(upbeat music)
- Hello everyone, welcome to a new travel vlog.
This week, I'm in my favorite city in the world, Valencia.
Can you see the buildings behind me?
No, it's too sunny.
I'm our here on a trip for Fallas which is like
a festival that happens every year.
They build all these giant statues, and then
there's also fireworks and things,
and then they also burn the statues, and so,
there's like, a lot going on.
I've vlogged Fallas once before, I think,
and I did a terrible job of explaining it then, too.
Yeah, I'll leave a link down below in the description
where you can read more about it, and maybe I will
actually google it and read something out to you
later to properly explain it.
But basically, it's a like a fiesta
that happens every year.
Anyway, because I work remote,
I have come out here a little bit early.
I'm spending pretty much all week here, I think.
Nearly a week.
It's Friday right now,
and tomorrow Mark is flying out to join me,
and tonight Fem and Owen are flying out to join me,
which is really exciting cause
I haven't hung out with them for a while, it feels like.
Not together anyway.
I saw Fem not too long ago in London.
Anyways it's Fridays so it's a work day,
but I've just come to the skate park
for my lunch break.
Cause that's not something that
I've really be able to do in London,
and I was skating a lot, well attempting to, in New Zealand.
And, yeah, I want to pick that back up again.
So, just had a little roll around here,
and now I'm going to go back
to the Airbnb and keep working.
(upbeat music)
Back home.
Well, home for the week anyway.
Why don't I show you around this Airbnb?
While I catch my breath because it's on the fourth floor.
There is an elevator,
but I went in it last night when I arrived here,
and it barely fit my suitcase and me,
and spaces that small.
Especially in elevators,
cause I'm already kind of afraid of them.
Not a good idea, so I'm doing the walking thing.
Anyway, this is the Airbnb.
This is my living room.
Whenever I'm traveling with the intention to work remote,
I always make sure in the pictures
it looks like there's going to be
a good workspace for me,
so yes, that is what this table is.
And also, that there's fast wifi.
Like, I try and check if some of
the comments mention that
or if they particularly call it out
because it's kind of vital.
Anyway, yeah, table, sofa there.
Why don't I turn the camera around,
so I stop trying to be in it too?
Not everything is about you, Charli,
So yeah, living room,
and here we have a little kitchen.
I've just been and bought my absolute favorite crisps
that I always buy when I'm in Spain
because for some reason, can't get them anywhere else.
Not that I've seen anyway.
And definitely not in England.
There is a little bathroom and one bedroom.
Excuse the mess.
And then over here there is another bedroom.
The building itself is super old,
but the flat has been done up to be quite nice. (banging)
Oh, that is a thing that you have
to get used to if you're in Valencia for Fallas.
Just random explosions going off all the time.
Anyway, what I was saying is,
I like the way that they've kept
this molding on the roof, and just painted it.
It looks quite lovely.
Now, let me show you where that noise is coming from.
Out here,
it's right outside our window
is a Fallas, is a Falla,
I think is the singular form of it.
So this is a, like, statue, caricatures
that the community has built,
and ooh, can you see down there?
I wonder if I can zoom in on them.
There are some girls in the traditional Fallas costumes,
well outfits, I guess.
And they look so sweet!
So every little community will have one of these,
and if I come to this map here in the area,
there is like, they're all over the place, right.
If I had known, I probably wouldn't have booked this Airbnb
because it's like, I think
this is our one here, number 21.
But yeah, it is right outside the window,
and they have parties in this tent
that you can just see the side of down here.
It stretches quite a way back down the street.
But they have parties in there going until
like, I don't know, I think I feel asleep at like three a.m.
I don't remember it stopping.
But, yes, it's very loud.
However, we're going to have an awesome view
for the burning of this statue on Monday night,
so that's going to be great.
Yes, I'm a little sleep deprived,
but, like, if you come to a city
that is not your own,
and you want to experience someone else's culture,
you've gotta experience everything
that goes along with that,
so I think I'm going to have to get on
more of a Spanish sleep schedule
for this week to get enough sleep.
The schedule of some of the fireworks
and things are happening at one a.m. tonight actually
well, early tomorrow morning, I suppose.
There's gonna be a fireworks display.
So yeah, gonna need to get some coffee, I think,
and potentially have a siesta
because when in Spain.
(firecracker)
But overall, I'm just so excited to be here.
I haven't been to Fallas.
Okay so I went in, I think my very first time
I ever came to Spain, it was around that time.
