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Made in Spain
Whether you’re an expat chasing the dream, a traveller inspired by European elegance or a foodie seeking the perfect paella, Made in Spain is your insider’s guide to all things chic, cultural and quintessentially Spanish.
Join hosts Nalini Sharma and Laura Senior García for a glamorous mix of travel, food, fashion and the rich cultural narratives that make Spain a global icon of style and sophistication.
Nalini is a former Canadian TV presenter, who has previously covered red carpet and live events, and major news stories. She channels the same wit and curiosity to the Made in Spain podcast, offering sharp, unscripted takes on everything from Spanish traditions to expat surprises.
Laura, a seasoned leadership coach and global traveler, shares her deep, first-hand knowledge of Spain—not just as her birthplace, but as a country she continues to rediscover. With a British father and Spanish mother, she considers herself a global citizen with deep roots in Spain. Her insights connect Spain’s rich past with its modern evolution, offering a unique and personal perspective on life, culture, and luxury in Spain today.
Every episode of Made in Spain explores the country’s hidden gems and exclusive experiences, but it’s more than just a guide—it’s a conversation.
The show’s Slice of Life segment gives listeners an unfiltered peek into Nalini and Laura’s daily experiences – the joys, frustrations, and unexpected moments that make life in Spain, and beyond, full of surprises. Sometimes, it’s about the reality of settling into a new country – at other times, it’s about their travels, funny mishaps, or behind-the-scenes stories from researching the podcast. No matter the topic, listeners feel like they are right there with them, stepping into their world.
Made in Spain
Valencia is on Falla
Laura and Nalini relive the excitement of a recent visit to Valencia’s spectacular Las Fallas festival – a week-long, fire-fueled celebration of towering sculptures, non-stop fireworks, marching bands, and round-the-clock street parties, all culminating in a dramatic tribute to creativity and chaos.
As well as unpacking the rich history and quirky traditions behind the fiesta, the pair share practical tips for anyone looking to witness the madness in person.
In the Slice of Life segment, sweet treats take center stage. Nalini samples horchata for the first time – a Spanish drink made from soaked, ground tiger nuts – and the duo tuck into fartons, the delicate, spongy sweets typical of the Valencian town of Alboraia.
that is the sound of valencia in march. Every march, it is the sound of Valencia in March. Every March, it is the sound of Faias, and that's what we're going to be focusing on today.
Speaker 2:Awesome, so welcome to Made in Spain everyone. My name is Laura Senior-Garcia.
Speaker 1:I am your co-host, along with Nalini Sharma, and today we are focusing on the annual celebration of Faias in Valencia. Laura, why don't you start? And first of all, what is a Faias or Faias?
Speaker 2:Okay, so Faias has a very interesting progression through history. So those of you that maybe have heard about Faias, what you've probably seen and you've probably kind of maybe seen on TV or you know kind of seen on YouTube videos or whatever are these massive statues or sculptures that are made from different materials, are very colorful, etc. But I just want to kind of walk our audience through like where it comes from and what is an actual fire.
Speaker 1:Okay, but we should mention that it only takes place in the Valencian community. This is so if you I mean I recommend, we both recommend that you should put it on your to-do list if you're going to visit Spain, it has to be in March, but you also have to go to Valencia.
Speaker 2:Yes, there are other places in the Valencian community where you can go and see fires, but it's just not going to be as spectacular. It will still be busy, there will still be a lot of lively streets, etc. But you won't have that same feeling as in Valencia. The faes are truly Valencia.
Speaker 1:So don't go to Madrid and expect to see it.
Speaker 2:No, there is no faes. There are no faes in Madrid. There are no faes anywhere else outside of the Valencian community. And for those of you who may want to experience it, the dates are actually the whole, let's say, festival starts on the 1st of March and it culminates, it ends, on the 19th of March. The Fayas themselves are actually up from the 14th or the 15th of March to the 19th. You can start seeing them, put them together on the streets, but anyway, we'll get a bit more into that later.
Speaker 1:So let's do a little bit about the history of Fayas.
