Las Fallas in Valencia, Mallorcan Adventure

So this week was pretty crazy...Tuesday was St. Patty's day, 4 euro beer for 2 1/2 hours free refills at Carpe Diem...then had to get up for the bus to go to Valencia at 9 o'clock at the hotel...so I got about 4 hours of sleep. My alarm didn't go off but luckily I got up in time still! School planned a trip for Las Fallas in Valencia on Wednesday. Las Fallas is a fiesta in Valencia (we have one just like it in Alicante in July called "Las Hogueras") where the years figures are made into figurines by artists. The artists work in secret during the year and they are then revealed to the thousands of people who come to the fiesta during the two weeks (mas o menos) that it lasts. The figurines are typically satirical and poke fun at the years events. I was so excited to go but going out at night ALMOST killed my motivation...I was so tired that I almost wasn't going to go...I was sitting with my madre and sister contemplating the worth of going to see the figurines in Valencia for Las Fallas...eventually I came to a realization- why WOULDN'T I go!! I was crazy if I didn't go. So, despite my exhaustedness, I bolted out of the door after eating some cereal and literarly ran down the stairs, luckily caught the bus in time near my house, and literarly ran off of the bus to the hotel. It ended up waiting for probably like 20 minutes for other people doing some last minute stuff, haha. I'm very, very glad that I went, however, despite feeling like I was going to die on the two hour bus ride to Valencia. During the day, Annie, Jess and I walked around Valencia and visited the cathedral- went to the top and got an amazing view of the city, tried some calbacin fried dough things which were DELICIOUS and I guess are typical of the fiesta...also saw the Mesclata, the insane firecracker show that is part of Las Fallas, it was one of the coolest things I've ever heard probably...the noise was deafening and sounded pretty much like a battle, but a little like a song too. It was very interesting, something I've never experienced before. After it we were all wondering, "why did they do this during the day?" There were some fireworks, but us Americans are used to fireworks/firecrackers at night time, Fourth of July style. I enjoyed how it was different and something that we're not accustomed to. After that we bought some of the typical plaid scarfs that everyone was wearing...there were TONS of people in Valencia at this time, so different than when we visited for the aquarium earlier in the semester. We also saw this beautiful flower arrangement of the Virgin Mary, it was spectacular...the flowers smelled heavenly and looked gorgeous. There were so many orchids!!! I was in love. After walking around the city and hearing the earsplitting fireworks, we went to get my first fancy comida in Spain. I normally want to save money because I've already spent something insane like 3,000 dollars so I REALLY REALLY REALLY need to save money now (which means definitely NOT going out during the week, six euro cab ride from the barrio every time!!). So we got a delicious meal for 18 euros- a starting plate of different meats/sausages, main course of paella Valenciana (with conejo=rabbit, decadent), and a desert- nata con fresa (cream strawberry cake type thing). It was scrumptious. Going home, we saw a bunch of the Alicantinas, women and men dress up in typical Spanish dress in Las Fallas and Las Hogueras in Alicante...they look so beautiful and parade through the streets. I believe that one is picked to be a "Miss Alicante/Valencia" type award. The bus ride home was hilarious, we all talked the entire way since there was a small group going back home because a lot of people stayed in Valencia to see the figurines burned. Jess and I took silly pictures and had a bunch of belly laughs. I got home around 8 and went to sleep after packing because I had to get the plane for Mallorca with Annie and Michelle at 6 o'clock in the morning.

