Andréa's mom woke us up around 7h00 this morning. The six of us dismounted a train by 9h30. We arrived in Valencia, Spain for the official Fallas festival. Joelle's aunt and uncle greeted us at the train station and we accidentally met more Spanish family members outside of the gare. The hoard of us, about 16, partook in the churros or beignets with chocolate tradition for breakfast. I'm not a big fan of chocolate of course but I love rituals.
We spent the next EIGHT hours walking around Valencia looking at all of the monuments and getting the history from Joelle's aunt. We spent maybe a few minutes at each sculpture, long enough to take photos, before moving to the next one. They were more intricate here and greater in size than they had been in Benicarlo. More artistic--and in a way, more grotesque even.
There were hundreds of sculptures and by the 20th one, I had had ENOUGH!!! When we were out in the sun, it was boiling hot. When we were in the shade, it was freezing cold. I think it was this constant temperature flip-flop that got me sick. My body didn't know what it was dealing with. I was constantly sneezing and coughing so I kept my distance from everyone else. I thought it was the pollen at first but my symptoms weren't those of allergies. I had a fever, body aches, chills, extreme fatigue--all with sudden onset. Classic flu characteristics. I didn't say anything but I felt like absolute shit. Andréa ended up getting sick too, and it seems much worse than I did, or maybe he's just a big baby. But as soon as I found out, I suddenly 'forgot' I was ill and made sure to take care of him. He and I split up from the rest of the family and waited at the restaurant to give our bodies a break from all of the walking. The rest of the relatives had already taken off because they were tired of all of the walking and constant stopping and waiting. I wish I was with them!!! By the time the rest of the family arrived at the restaurant, I was no longer hungry. I really have no appetite when I'm sick but I didn't want anyone to ask why I wasn't eating so I got something anyway. I ordered hake, whatever the heck that is. It's a fish. That's all I know...
Andréa had been fighting with his mom all afternoon. He was sick and tired, literally, and I guess she didn't believe him. By the early evening Joelle finally got the drift that everyone was tired so we started making our way to the train station. This is when the parade started. And this is what it consisted of...Hundreds of girls modeling the same dress with different patterns. You can only watch the same shit for so long...Let me tell you...Yes, the dresses were beautiful but the same dress style only stays interesting for, about...a block.
We spent the next EIGHT hours walking around Valencia looking at all of the monuments and getting the history from Joelle's aunt. We spent maybe a few minutes at each sculpture, long enough to take photos, before moving to the next one. They were more intricate here and greater in size than they had been in Benicarlo. More artistic--and in a way, more grotesque even.
There were hundreds of sculptures and by the 20th one, I had had ENOUGH!!! When we were out in the sun, it was boiling hot. When we were in the shade, it was freezing cold. I think it was this constant temperature flip-flop that got me sick. My body didn't know what it was dealing with. I was constantly sneezing and coughing so I kept my distance from everyone else. I thought it was the pollen at first but my symptoms weren't those of allergies. I had a fever, body aches, chills, extreme fatigue--all with sudden onset. Classic flu characteristics. I didn't say anything but I felt like absolute shit. Andréa ended up getting sick too, and it seems much worse than I did, or maybe he's just a big baby. But as soon as I found out, I suddenly 'forgot' I was ill and made sure to take care of him. He and I split up from the rest of the family and waited at the restaurant to give our bodies a break from all of the walking. The rest of the relatives had already taken off because they were tired of all of the walking and constant stopping and waiting. I wish I was with them!!! By the time the rest of the family arrived at the restaurant, I was no longer hungry. I really have no appetite when I'm sick but I didn't want anyone to ask why I wasn't eating so I got something anyway. I ordered hake, whatever the heck that is. It's a fish. That's all I know...
Andréa had been fighting with his mom all afternoon. He was sick and tired, literally, and I guess she didn't believe him. By the early evening Joelle finally got the drift that everyone was tired so we started making our way to the train station. This is when the parade started. And this is what it consisted of...Hundreds of girls modeling the same dress with different patterns. You can only watch the same shit for so long...Let me tell you...Yes, the dresses were beautiful but the same dress style only stays interesting for, about...a block.
After the fourth group walked past us, I was getting red in the ears. I kept on saying that if Joelle, her aunt, and uncle stopped ONE more time that I would just walk off. And I did!!! They led the group down the middle of a market to basically look at nothing while I found a clear sidewalk and got through while no one followed. They ended up stopping to look for me in the ocean of hundreds of people so I ended up waiting for 10 minutes. AHH!!! Oblivious people kill me...They really do. I was done after this. Andréa and I left them to get off on Fallas and boarded the train without them. We were sick and tired of being sick and tired.
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