieta and during that period, everyone is silent and I mean everyone. It was quite magical actually. The best Mascieta is the last day of Las Fallas and I must say it was seriously good. While we were stuck in the middle of the street and not exactly near Plaza del Ayunmiento, the explosions were still great and definitely better than what we heard on the first day. Spaniards, just like us are also quite kiasu and people fill up Plaza del Ayunmiento quite early to secure a good spot just for this.

Amazed by the shear size and effort in building this art sculptures

Another event they have is the Castillo, which is fireworks at night. This was totally magical. The first two nights, we saw it from our hotel but we went downtown on the third night for the Nit de foc (Night of Fire Fireworks Display) and that was totally fantastic. It was held at 1.30am but there were so many people out, families, elderly couples, youngsters etc that it felt quite safe. It kinda felt like the whole city was out in full force, along with all the Spaniards from other cities. The fireworks lasted a good 15 minutes and it totally beats hands down any fireworks display in Singapore, even the ones during National Day Parade. They had all types of fireworks, ones that burst again after bursting, ones with different colors at one go, it was just spectacular. We didn’t take much pictures cos we were too busy staring at them in awe. We had to walk like mad to catch the metro back to our hotel afterwards but it was totally worth it. Oh one of the great things is that the metro runs 24 hours during Las Fallas (I think) and they had night buses so it was still easy to get back.

Awesome fireworks display

After all the pictures, can you guess which falla we went to watch burn? All will be revealed in the next entry, hehe…

Masquerade! Paper Faces on Parade, Masquerade!

The whole reason for us going to Venice at that particular time was because we wanted to see the Carnevale at Venice. The Carnevale is an annual festival in Venice’s which starts about 2 weeks before Ash Wednesday and ends on Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Traditionally masks were worn during the Carnevale, this is to allow one's identity and social status to be hidden. Of course people probably wear them now more out of fun than anything else but it's still spectacular to see. Carnevale is actually celebrated throughout Italy but the one in Venice is the most spectacular and people really dress up compared to other cities in Italy. There are also Balls held in Venice but are by invitation only. With that bit of info out of the way, let's talk about the trip proper.

Amazing costumes and masks

Some others who shared our interest in the masquerade...

We checked into our hotel on a rainy and gloomy evening and quickly made our way to Piazza San Marco as that is where most of the people dressed up in masks and costumes gather. However as it was rather wet weather, most of them were sitting in cafes or walking around the buildings surrounding the piazza rather than being in the piazza itself. It was quite amusing to see everyone gathering in front of the café windows to snap photographs of the costumed people inside drinking their coffee. It was like a Hollywood moment with the paparazzi snapping away. CS was of course snapping away while I amused myself by admiring the costumes and pointing out new targets for him to take photographs.

In Piazza San Marco

As there wasn’t much costumed people walking around, we signed up for a walking tour in the end since there wasn’t much to look at or do. The tour was conducted in both English and Italian and we were the only two who chose English. Our guide was a very animated lady whose name we didn’t manage to catch. Though the tour was only one hour, it felt much longer cos of the various stories she was sharing throughout the tour. She also recommended a really good osteria where we had our dinner. It was this tiny place which was jam packed with people standing inside and outside drinking and eating various dishes, kind of like tapas actually. We had some really good chicken wings and actually went back over the next few days for them, but alas they only had them on the first day.

So very fun to see them getting into character and posing

I thought the faces were somewhat Japanese looking

We spent the next few days just walking around Venice and enjoying the sights. It was really interesting to look at all the costumed people and we really admire their efforts in dressing up with all the full works i.e masks, costumes, accessories etc. Of course there were people who just bought a mask to wear to get in the mood but those with the full getup were the ones we really admire and of course these were the ones who kept being stopped for photographs. They were generally quite obliging and happy to pose. There was one guy who was posing near the water and he almost got blown into the water by the strong winds! CS thought the whole thing was a bit like cosplay and I said someone should just dress up as Sailor Moon next year, haha…

Still in character and nearly blown away with the wind

Other than admiring the people who dressed up, we also took a traghetto which is like the poor man’s version of a gondola. You essentially get into the same thing (just not as nicely decorated, smaller and more crowded) and use it to get across the Grand Canal. It was quite an experience and though it was a really short ride (think 3mins or something) it was rather exciting. Hehe…

Gondola!, Gondola!

We bought strawberries at the market

While we really enjoyed Venice, I had the misfortune of being pick pocketed. I only realized it when we stopped for drinks and I noticed that my backpack was totally opened and my wallet was missing. Sigh… just my luck I guess :(

At the Rialto Bridge

My favorite Aglio Olio (with bacon on special request plus weird look from waiter)

In any case, Venice is really quite beautiful and we really enjoyed ourselves there. I think just doing a day trip does it no justice, you really need to stay a few nights to get the feel of the place and also to just wander the maze of streets and canals. Though hotels are a little bit pricier, things in general were not that much more expensive compared to the mainland, food was rather reasonable and there are supermarkets for you to buy water and snacks at around the same prices as Italy. Contrary to what many friends tell us about the smelly canals, smell almost non-existent, maybe cos we were there in winter. In summer it could be completely different. All in all, we totally enjoyed Venice and being there during the Carnevale was a total highlight.