Mallorca was stunning. We had such a fun time there...we got to the hotel, which was really nice for 14 euros a night! We each had our own bed which was a plus. When we got to the hotel, at 7 in the morning, we went straight to bed until about 10:00...got some lunch (an amazing WHEAT baguette...no one eats wheat bread in Spain apparently from what I've noticed thus far...sobrasada- a typical Mallorcan sausage, said it was spicy but of course it wasn't...and some cheese...and of course a bottle of vino) and sat on the beach, which was like a 5 minute walk from our hotel. It was so relaxing and tranquil...I collected some cool shells on the beach to put in my "memory bag" of Spain (I would say scrapbook, however, I know I won't have enough energy to actually make a scrapbook, since I still have a bag full of stuff from my first European tour with Allie). After leisurely eating and enjoying our amazing lives, we went to Palma on the bus and found out we couldn't go to the Cathedral because it was closed. Instead, we got a coffee and ensaimada (typical Mallorcan pastry, as fine as "horse hair" and azucar as the cab driver old Annie and I prior to coming to Mallorca, hahaha: they had no relation to horse hair and were tasty...checked on wikipedia and I guess they're made of flour, water, sugar, eggs, dough and pork lard?-which is only used on the island ...you can buy ensaimadas in Alicante but they're not the same as my family says) , relaxed some more, bought some GALOUISES- (that's for you, Al!! Some coming your way!!) and got on a bus to Valldemossa. It is a little village in the mountains of Mallorca...the ride there was gorgeous and so was the village. All of the little apartments had green shutters and doors and ceramic painted plaques of religious scenes outside of the doors, the village had cobblestone streets and a monastery where Chopin lived for a winter. The monastery was really interesting and had an apothecary, library, contemporary art museum with artwork by Miro, one of Chopin's pianos and some sheet music, and little gardens with amazing views of the mountains, village and ocean in each cell. After hanging around in Valldemossa, fearing we were going to miss the bus and get stuck there for the night, we went back to the hotel and went to sleep because we were basically dead from waking up so early and staying out on Tuesday for St. Patty's.

Waking up early on Friday, we got some breakfast (some German bread- the same kind that the German exchange students ate on the Grand Canyon trip, Al!!...) yogurt, apricot jam and fruit...got on the bus to go to Palma, got some coffee, and went to Porto Cristo for the Las Cuevas del Drach (The Dragon Caves). They were an hour and a half away and were probably one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in my entire life. During the end of the tour, we watched a classical music concert in an ampitheatre in the cave by boats rowing through one of the largest underground lakes in the world- Lake Martel. There were three boats lit up on the sides...one had an organ, I believe, violins and other instruments on it, the other two followed the main one. They played two songs and then we got a chance to go on the boats through the caves across to the other side, where we walked a little bit further towards the exit. It was absolutely outrageous and completely worth the ten euro entrance fee. The book about them I bought after going through the tour gives a lot of information about them. They were " formed in tertiary lands miocenic limestone faults. The filtration of water bearing lime carbonates has created incredible wonders: thousands of stalacites and stalagmites, hundreds of columns, enormous calcerous massifs, creating a subterranean landscape unique to the world, where human fantasy vanishes in ecstasy..." They were first fully explored in 1896 by Edward Alfred Martel...he discovered a main part of them...however, "The first written news we have about the existence of these caves is probably a declaration of 1338 from the island Govenor, Roger de Rovenach, to the Mayor of Manacor, asking him not to impede Bernat Gatell, who, together with a group of men, wanted to explore the caverns..." Also, "During the excavations in 1951, a large amount of Talaiotic, Punic, Roman, Arab and Almoravid ceramics were found in this settlement (a prehistoric settlement not far from the outside of the entrance) which proves the knowledge and use of these caverna approx. 3,000 yrs ago...Also, in 1878, inside the cavern, was found a small Arab vase (11th century?) and...a roman chandelier." Basically, the caves are extremely intruiging and I felt like I was in a Fraggle Rock episode the entire time I was there. My only qualm (could there really be any?) was the lack of a lightshow (besides the caves being dark except for the nights on the boat during the concert, and after the music faded, the cavern of the lake lit up gradually). I was expecting a crazy, trippy lightshow advertised in the other caves in Porto Cristo that we didn't have time to visit. That REALLY would have been like Fraggle Rock. I half expected Red or Mokey to jump out from one of the rocks, haha.

After the caves, we went back to Palma, got some dinner at the Mercadona (more bocadillos, taking advantage of the pan integral), ice cream and coffee, and went back to our neighborhood near the hotel. We went to some German Cuban bar, told them we were Canadian for some reason, and got some drinks. I tried my first mai tai, it was delicious! Annie had her first mojito, which was also "genuine," as the promoter outside told us they use "real" alcohol...as opposed to fake...haha. After getting a drink and trying the typical Mallorcan herbal anise alcohol on the house, we went back to the hotel and woke up at 4:30 for our flight back home.

I bought an ensaimada in the airport for my family, and coming home, I was suprised to hear from my sisters that it is my madre's birthday today! How perfect! I gave it to her and she told me that when she went to Mallorca she didn't even try an ensaimada!! She was really happy, which made me feel really good since she's been going through a lot of stress lately about my sister's health situation. I tried to sleep a little bit but only could for about a half hour and skyped with a tipsy Allie for over an hour, hahah, which was very comforting.

Now some pictures...