We ended up going to Valencia only out of convenience - it is half way between Granada and Barcelona. Out of sheer luck, the day we needed to stop there was during the weekend where Valencia has its biggest celebration - Las Fallas. This involves groups making thousands of giant puppets out of paper mache (at least in olden days - now they are covered in a plastic coating as well). The puppets are displayed all around town and judged. This happens Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday. All weekend people set off loud fireworks and it's as if there's a war going on, only instead of being scared, people are drinking and eating chocolate churros in the streets. The parties last all night (or so it sounded from the hotel room, I only lasted until 11:30 pm). During the day on Saturday, the streets were filled with people in traditional costumes dancing in parades with live bands. There was no set parade alla Macy's Day, but just groups of people marching seemingly random patterns, music and marchers all overlapping in a colorful display. My favorite part was the little girls all dressed up looking like living dolls. The women also looked like dolls from the past, but then would be gossiping or chatting on cell phones as they walked, brining the past to the present. It was all beautiful and chaotic and I wished we'd been able to spend the whole weekend there. On Sunday, they take all the puppets that had been worked on for months and pile them up on and set them on fire. In the past when they were only paper, wood, and glue, this must have been a sight. Now, however, with the plastic, people say that the smoke is black and your eyes run and breathing is difficult... perhaps I am happy I was in Barcelona by then after all.
Another bonus was getting to see my niece, Emily, who is living in Cordoba but came down to Granada to do the drive to Valencia with us. If only we'd had more time with her too!
Photos are here: View Album
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