Catching up and Las Fallas

Before I begin this post let me address the obvious lack of posts coming out of my blog. I understand the amount of post has been, to say the least, below average. I didn't realize how tough it would be to step back and keep track of my stay here.

The month of March flew by and I hardly notice it. It started out with an awesome trip to Burgos, Logroño, San Sebastián, and Bilbao. I traveled with 4 friends and we ate some amazing food at the tapas bars, drank some great wine and beer, saw some cool shit like the Guggenheim, and generally froze our asses off.

Throughout March I have been finding my groove in Madrid. The initial shock and awe has completely worn off. Plus I have found my favorite parts of the city. Malasaña is my top spot for going out at night for sure. The bars all have their own unique swagger, but they play the best music, are priced well for the city, and Malasaña is where a ton of young Madrileños go at night. Also having late night pizza places of doner kebabs doesn't hurt its rankings in my book.

Now that your caught up a little bit on the average stuff its time to talk about an awesome fucking experience:  Las Fallas in Valencia. Las Fallas is a fire festival. Each barrio designs and builds a ninot that are displayed in the streets during Las Fallas. Each night of the festival fire works are set off and people are out partying until the next morning. The last night consists of all of the giant ninots being set a blaze and burning in the street. I wasn't there for this night (average I know)

I left for Valencia saturday at 9 am. My bus was full of typical Spanish jovenes. Loud and Obnoxious. The yelled and sang the entire way there. I was running on just about 4 hours of sleep. Needless to say I was fucking pissed at these kids for ruining what was supposed to be optimal siesta time.

After arriving around 1 my fellow USACers on the trip and I went straight to the beach. Actually straight to the Super Market for alcohol and snacks which was on the way to the beach. Sitting on the sand for the first time this year was great, the fact that it was the Mediterranean Sea made it better, and being drunk really put it over the top.

Afterwards we ate some dank paella, and then the fun started to begin.

We Botellóned in the center of the city along with everyone else. The atmosphere was like none other. Ever where you look there are groups of people getting fucked up in public just like you. I have never seen so much drinking in the streets. To describe easily to my South Carolina people: Imagine you took St. Patrick's day in Five Points, mixed it up with the State Fair (without the gang shootings),  add the fire works from the 4th of July, and put that crazy mess into a real city. For everyone else read that as a lot of drinking, live music, bars, fried food, and people all in one place.

A highlight for me was setting off my first fire work, a roman candle, during the festival. In my drunken stupor I felt like Harry Potter casting spells from a wand with the classic Gruber shit eating grin plastered on my face.

Our bus left Valencia at 6 am sunday. At this point sleep was on everyone's agenda except for the aforementioned spanish youth who continued to talk the entire ride home. That afternoon I passes out, then woke for San Patricio's at night.

Until next the next post, keep on having average times out there everyone.
Gruber