Las Fallas / Valencia

Finding Ninot: Exposition of Ninots 2017

Doer and I accidentally stumbled upon the Exposición del Ninot 2017 when we dropped by the City of Arts and Sciences with our friend Wendy at the end of January. Most of the combustible figures are destined to burn the final night of the Fallas festival this Sunday; however, each year one of them is pardoned by popular vote, and it is destined to live in perpetuity in the Museo Fallero, which we visited earlier this year. The entrance to the exposition at the City of Arts and Sciences After the ninot indultado, or pardoned ninot, is announced tonight, the unfortunate remaining figures will

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Burriana

When it rains, it pours: Flooding in the Valencian Community

Doer and I have been enjoying the winter weather in the Valencian Community. Even on the coldest days, it usually reaches 60 degrees Fahrenheit, or it gets pretty darn close (this doesn’t prevent locals from asking us how we can possibly go about with short sleeves and no coats – but that’s a different blog post). It doesn’t even rain that often here – but when it does, it can become downright torrential. After an especially rainy weekend near the end of January, I rode my bike to one of my favorite places in Burriana – the Clot, a little park

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Valencia

Nature and rice: Exploring the Albufera

At the end of January, Doer and I took our friend Wendy to the Albufera, a freshwater lagoon and estuary on the Gulf of Valencia. Before that, we spent a couple of days exploring some small cities in our region. We began the weekend in Sueca, a town near the Albufera and only a short train ride from Valencia. Some online detective work brought us there, as I had tracked down a cafetería with five pinball machines – by far the most machines we have been able to locate in one place in Spain. Doer really had been missing this favorite hobby, so imagine

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Holidays / Las Fallas / Valencia

Finding Ninot: Museo Fallero, Valencia

Last month, Doer and I previewed Valencia’s upcoming, most famous cultural event with a visit to the Fallas Museum. Located in an old convent near the City of Arts and Sciences, the Museo Fallero hosts each year’s pardoned ninots. The museum also has a great brochure on the tradition if you want to read more about it here. The festival dates originated in the mid-18th century, when people gathered on the eve of Saint Joseph’s Day to erect and burn satirical monuments made of wood, cloth, and cardboard. The festival became more complex and artistic around the beginning of the 20th century, becoming

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Other Countries / Tourism

Bulgari-WHA?

Aah, our province of Castellón de la Plana… home to a bona fide airport, as we learned after a little research once we were placed. Only one problem: locals told us when we got here it was a fiasco, never opened, a model of government corruption and excess. We’ve been flying from the much larger Valencia airport since we arrived. So imagine our surprise when, driving around one day, we saw exit signs on the highway for the airport. A little more research was in order! Turns out, the airport did actually open. And you can fly to a whopping four destinations from there

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Burriana / Holidays

Three Kings Day: Parades and a special cake

Doer and I admire Spaniards’ spirit of celebration, and we’ve already witnessed a number of holiday celebrations, local festivals, and parades. In early January, Three Kings’ Day (or Epiphany) is widely celebrated, with parades all over the country marking the story of the Magi who journeyed to worship baby Jesus. Though this Christian holiday exists in the U.S., there are many more traditions associated with it here, and it seems to be as widely known and celebrated as Christmas itself. Much like Santa at Christmas, Spanish children set out sweets for the kings and their camels the night before, and

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