Tag Archives: Valencia

The Fallas of Valencia 2019

March 26, 2019 chaput@live.com

Las Fallas festival in Valencia is a celebration to welcome the coming of spring and an opportunity to say goodbye to winter. As part of the Fallas festival there are giant “ninots” which means dolls. They are built using paper machè, cardboard, wood and other combustible materials. The ninots have different themes and are sometimes political in nature.

We took a bus tour to Valencia and arrived early to explore the different ninots throughout the city.

We walked the crowded streets looking at the different fallas along the way.

The crowded streets of Valencia during the Fallas 2019

We came to some fallas, which were quite interesting and had specific messages.

Falla with naked Franco, Mussolini, Hitler and Trump with condom promoting no reproduction of these politicians.

Falla depicting the United Kingdom cutting ties from European union

Other fallas focused on the environment and in particular the issue of plastic in the oceans.

Falla depicting the dangers of plastics in the oceans.

Falla of a Turtle with plastics in its mouth.

We walked towards the “Plaza de Ayuntamiento” to see the “mascletàs” which is a pyrotechnic event that happens at 2 P.M. The mascletàs are focused on noise and rhythm rather than visual effects. As we got closer to the Plaza de Ayuntamiento the crowd became bigger and thicker.

View of the crowd in the streets at the Plaza de Ayuntamiento in Valencia waiting for the Mascletàs

The crowd was so large and big that we decided to go and find a place to have lunch instead of being in the centre of the crowd. We found a nice restaurant not too far away from the plaza. We enjoyed a nice meal and watched the mascletàs which were streamed live on the internet.

Watching the mascletàs live at the restaurant

After lunch we continued exploring and viewing the different fallas. We came to a parade and walked along with them for a while.

Ray walking along with the parade in Valencia

The parade had different traditional costumes, music and flowers. There were people of all ages participating in the parade.

After watching some of the parade we continued to explore the different fallas.

Shelley and Ray in front of a Falla in Valencia,

There are so many unique and different fallas that we created a small gallery of some of them.

During the evening the fallas and streets were lit up with decorated lighting. This made the fallas look completely different and they were quite beautiful.

We stopped at a bar for some tapas and a rest before heading back home after a full day of exploring the fallas. It was a very unique and enjoyable experience.

“Hasta luego y que tengas un buen dia”

Spain

A visit to the Mercado colón in Valencia

July 26, 2018 chaput@live.com

We stopped at the Mercado Colón to explore this beautiful structure.

The outside facade of the Mercado has two prominent masonry facades which look similar to triumphal arches. The arches also are decorated with beautiful ornamentation.

Shelley in front of the arch of the Mercado colón

We walked through the Mercado and explored the inside of the building.

Snail ornament in ceramic tiles in the Mercado

There was a nice water feature on the lower level of the Mercado.

Water feature with statue and plants in the lower section of the Mercado

The Mercado is over 4300 square meters and has different shops and restaurants throughout.

In side view of the Mercado Colón in Valencia

The Mercado was built-in 1916 and has iron work from that period throughout the roof structure. We walked through looking at different shops and restaurants and decided to stop for a drink.

Shelley and Ray in the Mercado de Colón in Valencia

We enjoyed a nice coffee and relaxed enjoying the sights and sounds of the market. We even had a visitor drop by for a quick visit and snack.

Pigeon having some crumbs under our table at the Mercado

We stayed at the market for about an hour enjoying the lively atmosphere. It was a great way to spend some time.

“Adios y que tengas un gran dia”

Spain

Birthday in Valencia

July 24, 2018 chaput@live.com

We went to Valencia to celebrate Shelley’s birthday. Our day began with a 1:40 minute train ride to the city of Valencia. We arrived to a beautiful warm day in downtown Valencia. We settled in to our hotel before heading out for a walk through the city. We started out walking through the beautiful “Jardin del Turia.”

Path in the “Jardin del Turia” which leads under one of the bridges in the city.

The park has a very interesting past. It was originally the Turia River which overflowed its banks in October, of 1957. The flooding reached heights of over five meters (17 feet) high. At least 81 people died and thousands were displaced during the flooding. As a result of the devastation caused by the flooding the city decided to divert the entire river through fields south of the city. After much debated and public protest the former seven kilometres of riverbed was converted to the current park in 1986.

We walked through a section of the Jardin del Turia and then headed towards the centre of the city. Along the way we came across some beautiful building architecture, parks and statues .

We stopped along the way to enjoy the views and admire our surroundings.

Shelley and Ray in front of one of the many statues in Valencia

Shelley in front of the fountain near city hall plaza in Valencia

We walked along the streets until we reached city hall plaza.

The streets around the plaza were cordoned off and there was a large street party going on. We stopped to check out the live music and walk through the area.

Street party with live music at Valencia City Hall Plaza

After exploring the city centre, it was getting dark so we decided to walk back to our hotel, which was a fair distance away. On the way back the city views changed as it got darker.