No news is good news is it not? I find that is often the case. Nonetheless, l see this as good a time as any to update you on life in Valencia. These past few months have been a bit strange and off-kilter for sure. The biggest party of the year happened despite the foul weather.
Valencia Spain Life Update: Weather
The strangest thing by far in Valencia has been the weather, I can say without a doubt that this has been the coldest winter that l can remember. It seems climate change is for real. According to the weather people, this kind of weather hasn’t happened in Valencia since 1938!
We have had three weeks of rain, as in all-day rain. The sun finally showed up a few days ago. I can now understand why the river was diverted to make Turia park. I saw pictures of dry riverbeds that had suddenly turned into proper rivers.
Can you just picture how many people were on the street once the sun came out? It was like we had all been locked in prison, and they let us out for that hour of exercise :-). It has also been very cold and windy. Climate change anyone? When London weather is much better than here, you can’t help but wonder.
Fallas In Valencia 2022
Long-time readers might know that Fallas is the biggest celebration that Valencia has on a yearly basis. It takes place the first three weeks of March, with the last week being the loudest and craziest.
Thanks to covid, the 2020 celebration was canceled, and the 2021 festival was downsized and moved to September. It made barely a bleep as most people still stayed away and travel was the farthest thing from everyone’s mind. Well, that certainly changed this year :-).
Everybody and their mother were out and Valencia was very, very crowded. The fact that it was rainy didn’t really deter people. I think they just wanted to continue living life. It is obvious at this point that covid is something we as humans have to get used to. I would say it was about an even split between the masked people and the ones who weren’t.
I can for sure most tourists were unmasked. In the local neighborhoods such as mine, it was business as usual and we were thankful that there were not as many really loud firecrackers as in previous years. I assume like everything else, the prices have gone up. That changed the third and final week.
I had foreseen this and made plans for us to escape to Denia, a city about an hour and a half drive from here. We would escape with the dogs, we even sprung for a sea view boutique hotel with a balcony from which we could chill. Unfortunately, mother nature had other plans in the form of the rain l had mentioned.
Usually, there is a daily mascleta at 2 pm at the city hall plaza. A few dates were canceled either due to the rain or the very strong winds. The video below shows one of the few sunny days that some friends gathered to watch it from above (my first time being that close as l refuse to get there early to get a good spot). Fortified with margaritas, good food, and good friends, l was able to feel the rumbling and ashes.
Considering that it is already loud from our apartment which is 1.2 miles from here, it was ear-splitting. My poor friend whose apartment it was spent the time in the bathroom with her dog who was terrified. Fede stayed home with our dogs by the way.
Denia or bust:
The next day we left for Denia, happy to be away from the noise and craziness. Even though Denia is still in the Valencia province, their Fallas is nowhere near as nuts as the city of Valencia. Well, wouldn’t you know it? It rained like a motha! :-). All-day, and all night with no relief. Identical to Valencia :-).
I think the fact that we were 250 meters from the sea made it even worse…haha! We were stuck in the room with the dogs ( in this case Airbnb might have been a better choice as we usually have the whole place to ourselves).
We couldn’t even enjoy the complimentary breakfast together, they could sense we were close by and howled, so we had to take turns. Since the pandemic ended and we started going out again, the bigger dog has had a terrible time adjusting and howls the minute we leave him alone.
We have slowly been upping the time we go out but it’s slow going. They are both 14 years old now, one is senile and has so many ailments, while the bigger one is almost completely blind and completely needy.
We just let them live out their senior years in peace and l crack up at the notion that this will be me someday… annoying the crap out of people! 😂, and you can bet that l will should l live that long.
We had one day of break where we were able to have lunch with them, and that was it, but even then it rained, and it was cold, cold, cold. Cut to the fourth morning, and we both looked at each other and said screw it!
Better to be miserable at home in our own space noise-wise than to be cooped up in the room, unable to use the balcony even, so we packed up and left, forfeiting the money for the other four nights.
The best decision ever. The owner was nice and said she would try to rerent the room. If she had takers, she would refund some money, but l knew nobody would be going anywhere that weekend.
Needless to say, we saw very little of Denia, a cute little city with lovely restaurants and a quaint old center. A place we would need to revisit after this bitter experience recedes in my mind. Denia is also a UNESCO Creative city of Gastronomy so we would definitely like to come back and sample some of the good food.