Speaker 2:So very, very interesting how this developed, because from the medieval times to the 18th century, what it was is that St Joseph, which is also the Father's Day here, is the day of St Joseph. That's the 19th of March. So St Joseph was, I believe, maybe still is the saint patron of carpenters.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:So on the 19th of March, which is St Joseph's Day, which is also Father's Day, the carpenters in Valencia would take out all their old pieces of wood that they hadn't used that year. You know, the winter's over, it's kind of going into a new season, going into spring, etc. And they would put like a little bonfire together and just burn it off, and specifically something called parots which parots are these things that they would hold their oil lamps on. So I guess maybe they were somewhat impregnated with some of the oil or something so that they burnt really well. So it's from that medieval to the 18th century.
Speaker 1:But I read that they would hang the parot outside of their shops, and from that is where it sort of started to actually evolve into becoming these, from that simple little tiny thing into the spectacular structures that you see now.
Speaker 2:So that's a starting point. Yeah, then 18th to the 19th century, they started to go oh, maybe we can do something with these pieces of wood. They started dressing up the pieces of wood, putting up like wax and different things on them, and usually they would be satirical in nature, so they would be making fun of some local politician, some local person, and they were all over different neighborhoods. They would pick different people to make fun of, basically, and they would dress up these like pieces of wood and burn them off the same night. So it always happens like the same night, which is the night of la crema, which means the burning right. So that was up to the kind of 19th century. And then 20th century onwards is when you start seeing these different neighborhoods making these fires, which, when you see them, it is unbelievable to think oh, my goodness, all of this is being put together to be burnt down.
Speaker 1:To be burnt down, and one thing that we were not able to really get this year but we are planning on doing it next year is to actually talk to the artisans to find out how do you feel after a year's worth of work and the competition and all the emotion and money that goes into it. How do you feel when it burns down? Yeah, like I'm very curious. Is it cathartic? Are you happy? Are you? You know? You think, oh no, I got to do this all over again, I think for some people.
Speaker 2:It is just such an incredible experience of being a part of something that, like you said, said it's almost like ephemeris in nature, where it's like, okay, you know, you put all this money and effort and then it just it's gone. You know, after that, one night, and you can imagine, all the city has all these different fires, like 700 plus right, and they're all burning at the same time. I mean, it's quite spectacular. So I think there is a kind of like. Oh, and also it's worth mentioning, it did have some kind of pagan root, which is interesting that you know, as Catholic as this country has been traditionally, that they didn't try to stop it and that you know, on top of everything, it was the same night that a saint is being celebrated. So anyway, that's a little bit of the back history, but I do think it is very special that something so beautiful does you know, get destroyed.
Speaker 1:And what I found with a lot of these festivals or traditions or things that are celebrated is that there's never really a clear answer as to when did it? You know there's a origin to it, there's a history to it, there's a history to it, but then it just sort of slowly starts to evolve. And I think what's happened with you know, the FIAS, for example, it now it becomes something where it brings in a lot of money, and now you have artisans who've gone through. I mean there's I don't know, but maybe there is a Faya University, I'm going to think.
Speaker 2:I'm not sure if there's a university.
Speaker 1:How do you learn to?
Speaker 2:There's certainly Okay. So there's a number of things happening there, but there's certainly like an incredible kind of craftsmanship that comes along with it, because you saw them.
Speaker 1:I mean, they're absolutely gorgeous. Don't you think it would be passed down from one generation to the next, it's a very, very tradition-oriented festival.
Speaker 2:So I think one thing that's just worth mentioning, I do think, in terms of the meaning of it for a lot of people, is about this kind of partying, and if you think about the timing, it's before Easter. So even though it's not Mardi Gras or Carnival or anything, there's this kind of partying and thing going on, and then all of a sudden it's like you go into Easter, which is a very serious holiday here, right? So that's a little bit about that. So, nalini, why don't you tell us a little bit about which FIAS won this year and what happens to the FIAS that win, and what does that look like? Is it a competition?
Speaker 1:It is a competition. That's what people should know. So you have the major faes which are in the competition, but then you also have sort of minor faes which and this past year I don't know if anybody saw it, but it's the one with the um, the woman's face and the flowers that wasn't actually a major faia, that was a minor one, but that almost became the emblem of this year.
