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!

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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.  

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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