It’s no secret that Spain is a pretty party-happy place to be in. From traditional festivals to nights at the discoteca that last until 7 a.m., there are plenty of opportunities to get your fiesta on. And lately, I’ve been indulging quite a bit. It’s only a cultural education, after all!
Traditional Valencian outfits. I’m the tallest here, but I’m actually really short – the taller girls must’ve only been around 13.
This past weekend I was in Valencia to visit Las Fallas. I’ll have a more detailed account later, after I’ve had a chance to sort through my photos (and my brain feels like working again). But I did want to share the most important element of the trip: I did it in 24 hours, with zero sleep.
I left my apartment at 5:45 a.m., and didn’t get back until 8:30 the following morning. In that time, I toured Valencia, saw the sights, and got to join in Las Fallas. Basically, it was 20 hours of pura fiesta.
Around 3:30 a.m, the party really started getting good!
My feet had swollen to approximately two thousand times their regular size by the time my bus finally rolled back in to Barcelona. Of course, when I got to my apartment I collapsed into bed and slept for the entire day. That meant Monday, I was feeling pretty great after my 20-hour sleep marathon.
So I decided it was time to start Operación Bikini, as the Spanish so charmingly call it, in preparation for my next big Spanish party trip. Wound up on festival excitement and thoughts of swimsuit shopping, I rather overdid it and am now in agony. Stairs are still almost impossible, and I’ve been making all kinds of strange groaning noises every time I stand up. I’m sure my roommates think I’m doing something really bizarre.
Anyway, it’s been a quiet week of recovery for me. It turns out that even this little party monster has had enough fiesta after 24 consecutive hours.
Besos!
-Jess
Cultural education indeed 🙂 Jejejeje….
Por supuesto! 😀
Wow! I don’t think I’ve ever been up for 24 hours straight! I feel so old, but last Friday I passed out around 9 PM! And slept til about 11 AM the next morning (I mostly sleep only 5-6 hours at most so I’m a perpetual zombie) Can’t wait to see your pictures. I would highly recommend you just take it easy this weekend. 🙂
Haha I think my plans to take it easy this weekend are already scuppered…:)
I heard that in Spain if you turn up to a club before 3am it will be dead so there’s no point. Whereas here in New Zealand, the busiest time for clubs is between 12 and 2am!!! Such a stark contrast! But I think that’s because New Zealanders are too quick to get drunk, binge-culture is big here. Not my cup of tea. How much do Spaniards drink Jess??
Yeah, it’s the same difference between California and Spain! 3 a.m. might be a little late based on my experiences unless you want to pay extra. I usually end up going to a club at 2 and it’s busiest from 2-4, I’d say.
Spaniards do drink a lot. It’s different from what I’ve seen at home and what you describe, with lots of fast drinking early on. They tend to drink more slowly and consistently, rather than trying to get drunk quickly. People definitely get drunk, but it doesn’t usually get to sloppy levels. Otherwise, how would they stay out all night? 🙂
You went to Las Fallas! I’m so jealous! I’ve never been able to go but I went to Las Hogueras in Alicante 2 years ago–insanity. It was so funny to leave the discoteca and see people having breakfast.
Oh I heard Las Hogueras is a ton of fun! They celebrate the same holiday in Barcelona, but I’m not sure if celebrations are any different.
Haha and the discoteca thing happened to me this morning, funnily enough. It is funny seeing people eating breakfast, especially if it’s people who actually got up to have breakfast out (not who are still drunk and want a snack).
Alicante has better things than Valencia, but Las Fallas is much better than Las Hogueras de san Juan….imcomparable.
I’ve never been to Alicante, but Las Fallas is incredible!