Speaker 1:Okay, so there are about 800 faias, big and small. There are 20 different sections that you can compete in, but the one that won this year, it was put out by I'm going to try to pronounce this properly Convento Jerusalen Matematico Marçal Commission. Wow, okay, so they won in three different categories and that fire cost 250,000 euros and the name of it is ore in Valencian, ore Ore, which is gold, gold or oro in Castellano. So that's the one that won and it, I mean it's hard to describe because it's not one thing, it is just a collection of different stories. So it's a man and a woman and they look sort of fairy-like, they're different shades of gold, but then if you sort of walk around and you inspect every little area, they have different stories and different things. So unless you see it in person, it's really hard to take it all in.
Speaker 1:But the fire that wins is also spared being burned.
Speaker 2:Yes. So it's like indulted, right, yes. And also I believe there's a little one that gets indulted no, yes. And also I believe there's a little one that gets indulted no, it's like the big one. But then they may pick like a little one part of one of the other Fayas as well, and it goes to the museum right.
Speaker 1:This particular Faya that won this year won in those three categories. So it was the first time since 1990 that one Faya won for the major prize, the infantile, and then to be indulted into the museum.
Speaker 2:Awesome.
Speaker 1:I mean maybe it's about the amount of money they've spent too. I mean a quarter of a million euros, it's a lot of money.
Speaker 2:And that's not even like one of the most expensive ones, because I know from the research that we've done they have had Faya's go up to almost a million euros. So imagine that, right, you put a million euros into building this incredible piece of art and then it gets burned. So pretty crazy.
Speaker 1:It is but beautiful.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it is beautiful. I really recommend to our listeners that, to get that visual picture of what they look like, go on socials, go on Google, you know Google, just like Faya's, valencia 2025. And you will see these images of these beautiful. The one that Nalini was talking about, where it's, the lady's face with flowers all around her head, is absolutely gorgeous.
Speaker 1:And the one of the minor Faya's actually was. It said that the slogan, you know, valencia is on Faya. Yes, which is the name of our episode. Yeah, and that was a minor Faya.
Speaker 2:So it wasn't really.
Speaker 1:You know, valencia is on fire, yes, which is the name of our episode today, and that was a minor fire so it wasn't really you didn't win anything, but again it just became the slogan yeah, I loved it.
Speaker 2:I saw that. I thought that was super cool, awesome. So maybe let's talk a little bit about the falleros and the falleras.
Speaker 1:Okay, now this is very interesting because this is a huge honor and we were talking about this yesterday. It's not really. It's not a beauty pageant.
Speaker 2:No, it's not.
Speaker 1:It's an honor, it's something that you know, you take pride in your community and the event that's happening, and also it's a family tradition.
Speaker 2:Yes. So let's put it this way the fallero and fallera mostly falleras. The men do get involved, but it's mostly related to the women. So there's one fallera for each falla, like the representative of that falla, the fallera mayor, which means 15 years plus Right, and the fallera infantil, which is the one that's the under 15 years Right. So there's always like a young lady under 15 representing the fallera and someone over 15 representing the fallera female. So it's really interesting because the way they get selected is, you know, can they represent the neighborhood, because each fall fire belongs to one particular neighborhood? Can they attend all these events, because there's events going on, like the whole year round, that the fire hours go to. And also, uh, you know, do they have the um economic ability to, you know, buy the dresses or have the dresses to be handed down from?
Speaker 1:okay, so what would a dress?
Speaker 2:look like then. So the dress, interestingly enough, is based on what the valencian noble families would wear in the 18th century. Okay, so I don't know why, but it hasn't changed. And the way, the, the material and the brocades and all of this beautiful material, and you know, you know they basically are fully covered, like you know, socks and everything I mean.
Speaker 2:I think, the only thing they're showing is their hands and their face. So, which is quite interesting, and there are lots of different layers, so they look like almost like, if you picture, like what the royalty would wear, but with some very unique things. So, for example, they wear their hair in this like almost snail, if any of you have watched Star Wars like Princess Leia sort of thing on the sides and it's super intricate to make those as well.
