I don’t know about you but I didn’t get much sleep last night. It seemed like everyone who was out last night obligatorily had to stop at the corner and make as much noise as possible before going home. Everyone was out in force. The partyiers, the disco-goers, the sanitation service. Some sang, others laughed, others fought, others made lewd remarks about their sexual aspirations for the evening, others gave blunt political statements. The cars even got into the action with one two-door Citroen screaming it was being stolen every ten minutes. The garbage truck pulled by around 11:30, then again an hour later and around two just remind me of the kind of damage they can do. The revelers took over for the rest of the evening until the early morning when the bus drivers made a good effort to show that they are people too. I woke up this morning feeling I had undergone extensive interrogation or had been in Valencia during the Fallas fiestas.
The Fallas are Valencia most famous city celebrations and they are going on up to this very moment. Today’s the last day, in fact. Valencia’s patron sain in St. Joseph and March 19th is his feast. People in the eastern part of Spain (known as Levante) are big fans of fireworks, and they use them to express their joy of life. It is a nerveracking experience for those who are unused to the sound of bombs going off constantly. And when you get into the thick of things, it can be downright hairy…something like a war zone.
I’ll be back.