Out and about in Valencia, March 20
This was to be a quiet day, resting from the festivities the night before. Last night’s walk back from the center of the city was noisy. Fireworks are only allowed in Valencia during Fallas. Since the children are given boxes, yes, boxes of firecrackers, there is a rush to get them all exploded before midnight. The constant explosions lasted far past midnight, but I suspect the tickets for setting off fireworks would not start until after daylight. The local police were too busy directing crowds around the cleanup, and generally helping lost tourists.
This is not a city for former soldiers during Fallas. It sounds as if you are in a major war zone.
The next day, there was an appeal from some citizens on social media for the city to put in some restrictions. Many of the fireworks sold cause huge booms, many even as large as the ones used during the Mascetá, a professional show. It is hard on the many pets, both dogs and cats. David and Patrick have friends who regularly plan to be gone for the week because they have older dogs who react badly to the noises. Patrick says that if the fireworks are too loud in the park when he walks their two dogs, they will quickly do their business and head back for the apartment. The older of the two, Agatha Christie, frequently raises her head when called for the last walk, listens, and goes back to sleep. “The lady is not in need of a walk. Take that young thing and please tell the world to be quiet.”
We did join some friends for lunch at a Spanish hamburger restaurant. They serve ‘smash burgers” which I had heard of but never eaten. They were good and they have also adopted what we call French fries. Funny to see them served in Spain!
After lunch, we walked to the St. Nicolas Church, another old but active parish church near David and Patrick’s apartment. It is called Valencia’s Sistine Chapel because of the incredibly complex and beautiful frescos on the ceiling of the church. There was not enough light to get pictures, but here is a link to the church. Unfortunately, they were cleaning for Holy Week and the cleaning fluid aggravated my asthma. We walked home wondering at the rapid city clean up. You would never have known there were millions of people partying until all hours last night. The city was clean.
