A charming Seville tradition

I must look suspicious as I walk around, glancing intently at doors, looking at signs I can't read, stopping to look at my phone, circling again. It's hard to know if I should knock, press the buzzer, if the door is open and I should just let myself in or if it was open, the door would be open. I check my watch again, it's definitely the right time. I give up and head to the next one. I try 4 different locations that day and have success only at one.

There, thankfully, the door is wide open and there is a clear sign above it not requiring any of my non-existent Spanish skills to translate. But that’s all the help I get. I enter a very unassuming courtyard and have no idea where to go next.

Terrified of wandering where I shouldn’t be, I slowly look around looking for clues. At the back of this courtyard is a dark alcove which, eliminating all other options, I slowly walk towards, eventually spying a dumb waiter. I exhale, happy to finally be in the right spot.

Again, thoughtfully, I have been provided with English notices. I scroll through the options, check the Spanish equivalent, make up my mind and ring the buzzer. A voice floats to me from beyond the wall, saying something in Spanish that I can't understand. But I don’t need to really. With my awful Spanish pronunciation, I ask for what I've come for and wait. There is a rustling from the other side and slowly the dumb waiter turns to reveal the packages. I place the payment in the dumb waiter and it turns again.

A huge smile plays on my lips. Success! For some reason I feel exhilarated.

To be honest, I've never felt like that buying cinnamon and chocolate shortbread biscuits before. But these biscuits are hand-made by the convents cloistered nuns. Between that and the whole honest and simple transaction, it makes them that little bit more special. It's such a charming tradition in Seville, that, if you know where to look and are there are the right time, you might be lucky enough to experience it for yourself. But I can help you there.

The best way to find the Real Monasterio De Santa Ines on Google is to locate Calle Doña María Coronel, 16, 41003 Sevilla, Spain, the entrance will be directly across the road.

Apparently there are other are convents where the nuns sell cakes, pastries biscuits etc, to support their living, but this convent was the only one I had any luck with. The opening hours of the Convent De Santa Ines are 9am-1pm and 4pm-6.30pm except Sundays and public holidays. Do stop by if you are ever in Seville.

What charming traditions have you come across?

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My Favourite Fallas of 2015 (Part 2 - The Children's Fallas)

The Children's Fallas (Falla Infantil)

Each Fallas has an accompanying children's fallas. I really think that these were as impressive as the larger ones because of the sheer number of figurines and level of detail. The other interesting thing about these is that they highlight just how family friendly this festival is. Families with children of all ages were involved. They were in the parades and were out and about with the adults late into the night.

Kids took special pleasure in buying and setting off firecrackers - some of the more evil cheeky ones throwing them just near enough to scare the living daylights out of passers-by without actually hurting them.

This one time, when a particularly loud one was set off, I heard a high-pitched scream behind me. I turned around only to see a grown man gradually turn all kinds of pink with embarrassment. Even stuffing both hands in my mouth was hopeless in suppressing my laughter. Poor guy!

My favourite - The Onomatopoeia Fallas

This is one that I didn't need to understand Spanish to appreciate. Plus I had a few giggles at some of the sounds they had.

Apparently girls go 'Fiu' and guys go 'Proooufh'

Some of the other Children's Fallas
Don't forget you can click on any of the photos to enlarge them!

I later saw them burn this one...

I really liked this one too for some reason

A children's book writer/illustrator perhaps?

In case you missed it, check out the Special Fallas. And don't forget to come back soon for the remaining Large Fallas and Crema-the burning of the Fallas!

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My Favourite Fallas of 2015 (Part 1 - The Special Fallas)

I spent about a week in Valencia. I wanted to be there early enough to get around to see all the Falles and have some time after the festival ended to see what Valencia was like without the festive atmosphere. I'll get into what Valencia was like in a later post, for now, I want to share some of the amazing Fallas that I had the pleasure of gawking at, mouth open, camera in hand.

History
The story goes that the tradition began with carpenters clearing out their scraps of wood at the end of winter on on the eve of the spring equinox and burning them in front of their workshops. This yearly 'spring clean' was moved to coincide with (or actually did coincide with) St Joseph’s day. The pieces of wood morphed into the sculptures seen today. The Falla have a long history of satire although some are just based on a particular theme.

The Special Fallas (Secció Especial)

These are 10 Fallas that are commissioned and are among the largest and most elaborate of the Fallas. And they are LARGE! Towering 4-5 stories high, coming across one of these squeezed into a small square or intersection was mind boggling. Armed with a paper map marking all the special fallas, I wandered around Valencia, spotting a coloured moustache here, towering orange hair there and a large lions head being danced on by a man singing in the rain.

My favourite Special Fallas

Taking pride of place outside the large market hall, this was one of the first few Fallas I saw and easily was one of the more brilliantly colourful ones.

Other Fallas in the category including the winner for 2015

Unfortunately I somehow missed two of the special fallas in my wanderings, oh well, might need to brush up on my map reading skills for next time.

The winner for 2015

See the Queen being pulled in two directions?

Next up will be the Childrens Fallas, other (Large) Fallas, and lets not forget the crema, which is the burning of the Fallas, so be sure to check back soon!

What do you think of the winning Fallas? Would you have voted for it?

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Missing Valencia already!

Im back at work and the week in Valencia already seems like a dream. A whole other life lived in a week. I enjoyed Valencia far more than I expected. Sure the Las Fallas festival had a lot to do with it but there is more to the city than that. After the Fallas were all burned and gone without a trace, the weather turned and still, still the city held something charming about it.

There is so much I want to share with you about my adventures there. The Fallas of course, but also exploring the markets, trying the food, visiting the beach, getting lost in the old Carmen district, seeing people dance on the street and all the kindnesses I was shown by locals. So stay tuned, more posts are coming over the next few days and weeks!

Music and dancing in the streets by the Falleras and their neighbourhood bands. I actually have a video of it somewhere...

There was so much street food on offer. Huge tents were found all over the old town, with all sorts of food from tapas to churros and drinks. The smell from some stalls wafted over everyone making them drool.

So many Falleras in full traditional costume. All ages from babies to grandmothers were included. Just look at the color and detail!

Mmmm Paella...oh yummy. Did you know it originated from here??

Spectaculat street lights - makes Oxford Street during Christmas amatureish doesnt it?

Dont worry, i'll be back with more soon!

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On the hunt for Fallas in Valencia

If you have been following my Twitter feed, you would have seen lots of photos of the Fallas around Valencia. Finding these Fallas dotted through out the city has been my mission recently and will remain so till the end of the festival when they all go up in flames! All Fallas, bar one, will be burnt on the 19th March. Can you believe it? These are works of art, so much detail, so much thought, so much work - all of that to be then burnt to the ground and then the process begins again for the next year. Thats one way to keep the artists and creatives of a city employed! And the fact that they are burnt make them fleeting pieces of art, be there to see them that year before they are gone forever.

The Fallas are not the only part of the Las Fallas festival but i'll leave it there for now. I'll be back with more later :)

Which one of these is your favourite so far?

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