On Sunday 15th of March Marie went on the Erasmus Trip to Valencia for one day. Two buses with students left at 7 am in the morning to Valencia in order to see the first day of the "Fallas".
The term Fallas refers to the celebration and the monuments, which can be found during the time around the city of Valencia. Each neighborhood in Valencia has their own Fallas club, which work all year on the creation of these incredible monuments, which are burnt at the end of the celebration. There are a lot more things happening simultaneously during the week; the entire city offers a great atmosphere and is filled with people from Spain and all over the world.
We arrived in Valencia at 12pm and head to the Plaza de Ayuntamiento in order to see the Mascleta, which is a daily activity during las Fallas. Every day at 2pm an explosive barrage, firecrackers and fireworks go off for around 20-30 minutes and a huge crowd gathers in order to see or better listen to this performance. In order to get to the Plaza we walked throughout the city, which was full with people, little stands, markets and many persons selling souvenirs, food, drinks and all sort of different things.
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| Marie's roommates from the Erasmus Flat |
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| One of the many Fallas creations |
At 12.30pm we had our position on the Plaza and waited for 90 minutes in the sun for the spectacle. The weather app promised it would be only 13° degrees, thus everyone was wearing jackets and longer shirts, but actually Valencia had 23° degrees and we were boiling in the sun. Thankfully many people passed, selling ice cold drinks for 1€ and we happily accepted them. The Plaza was getting fuller and fuller and the crowd was standing closer to each other. Punctual at 2pm the fireworks went off with a huge sound. The pretty lights that usually matter did not play a major role in this case, it was more about the sound. The firecrackers were getting louder and louder and after 20minutes it ended so loud that I was sure her ears were going to explode any minute. It gave her goose bumps and it felt like the ground was vibrating at the same time.
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| The Crowd at the Plaza de Ayuntamiento |
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| Selfies are always a good idea |
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| The fireworks begin |
Afterwards we had free time until 12am at night, so first we head to a restaurant further away from the city and all the people in order to eat something. We were around 12 people and as the weather was still nice we decided to walk throughout the park to the Ciuadad de las artes y las sciencas. Taking some photos here and there we continued our journey and took the bus to the beach. It started to get colder and darker, but it was still very nice. At the beach we met my Spanish roommates, who are also the organizers from ESN, so we sat down in a small pub and had some drinks in order to warm up again. It was getting later and later and we wanted to head back to the city, unfortunately this area of the beach has apparently not a very good connection back to the city center especially during Sunday evenings. So, we walked for 15 minutes before we called for 5 taxis to pick us up from the middle of nowhere.
Back in the city center we had food and basically waited for 12am to see fireworks, but this time at night and I must say I have never seen a more impressive firework show. It was incredible and definitely worth waiting for!! The fireworks lit up the sky for around 30 minutes and the streets were again filled with countless people.
A great way to finish a very long but nice trip and we arrived back in Zaragoza at 5am Monday morning. The trip only costed 25€ and it is clear that you won't get to see all of Valencia in one day, especially during a festival like this. However, for people who have already been to Valencia, just want to enjoy another city or see something else for a change, it is a good idea . I would have loved to stay longer in Valencia, as it is one of my favorite cities, but I am sure we will go back there soon!
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