Speaker 2:It takes them hours to get their hair done for that. And the dresses also are decorated, usually with silver or gold thread, and they can range on the lower, lower lower range between 1,000 and 2,000 euros and on the higher range upwards of 20,000 for one dress. Now, the week of the Faya's, they've got to have at least two or three dresses that they're getting changed in and out of. Wow so, sometimes they are handed down by the like let's say, oh, your sister was a fallera, or your mom, and it's super well preserved. But a lot of times, as you can imagine, when they get that honor, it's like oh, I want a new dress, of course, of course. So, yeah, it's very, very unique. And then out of the whole of Valencia, there is one fallera mayor, picked to represent, and one fallera infantil, the whole city. Wow so, and that's a really big deal Like because they have to be able to do this speech of acceptance in front of everyone and, like, supposedly address humanity, that's the way they describe it.
Speaker 2:No pressure Dial in address humanity. Represent Valencia, so yeah it's pretty intense.
Speaker 1:What is amazing to me is that these are traditions that are have been passed down, that they haven't really been modernized into um, you know where? It is a beauty pageant it's more of. It's an honor to represent your community and then to go on and represent the entire community of valencia.
Speaker 2:And imagine, I mean, it's a super big responsibility. So again, they have stuff they have to do through the year. They have to address people, they have to take pictures with everyone and all this kind of stuff. And then of course there's, you know, partying, cause there's a part of that, and then having to get up the next day and do it again and look your best. I mean it's pretty intense, you know, from the moment it starts to the night of the crema.
Speaker 1:It's 19 days, 19 days, and it didn't start off as 19 days. It was much shorter, but over time I think people really wanted to enjoy the most out of it in this part of the world, right?
Speaker 2:So?
Speaker 1:I will say there is a feeling in the city. There's a palpable energy to be there during that time and you can't really describe it unless you're there.
Speaker 2:Yes, but book hotels book restaurants.
Speaker 1:Book everything you need to book way in advance.
Speaker 2:The hotels sometimes get booked like a year in advance. So I'm not saying you're not going to find anything, but definitely plan for it.
Speaker 1:So let's talk a little bit about the mascolitas nalini I can't wait to hear from you on this okay now, this is interesting because first, uh, you sort of think, uh, mascolita is a firework that you set off in the day, and the first time I heard it, I think from benidorm or wherever actually, I saw it in el faz yeah, them doing some parade and just setting it off, and I thought this doesn't make any sense because it's eight o'clock in the morning and it's just smoke and how can you see the fireworks?
Speaker 2:Yeah, because I think that the maybe other side of it is, when people think of fireworks they think of like pretty yeah but that's not what it is.
Speaker 1:Well, it's the chaca. So it kind of rolls out into, let's say, a firecracker carpet of some kind, and then you light it and it makes all these sounds like I can't describe it. But the origins of it start in the again a little murky. One thing is for sure people in the valencian community love their fireworks fire.
Speaker 2:We like to set things on fire.
Speaker 1:I don't know what's going on, but yes but the origin of it is a little murky, so they think it started in the 18th century. Um back to the trackers of almanza, which is a city near.
Speaker 2:Valencia.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and then it just became sort of a celebration that you know where. It was a moving celebration. They would set it off and men would kind of walk behind it, maybe dance, maybe celebrate. But it wasn't really until 1945 that the actual Mascletas, they moved it to the Plaza de Ayuntamiento, yes, In the center of the city. So it's basically the town, the town hall square, the square.
Speaker 1:And that was from the 11th of March in the mid 1940s and from there it just started to grow. So it was really from mid-March up until La Crema the night, and, and now it's from the 1st of March. It is a stationary event, so you're not really following it as you go through the city. So in 1986, that's when it started to be held daily, from the beginning of March or so, and now it is in terms of the amount of gunpowder that they use. So in 2008, that was the largest amount of gunpowder that they used. It was up to 530 pounds or 240 kg Every day.
Speaker 2:Or for the whole time?
Speaker 1:No, no that was like no, no, that was for the day.
Speaker 1:Like that's what you could say and then the next year, common sense prevailed, yes, and in 2009, they said, for safety reasons, they decided to limit the gunpowder to 265 pounds, or about 120 kg. So that's the limit. And what's interesting about it is that if you just I mean, I guess you must have to have an ear for it because it is evolved. It's become a lot more electronic, yes, you know, in the way they're able to set it up, but it is a solid 10 minutes. It's a symphony. Yes, it is.
