Farsighted Fly Girl

The year of 2016 was unrelenting on so many levels. It seems like unexpected scenarios and challenging situations just kept piling up until everyone was numb by the year's end. I felt torn for most of the year. I was heartbroken about the glaring racism, injustice and brutality that kept sprouting up and I fought to keep my spirits and expectations positive. It wasn't easy. On the other hand, I received more invitations to travel than ever before--I took 15 trips in all, exploring 9 countries, three continents and five states. I loved it and appreciated the opportunities but an undercurrent of sadness clung to me. How could I be happy and wander around glorious beaches and mountains and deserts when so many people, especially my people, were suffering? Through a process of  discussion, analysis, meditation and observation, I learned that traveling with intention, and being present instead of caught up in taking photos, notes and posting to social media, revealed the import...

Spain is noted for quirky traditions and festivals but Valencia's Las  Fallas Festival probably ranks up there in terms of overall quirk. During Fallas every March, the city's streets are filled with firecrackers, gunpowder and towering monuments called ninots. The celebration welcomes spring and honors St. Joseph's feast day on March 19 with a daily fireworks show, locals dressed in traditional Valenican costumes and setting the handcrafted art of the ninots  ablaze all at once, on March 19. Ninots are created by neighborhood teams who spend months and sometimes the entire year, designing  the monuments from papier mache, wood, plaster and cardboard. They are usually satirical or fanciful figures and out of the 350 odd ninots  created, one, the ninot indultat  (pardoned figure) is spared the fire by popular vote.  The saved monuments are displayed in the Fallas Museum  and walking through its halls is like wandering around an animated wonderland...

Valencia is the third largest city in Spain and known for it's pretty palm-tree lined streets and mix of old world and modern architecture. But I was most excited about Valencia's other claim to fame as the birthplace of paella. If you're like me, you've enjoyed countless pans of paella and eagerly order it whenever you see it on a menu. Well, I took two cooking classes in Valencia (I'll explore the details in later posts) and what I quickly discovered is that what passes for paella in the U.S. is rarely the real thing. There are so many details that are needed to create authentic paella but the most significant is an open fire of orange wood. That's right, paella is a rural tradition and it is cooked in front of  baraccas  or small country houses. I visited the small farm and restaurant of   Barraca Toni Montoliu . I picked the vegetables that you see Toni cooking over the orange wood in the video. The flavor that the open fire and orange wood gives to paell...

Valencia is a very pretty Spanish city filled with palm trees, marble streets and a startling mix of medieval and modern architecture. I found the city's overall atmosphere to be charming and festive although a lot of the latter characteristic had to do with the upcoming Las Fallas festival.  The fest dates back to the Middle Ages and welcomes spring with fireworks, huge handcrafted monuments that are torched at the end of the fest and locals flaunting traditional Valencian dress. These ladies were roaming through the crowds as we prepared to watch the fireworks display, called the mascleta. I loved seeing the intricacy of their costumes and their  casual attitude about wearing medieval finery in the middle of gobs of gawking people. I will be sharing several posts about Las Fallas but this is my fave pic by far.

I love Spanish culture and especially the lovely coastal cities that wrap around the Mediterranean so I'm thrilled to be headed to Valencia , Spain. As the third largest city in Spain, Valencia is filled with ancient structures, avant guarde architecture and lots of culture. I'll be viewing the start of the annual Fallas Festival , which features bonfires, fireworks and huge art pieces that will be set afire at the end of the fest. And since the hearty dish of paella was invented in Spain, I'll be attending a paella cooking class and learning about the city's  many cooking traditions. Look out for posts, pix and videos on the trendy restaurant scene, beaches and museums next week!