The meal we had out at the Thai restaurant stands out as the best I’ve had in Spain so far. Fede mostly drove to pick up food while l stayed indoors with the dogs. We weren’t the only ones stuck, there were two old couples from Germany, a young family with a baby, and two women with a cat.
It was a relief to come back home. Yes, it was loud for about 20 out of 24 hours with fireworks (not just the 2 pm but the rescheduled ones, the neighborhood ones, the kids’, and the “despierta” which is the wake-up one complete with the marching band at anywhere from 7 am-8 am.
The whole thing ended on Saturday night with the crema where everything was burned to crisps and life finally went back to normal. The lesson learned? Go far, far away with the dogs.
Near Future Travel Plans
At this point in time, l can’t really think of any places that l care to visit. It just seems like a bother. I’m not sure of the reason why, but the thought of getting on a flight just doesn’t excite me right now.
I think train travel might continue to be it for a bit. I would rather go back to places l enjoy than go off to some far-flung place just for the heck of it… so if we do fly, the U.K, France, and close-by countries might be it, but more than likely we will stick to travel within Spain.
My thoughts are perhaps a return visit to Burgos, a city we both really enjoyed, Barcelona (we’re split on that. He doesn’t like it and l do so l need to convince him to give it another chance. I only liked it on my second visit) and Zaragosa or Segovia with Madrid being our base.
l have a confession to make though. I am getting tired of the same old “castle, old center, and cathedral”. They are all starting to look and sound alike 🙂 ). I am so jaded, it’s going to take a lot to impress me.
The northern part of Spain would be awesome and quite different, but planning travel there is not fun as the train connections are crap. There is news of a new route between Valencia and Galicia l think that would shorten the trip which is about eight and a half hours right now with a lot of changes. Not sure if it will happen, but that would be nice.
Until then, we’ll keep nesting. It feels great right now, so we’re in no rush. What about you? Are you nesting also, or traipsing all over the world?
Hi, love your comment, same castle, old centre and cathedral! We’re travelling around Spain and are feeling a bit like that but also the weather has not helped one little bit. You live in one of the best places so nesting is probably a good thing. We live in London so I know we’re in another great place! Take care.
No, the weather certainly sucks balls! To some extent, l bet it feels like you’re in London, but you have had better weather than us lately. Mind you, I would still take London in a heartbeat, even with the rain…haha! I agree with you that we are certainly in a great place, nesting does not feel like it’s a crusher, but l wouldn’t mind something different (as long as l don’t have to do crazy stuff like hiking!!! 😂🤣.
Kem, I feel your pain. Valencia and South Florida seem to have similar predictable weather patterns this time of year – sunshine, all day, every day! Life gets callywompus when that doesn’t happen.
We were looking forward to a short getaway with friends back in March to swim with Manatees and visit a nearby Balloon Festival. Neither happened because of weather! The manatees prefer the warmer ocean (they are not cooling down as usual) and are not making their typical migration, and strong winds kept the balloons from flying. I can’t blame that one on climate change, just poor planning. Who plans a balloon festival in March in Florida? We hung out in the hotel for a couple of days then said ‘chuck it.’
Like you guys, we haven’t lost our wanderlust, but we do seem to crave ‘convenient’ travel right now.
We will be getting on a plane to Italy in September for our daughter’s wedding. But, that will be an in and out sort of thing, with nothing tacked on. We started developing a plan to extend and it got too complicated with planes, trains and automobiles. Best to keep it simple and enjoy the moment.
Cheers to good weather and good travels!
Convenient travel is a good way to put it. Looking back, maybe the whole lockdown thing made more of an impact than l thought. In a weird way, it feels kind of nice to know that this weird unpredictable weather seems to be happening in other places as well. Imagine, even the manatees were a no-show. I don’t blame you either for chucking it.
Italy definitely sounds nice, and l really hope the weather will be more proper weather. Congratulations on the wedding. It should be a wonderful time. I like that “keep it simple”. My mantra going forward. It’s just too complicated getting places with cancelled flights etc. I don’t need that kind of stress…haha! Happy travels!