Speaker 2:There's like a music and there's an up and down. But I want to ask you, because this was your first year, yeah, how did it feel? Like what was going through your mind? Because obviously you can try and mentally prepare for it and go, okay, it's going to be loud, there's going to be a bunch of things you know blowing up, but how did it feel?
Speaker 1:um, it was actually really, uh, an amazing experience and it's a little bit addictive. Yeah, you know, you, you get there and you kind of you think, oh, it's just gonna be, you know some sounds, whatever, and we'll have a glass of wine or some little snack and then go on with our day. But you kind of get there and you get into the excitement of it and you know you want to be part of it, and then it goes off and you think more, I want more. Yeah, let's do it again. It is an adrenaline rush, a hundred percent, and they do. They do it again at night.
Speaker 2:Yes, uh, that's the one that we passed on because you know we are afternoon people, but it was like midnight. I think they do another masquerade right. I think it's like midnight, 2 pm and midnight, so you can imagine if you've been kind of going at it, you know, since like after 2 pm, but it's very, very special. We were close and we'll talk about it more in our slice of life, but we weren't that close. So when people get like right in front, yeah, and I don't know what it was, but I think last year they started telling people like don't wear earplugs for some reason, because sometimes you would you think you, you know you're protecting your ears, but it actually somehow has the opposite effect because of the vibration or something oh, I mean, if you go with a young child, I would say buy the headphones for uh, you know over the year, years, but careful yeah, and I will.
Speaker 1:Okay, this is really funny though, but because this past march it was rainy. Do you remember when? We went we were really worried that they were going to cancel. So they did cancel. A few days People were like outraged oh don't worry, because they're going to make up for it. When are they going to do them Mother's Day? They're going to do it Also two more, on the 11th of May and the 22nd of June.
Speaker 2:Do you want to bet that? That's because they have to use the gunpowder.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they are not going to let people miss three days of their fireworks.
Speaker 2:They're making up for it.
Speaker 1:Official on the Valencian website.
Speaker 2:That is hilarious. So maybe let's talk a little bit about what the fires, because obviously, as you have heard from what we're sharing with you, you know it's a lot of money to put these fires together. It's a lot of money to put the masqueradas together. Some of them, I think, get up to a couple hundred thousand euros in fireworks I mean a day. So you think what you know. First of all, who funds the fires. So the fires are mostly funded by the neighborhood. They do all kinds of things to collect money through the year Dinners, raffles, this, that and the other and they fund it through that. The small fires can range between 10 and 50,000 euros to put together the really small ones, and then the other ones can go from 200,000 to up to like a million euros, so you can have very, very expensive fires. The Valencian government does help and they do support, but a lot of the actual fires are funded by the actual Casals. That are the ones that you know are in charge of their own fire.
Speaker 1:It's basically the month of March. I mean, if you were just to add, it's the month of March. It brings in an incredible amount of tourism to the city, and I mean money.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so estimated at about five to seven hundred million euros is what it produces for the city and there's like one million plus people that actually visit the city for fires. So that's why we were saying, you know it is important to book in advance, also to think about that. Imagine how many jobs that's generating, because, like you said, this is not something that they start working on in march.
Speaker 1:These things are you know the whole year.
Speaker 2:So you're, there's people, artisans, people who are pyrotechnics, which again, that's a pretty cool job to have, right? It's like oh, what do you do? Oh, you know, I basically specialize in blowing things up. So the and also the events that are around it, and all the, so all the money is like obviously in fees, but also in the materials, in putting the whole thing together and also in insurance in case of weather. So they do have like insurance that they take out on the fires, uh, in case of like the weather.
Speaker 1:You know, because the last ruin them. Yeah, the last few years march has been um like torrential rain yeah, exactly, we've had some pretty weird marches. You could say and if people are worried about the safety, I have to say that, um, outside of, I mean just being careful with your purse. Yeah, I mean, you know, use some common sense and wear your stuff in front of you or in your pocket with a zip. It's pretty safe.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I would say so. I think the one thing to watch out for is if you, I would not recommend going with a child that has any kind of sensory issues.
Speaker 1:Oh my goodness no To Valencia during that time and you know, speaking from experience.
Speaker 2:You do not want to do that, because it's not just at the mascle, it does, it's the whole city. Everybody's setting, like little petardos, is what they're called firecrackers all day, everywhere, and you're suddenly like finding yourself going. You know like it's like walking around getting scared at different points.
