Valencia: Excellent oranges and other things

I ate some oranges in Valencia, and they were delicious: sweet and juicy.

What else can I say about Valencia?

I’ll start by sharing my photo album, which captures all the highlights. Beyond that, here are a few things that stand out for me.

Las Fallas

I had no idea Las Fallas would be going on while I was in Valencia. In fact, I’d never read about Las Fallas until I was on the plane from Casablanca. Rick Steves’ Spain guidebook doesn’t cover Valencia at all, so I bought the Kindle version of Insight Guides Valencia and was reading it on the plane. And I came across this:

The big fiesta of the year in Valencia is Las Fallas, from 12 to 19 March. It’s very noisy but also very spectacular, and if you want to know valencia you have to see it at least once.… The first week of March, in the lead-up to Las Fallas, there are great processions of people in traditional costume and a mascletà — a daylight firework display — the the Plaza del Ayuntamiento every day at 2pm.

As I already wrote, I arrived at my B&B in Valencia in the middle of a parade. But that was just a small bit of the activities I encountered during my three days there. The festival itself didn’t kick off while I was there, but the lead-up was quite remarkable.

The fallas are basically wooden sculptures that are being erected throughout the city. Every neighborhood has a commission responsible for the fundraising and organizing necessary to participate. There are about 700 of them. They must complete construction of their fallas by March 15th, and then, on March 19th, all of them are burned in a brilliant display. Up at the top of the page is one of the neighborhood falls I came across as I was exploring the city.

There is one falla each year that is built in the city’s main square, Plaza de Ayuntamiento. It is the biggest and the last one set ablaze. I watched it being assembled, although it wasn’t quite complete before I left.

Here’s a better view of the top of the falla

Mascletà

The daily 2pm fireworks aren’t about color or light. They are about noise.

Each day, from the balcony of the City Hall, the Fallera Major (queen of Las Fallas) announces, “Mr. (or Ms.) Pyrotechnic, the mascletà may begin.” And then a five-minute barrage of explosions that can be heard all over the city is unleashed.

This is the one I attended. Be sure to turn up the volume, and if you don’t want to watch the entire five minutes, skip ahead to the end so you can hear the loudest part.

Costumes

Throughout my visit, I encountered women and girls, as well as some men and boys, in costume. The women also have their hair done up in a traditional way that I understand take hours and requires sleeping very carefully so it doesn’t come completely undone.

I’m sorry I didn’t get to stick around for the main event. Interestingly, all the other tourists I met said that they had no idea this was going on. It just happened to coincide with their travel plans, same as for me.

Museums

There were two museums I visited that I enjoyed.

Museo Nacional de Cerámica y de las Artes Suntuarias González Martí

Although there is other art at this museum besides ceramics (“sumptuary arts” I think is the same as “decorative arts”), I was most interested in the ceramics collection. It includes works going back to ancient times and right up to contemporary pieces.

Lots more pics from the collection are in my photo albums.

Centre del Carme Cultura Contemporánea

The building this museum inhabits is a convent and cloister from the 13th century. The collection is contemporary, with pretty much everything I saw dating from the 21st century.

This collection really made me think. I wasn’t sure what to think, but it definitely made me think.

Again, more photos in my album, including a temporary exhibition of the work of Jose Santaeulalia, who has won eight first-place prizes for his fallas, and who is the creator of this year’s main falla in Plaza de Ayuntamiento.

Valencia Cathedral

While it’s not the most extraordinary religious building I’ve seen, Valencia Cathedral is beautiful. And it has one primary claim to fame: it houses the Holy Chalice. At least some people genuinely believe it is the chalice that Jesus drank from at the Last Supper. And forensic evidence backs up the age and origin of the object, so it is definitely possible.

Only the cup itself (the red agate vessel) is authentic (if it is); the base, stems, and handles are later additions. Research suggests the cup dates from between the 2nd century BCE and the first century CE, and was probably made in Egypt or the Levant.

City of Arts and Sciences

I was impressed by this extraordinary collection of buildings created between the 1990s and 2000s. The opera house, the science museum, and a number of other pavilions make up the complex.

Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía (the opera house)

Other stuff

I visited the Silk Exchange (La Lonja de la Seda). This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. But it didn’t especially impress me. I get why it’s an important bit of world heritage for the city of Valencia, but it’s not like it’s a wow experience to see it.

The waterfront of Valencia, and the beach, also failed to impress. It’s just a beach. And I’ve seen a lot of prettier Mediterranean beaches in other countries.

One last thing related to Valencia oranges. It costs farmers 32 cents per kilogram to grow them, and the can currently sell them for just 22 cents per kilogram. So there’s a real possibility that the sustainability of this crop is going to continue to diminish to where they are no longer around.

But they’ll never stop burning their fallas!