Boa Tarde Kemi. So fun to catch up on what’s happening with you guys. Your recent weather sounds a lot like my weather here in Portugal and, even though we need the rain, I’m getting tired of it. Like you, I’ve been nesting with no plans this year for any long travels. Instead, my family is visiting me in a series of visits throughout the year which is great. I’m also not looking forward to flying and OMG have you been checking out the prices for flights back to the US lately? Anyway, happy and healthy here and looking forward to a meetup with you and Fede one of these days. Big Hugs!
Boa Tarde Anita! I hope you’re still doing fabulous!!!! I had no idea your weather was just as crappy. I am only now starting to hear from others. I thought it was just Spain. Nesting is where it’s at right now, and we both have really good places in which to nest.
It’s great the family is coming out to visit you. They can see what they’ve been missing for so long. Your grandson already knows. As far as the prices, I truly had not noticed as l have no plans to visit this year, but a friend told me that the travel she had arranged before her plans were aborted (1200 Canadian dollars each then) now cost 3,000 Canadian dollars each so she had to cancel as it was for a family of four! Insane, but l think going forward, this is what things will look like for a while in every industry. Travel going back to being for rich people.
We definitely need a catch up…will look for tickets your way or vice versa and make it happen at some point. Stay well.
Kemi, I think this dreary cold weather in VLC is contributing to my preference to stay put. But we did go to France over the last week of Fallas and while it was chilly and overcast, at least we didn’t have the rain! I’m so glad we went for a slow and easy get away. No chasing the cathedrals, castles, etc. (I’m getting a bit jaded, like you.) While they are beautiful sites, I am now simply enjoying delicious meals, strolling gorgeous villages/cities and sipping good wine. A slower, easier kind of travel for now. Perhaps it’s what I need after more than two years of pandemic stresses?
I agree with you Lauren, this sucky weather does not help in the least. You had good weather in France, with no rain. When you sit down and think of all the places traveled to, it would have to be a very amazing Cathedral for instance (like the Albi one you visited) to impress haha!
I have also moved on to the stage of slower, simple pleasures. I think it’s very much needed after the last two years of stress and uncertainty. Plus as mentioned by Anita and Suzanne, the prices and logistics of traveling right now are very challenging. Very few direct flights like prior and so on. I’ll wait till we see how it shakes out. Nothing sounds better to me right now than delicious meals and sipping good wine :-).
We just did a whirlwind week in Italy and arrived two days before the rain, hail, and wind storm that was to stay with us the rest of the week there. We’d book the week for a getaway before we begin the residency renewal application and can no longer leave Greece until permits are in hand. It was good to be away but the weather was definitely frightful. We returned to a Sajaran sand storm that has been with us since our return. . .are we jinxed???
I enjoyed seeing your posts on the Italy trip. A good thing to do before your renewal and something we might do as well next year when the time comes. I really had no idea that this weird weather was all over. I guess l was too busy feeling sorry for us to notice… shame on me :-). I think the world is jinxed at this point. Better to just go ahead and make your plans and carry them out because ya just never know. We used to have sand storms in Malta too…not fun…sand gets everywhere.
You know how you were joking, when we discussed late last year about the winters in Valencia and after reassuring me that they’re decent to say the least, added that probably this year will be the worst on record? I do hope that our chat back than wasn’t what caused all this :))
But on a serious note, I am sure it sucked to have all that bad weather no matter where you went.
I do agree that sometimes – especially after a long, stressful period – it might be best to revisit a place you know you’ll love. We’ve both been to some places that were hyped and they didn’t live up to the expectations (mine was Prague, for example)… so hopefully wherever you decide to go, it will be much better than Denia unfortunately proved to be.
Yes, I remember that discussion well, and yep! I think you jinxed it and brought the bad weather in all its glory on Valencia… haha! This year though seems to have been very strange and cold and rainy in so many places so l guess l shouldn’t feel so bad.
I am all for visiting previous places. I know it will be a good time and some places, like London just never get old for me. I shared your disappointment with Prague as you know. I think there was just no way it could live up to the hype. Then of course you have a place like Budapest which for me, definitely lived up to the hype, so l guess you just never know…:-). The fun thing about travel is that a great trip is always around the corner, and as a seasoned traveler, you always manage to squeeze the best out of a bad situation.