Speaker 1:So yeah and be prepared to walk, as Don't think you can just hop in a taxi and get to where you need to go, absolutely Because you won't so, Nalini.
Speaker 2:I want to ask you so, after seeing some of this up close, what do you think this means to the Valencianos?
Speaker 1:I actually it gave me a sort of a new respect for the tradition to experience it firsthand, because I'm I mean, I'm an outsider, you know, looking in, and I have to say I was so happy to experience like I was like emotional when we were. I mean, we've become really good friends, yes, and it was just really nice that the two of us were together to have that moment, because you had never experienced it, I had never experienced it either a much smaller scale, in Alicante or Benidorm.
Speaker 2:But just because my family is not particularly keen of like a lot of people in the same place at the same time, like no, my brother's gone a few times and that kind of thing, but I had not, so it was super emotional yeah, and we were together and it was just really nice.
Speaker 1:It was a really wonderful experience and also to see the pride that you have, just, I mean, where we were. We'll talk about that in our slice of life, but you have everybody. You have professionals, you have kids, you have families, grandmas, grandpa everybody is out on the streets taking part in it and I mean this is a daily occurrence. So, first of all, they've got a lot of stamina.
Speaker 2:Yes, Always, always, always blows my mind at Peñas, at FIAS. It's like where do people get the energy from? You know, it's like it's not like two days.
Speaker 1:No, it's, they go hard for 19 days, but it was. I felt very honored, I felt very privileged that you know I got to be part of it and we got to experience it together. And you're tearing me up. But next year it's going to be bigger and better. Like we're, we might be there for 19 days, yeah yeah, watch this space.
Speaker 2:Okay, so our slice of life is next.
Speaker 1:Slazla. Okay, so where should we start? Maybe we should start just to pick up from where we left off with the mascletas. We went to Valencia and we went to Ateneo Sky Bar.
Speaker 2:And we stayed at the Westin. It's the only Westin in Valencia. I would actually recommend the hotel, although it's on a little bit older side. It's got a beautiful patio inside and it's really quite a nice hotel and not that expensive if you book it with enough time in advance. That's the one thing about Valencia that I don't think we've mentioned that the difference between, let's say, valencia, madrid and barcelona is a lot of times valencia is a lot more inexpensive compared yeah compared to madrid and barcelona for hotels, restaurants, you know, etc.
Speaker 1:So yeah state of the western and so to experience the mezcaletas, you either have to make your way to the plaza, which you need to do ahead of time because they go off. If you're going to the daytime celebration, it is exactly at 2 pm. It's not 210, 205. It's 2 o'clock. They go off, which means people are probably there two hours before. If you want to experience it, street level.
Speaker 2:If you want frontline like you're there for a while. It's kind of like when you go to a concert and you want to be right at the front, you have to go really early. So and it can be you know, it's not, it wouldn't be my preference personally because it can be a little bit claustrophobic, because you've got all the people right behind you, right, and it feels like maybe there's not a lot of movement. So we decided to take a slightly different tactic, yeah, and book one of the big terraces, uh, like a ateneo sky, which is kind of a place that you can go for tardel and there's a dj. So how did how did that feel for you, nalini? Like, did you like it? Do you think that was a kind of right way to go about?
Speaker 1:it. Um, I would say next year if we were going to do it, because we, uh, you know, we were just kind of moseying along in the hotel, I, I don't know, I think I'm usually in my mind I'm the only person going to something, so there will not be a lineup. There's not going to be a there's not going to be a crowd. It's going to be a two-minute walk and then you kind of realize oh wow, there are 25,000 people walking in front of me and there's a lineup.
Speaker 1:And forget about taxis Forget about Ubers.
Speaker 2:You got to walk. The other thing is, all the roads right are closed off.
Speaker 1:Roads are closed. So I mean again we got there, we ended there.
Speaker 1:we end up spending a little bit extra to get into the 12 to 2 we arrived around I would say 120 ish, 130 we probably should have been there at noon, because people, even though they're not fireworks, so you see the smoke, you see the color, but even if you're staying further back, you can still see the colors after the fact. It's just that feeling of, well, I want to be first. Yeah, you know why. Why am I not first? We sent my son probably four times to a vip area and I said could you please just tell her we'll give her, like I don't know, some money to let us in there the vip no yeah, he went.
