Outside my window at 2 AM

In the past week I’ve written thousands of words about both the past and the present of Las Fallas, Valencia’s signature celebration.  As ridiculous as it seems not to dedicate a lengthy and detailed post to this virtually inexhaustible subject (or inextinguishable?) event, I just can’t do it.

Here’s what I’m offering instead: the chance to read some of the articles I’ve written for other sites - Expatica and Eat In Valencia; and a series of vignettes about these incendiary celebrations as they unfold around us.

I’m not widely known for brevity but I’m going to give it a try; maybe I can even pull it off.  There’s just too much to say and too little time so I’ll have to keep it short.

40 Winks

That’s about all the sleep that I was able to get last night.  The predictions of my neighbours having come true - there was a pseudo rock band cranking out what to my mind was less than perfectly executed music until 5 AM.   (I love the way people ignore the need for sleep in Spain.) To be honest, I didn’t hear them after I finally got to sleep at about 3:30, but my Katie and Anne (my wife and mother-in-law) confirm that they did continue.

When I got home at 1 AM from helping a friend sort out an issue with her apartment, everyone was more or less asleep and I gratefully devoured the plate of pasta that had been so considerately left out for me.  I was just finishing when the fireworks started.  And you know what?  I really like fireworks. It seems kind of childish in a way, but I did enjoy them and I’m glad I was still up to see them.  More on those in the next vignette.