So I went then, and then I've been
only once more, I think,
and it was when I first moved to London.
So it's been about three years
since I last went, and I'm really excited
to experience it again,
and also to show Fem and Owen
because it's just unlike anything
that I'd ever seen or heard of before.
The way the whole city embraces it and celebrates it.
Let me see if I can find like,
a better description of what exactly this thing is.
Wikipedia says it is a traditional celebration
held in commemoration of Saint Joseph.
The Fallas, the name of the festival,
refers to the monuments, which,
like I said that's why I think
the singular one is called a Falla.
Each neighborhood organizes one,
and there's lots of like, fundraising parties
and dinners and things to pay for them
because these things can be
really really expensive to build.
They're quite intricate.
Which is then just crazy that
they then burn them down but also very cool.
Okay, so apparently, looking back at history,
might have started in the Middle Ages,
when they wanted to dispose of
broken artifacts and pieces of wood,
so they burn them to celebrate the spring equinox.
I don't know how accurate that is,
but yes, basically it's a big fiesta.
Lots of celebration, burning things, fireworks.
Ooh, what you might be able to hear
in the background right now is
something called a mascleta
which is audio fireworks.
It's really cool.
In the timetable they say,
audio fireworks or visual fireworks.
Cause a mascleta is all about the sound
and like a choreographed audio experience, I suppose.
Then the regular fireworks
as you and I probably know them are the visual fireworks.
Which is about, you know, the lights and the pretty colors
when it's nighttime.
Now I kind of wish I'd gone,
but the mascleta's gonna be on for another four days
during this thing so there will be time
for me to experience many I'm sure.
Anyway now that I've caught my breath
I'm going to go down those stairs again
and get myself some iced tea
cause that's something else I like to buy
from Spanish supermarkets.
And then, gotta get on with my work day.
(upbeat music)
It's evening now, I'm on my way to meet Fem and Owen
at the station to walk them back to the Airbnb,
just to help them find it, you know?
It's dark, they're in a foreign country,
there's like firecrackers going off all over the place.
(upbeat music)
Alright it is Saturday, I almost said Friday.
I've got the traditional bandanas on,
I'm not wearing mine correctly.
We're going to the mascleta, which is the audio fireworks
those things I was talking about yesterday.
A lot of people in the square.
Are you excited to see these Fem?
- Yes, very excited.
- Fem is wearing hers properly, there we go.
(fireworks)
(upbeat music)
Today we decided to skip the mascleta,
because we went there and we were too late
to get any spots so it was already really busy.
We're gonna try again tomorrow, to go earlier.
Instead, we got cake.
Well we had lunch, then we got cake.
And then just came and sat on the grass up there.
Now we're just showing these two around the
arts and sciences buildings.
Yeah and doing photoshoots.
Feeling awkward Owen?
(laughing)
(upbeat music)
- [Fem] So, we're currently walking down
this very cold street.
- [Charli] Thank you tour guide.
- Lots of fun.
(upbeat music)
(fireworks)
- Alright it's Monday and we're here at the mascleta,
we came about two hours early right Fem?
- Yeah.
- We've been waiting here for a while.
I think it's going to be worth it
because we have a pretty good view.
(fireworks)
(cheering)
(upbeat music)
(fireworks)
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(fireworks)
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So we went to see that big one with the leopard in front
that was here the other day.
And we made it just in time for some fireworks behind
the one outside our window.
And now they're just starting it with fuel.
So I think they are going to light it soon.
(upbeat music)
This is hilarious, firetruck driving past the fire.
Good morning, it is Wednesday.
I am still in Valencia in this Airbnb.
But everybody else has gone home now.
Mark flew home a day early because he couldn't take anymore
days off work.
And, yeah, like I said I think at the start
we booked this Airbnb a long time ago.
So yeah, I'm just making use of it.
Yesterday the city was kind of pecking out
and getting back to normal.
You might be able to hear some rubbish trucks outside.
You know, there's still a lot of things to clear up.
But it is quite unreal how quickly the city can go back
to, you know, just being a regular city
with people going about their regular days
after having these giant fires burning in the street
just 24 hours ago.
Today I am just working.
Currently watching back the meeting that they had on Monday,
because I was on vacation so I didn't join it.
The Airbnb host is very kindly letting me check out
at about 5 p.m. instead of the 11 a.m.
that's on the itinerary.
So that is really kind.
Because my flight is not until late this evening.
So, yeah, at 5 o'clock I'll head to the airport
and hang around there until the flight leaves.
(upbeat music)