Speaker 1:He was relentless with we could not, could not get in.
Speaker 2:So we ended up going. We tried, we tried to bring our charm on, but it didn't work.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we went to the top patio area, which wasn't as crowded. A little further back it was a bit cold, it was a bit windy, but what I realized is that across the street is a hotel Milia, and if we had booked a room in there for the price that we paid, if we had booked ahead of time, it would have been either quite close or maybe just a little bit more to have a frontline with your own private terrace. Yes, so that was just a learning experience. I mean, it was fantastic. Where we were, there was a DJ, we had some drinks, there was dancing. We would have stayed longer, but maybe not so appropriate for a 13-year-old, but he was still fully okay to be there.
Speaker 2:I just want to point out that we didn't sneak him in there.
Speaker 1:No, there were babies in the pram, so it was fine.
Speaker 2:Melania and I were just getting into the Tardeo atmosphere and got very quickly pulled out of that, yeah.
Speaker 1:With our companions, yes, and got very quickly pulled out of that, yeah with our companions.
Speaker 2:Yes, so one thing I want to also mention about that that you know again, if you plan to go and then just party, or, you know, walk around or have a few beers or whatever it is you want to do for the rest of the afternoon, the atmosphere out at that time of the day is extremely good it's really, really, I mean, it's amazing.
Speaker 1:And the other thing that I found really fascinating is that where we were the police helicopter, there was a police helicopter that really watched the entire, I mean the helicopter would hover over where it was. It was relentless, it was the whole time until they set the mustaches off.
Speaker 2:I mean, you think about it, you know very crowded place, you know fireworks etc. Yeah, so I think they're just watching out for everyone. Yeah, I think it was.
Speaker 1:I mean, when you are in that environment and you think that there's going to be all this sound, that for a solid 10 minutes you can't hear anything else, I felt very safe, yeah.
Speaker 2:I, so did I, and fun fact that I think that's really cool. A couple of weeks after we were there, forbes actually came out and named Valencia the best city in the world to retire in. Yeah, that's interesting. So would you retire there, nalini? Like would you say if? Like, do you think you would retire in Valencia? Or would you say to people that maybe from you know North America or other areas, like would you say, it's a good place to retire.
Speaker 1:I would say so. I mean, I've been to different parts of Valencia as well and they I mean they're really beautiful neighborhoods where you can be sort of just outside the city but maybe 10-15 minutes into the city. Um, I don't know if I would retire there, but it would be really cool to have a little like apartment that you. I mean where we are.
Speaker 2:It's not a big city and sometimes you miss that feeling of and also just the cultural events right because there's that's the other thing, and since we are talking slice of life and want to give tips and recommendations as well. So nalini mentioned the Melia Hotel in the Town Hall Plaza. If you can get that, I mean, you're really in a great place for Faya. So that's number one. The other thing as well is when you go to Valencia, if you have kids, or even if you don't have kids, but with kids I think it's a pretty cool experience. They have the Oceanographic and it's this beautiful installation. They even oceanographic and it's this beautiful installation they even have four beluga whales there now.
Speaker 2:Two of them came from ukraine actually, and they have um the science museum, yes, and it's it's the. It's an enclosure where they have all this marine life, but it's all focused on preservation. So I've always felt you know, I always feel a little bit off going to like a zoo or an animal park is I feel sad about seeing the animals there. But when you go to the oceanographic you don't really feel that that much because you can see that the enclosures that they're in are very, very well done and, like people, you can see that the animals are extremely well taken care of and their focus is biodiversity and ensuring that some of these species continue to exist and it's a I think it's a very child-friendly city it has something for everyone and the valencia typically has really great concerts.
Speaker 1:So here in spain, like there's the concert season from you know, let's say, june to august, september I don't know how many festivals, but there's a ton of music festivals and you get, I mean a-list artists. Yes, uh, performing in valencia. So it's easier and more accessible, at least for us, than to go to madrid or barcelona.
Speaker 2:Yes, so we always do a food okay and a drink.
