Matt's and Heather's Excellent Adventures: Valencia (2/4 Spain)

On the way to Valencia, train views were nice, and we were a little sad when we had to get off so soon after getting on, but at least it was 17 (62) degrees, versus 12 (53) degrees in Barcelona. We arrived during Las Fallas, a festival which celebrates the patron saint of Valencia, I think. I'm sure it's much more complicated than that. All I know is that this means there are all sorts and sizes (sometimes completely massive) of paper-mache strucutres/models/scenes all over the city for a week or so. Although they take months to build, at the end of the festival, they are all burned. The prize for the winner is that it is burned last. Silly! Because of the materials with which the structures are built, the flames are huge and hot, and of course, (we're in Spain after all) fireworks are added on top of that. It's quite a spectacle!

So, the few days we were there, the streets were filled with massive crowds, children throwing firecrackers at passersby, and the random ear-shattering boom, except for the last day, after everything had burned. The streets were empty and silent, except for the kindly custodial crews doing their work. At some point, we rented bikes and got out of the main city for a little while, which was lovely. We biked on the beach, under the orange trees, found a high school American football team playing... You know, we just explored. We also came upon a protest, a cactus garden, and a disappointing restaurant claiming they served American food. It was. an. experience.