Speaker 1:I'm very interested because this is um horchata which is your first time trying it, my first time trying it. It Now it is made with tiger nuts, which, by the way, is not a nut, it's a tuber. So it's in the same family of a potato, a radish, really.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they look like tiny little rotten potatoes.
Speaker 1:That makes sense, that's what they look like and it apparently was originally cultivated in Egypt. And you know, as migration the Moorsors Arab rule made its way to Spain and this is a drink that is particular to the Valencian community.
Speaker 2:I don't think you'll find horchata anywhere else, no, so the tiger nuts in Spanish are called chufas, yes, which is I don't know why, which is a really funny name. Yeah, so we have our ASMR part of the podcast where we get to drink the horchata and with the horchata we are eating fartons. Yes, do you want to tell us a little bit about these fartons?
Speaker 1:Malini, it's basically just, it's like a sweet kind of croissant situation and the typical way you do it is you dunk it in the horchata which we're doing right now. First, I have to try it because I've never, tried it.
Speaker 2:I told you. I told you you weren't gonna like it. No, I don't dislike it, it's just I don't know what it is. Try again Again. I've drank horchata many times, but I can never get my head quite wrapped around that last taste there. It's very floral, mm-hmm.
Speaker 1:Hmm Interesting.
Speaker 2:Okay, Okay, the farton dipped in the horchata, though that's another story.
Speaker 1:I could get to like it. Maybe Could you horchata, though I mean, that's another story I could get to like it.
Speaker 2:Maybe could you. I remember as a kid they used to give it to us as a treat and I was like ew, you know, like they really didn't know. This is a good combo this is a good combo this is breakfast, so it's got like a almost medicine thing at the end.
Speaker 1:I don't know what it is. Okay, listen, I'm not Spanish and I'm not saying anything bad about it because nobody's going to come for me, but I don't dislike it. I can say it. Yeah, you can say it. I don't dislike it. It's not terrible. My son doesn't like it. He's like oh, have you tried it? I said no. He said oh, have you tried it?
Speaker 2:I said no. He said oh, I don't think you'll like it. I just got horchata all over my clothes.
Speaker 1:Now in Valencia they have traditional horchaterias where you go and you I mean they make it in the traditional way. We bought this at the supermarket, but it is, like you said, something that you would only find here.
Speaker 2:So look out, if you want some recommendations for the actual artisan horchata. We will leave that in one of our socials, uh, but yes, horchata and fartons sorry, my mouth is still a little bit full. Fartons are quite delicious. It's almost like, um, the shape of like a big churro, but just more airy, more flaky, like sort of like a croissant. So you would say that horchata is like the og of, uh of, you know, like almond milk, oat milk all these different milks that are not milk. This is tiger, not milk.
Speaker 1:That's basically what it is, and apparently without the sugar, which there's a tremendous amount, quite healthy for you so you dip something that is full of sugar in something that's full of sugar but, you know it's breakfast, so awesome.
Speaker 2:So couple more things that we just wanted to share with you in our slice of life. A few recommendations for those of you who are going to make the decision to travel to valencia so for sure, if you're going to have the horchata and the fartons in the Alboraya area, that's where you will find that there and restaurant recommendations. I wanted to do a shout out to La Taula de Yun, which is a Korean restaurant, authentic Korean restaurant, really, really delicious. And then the typical place to go for prawns and cigalas and all that is Marisqueria Cibera. It's been there forever and it's one of the best in Valencia. And last one, one that I actually tried with my husband not very long ago, was Bar X by Ricard Camarena in the Mercado de Colón, and that's a really cool place. It's like tapas, but kind of a modernized version of very traditional tapas, and they are super good. So that's Bar X by Ricard Camarena.
Speaker 1:And when we were there, we ate at Salvaje Valencia, which, in my opinion, I would not recommend.
Speaker 2:No, I'm sorry, Salvaje, but it's quite overhyped, I would say. And you know, they kind of brought all the food out before we ever had our drinks, so there's a bit of something going on there, yeah. And then finally, the tardeo, the ateneo sky, oh, that was super, that was super cool. So like, if you want to try that, I think you will really really love it okay, okay so it's time.
Speaker 1:Let me get ready the sentence of the day.
Speaker 2:So I thought for today, since we're talking about milk in one way or another, you know, and this is probably the first of a series, because this sentence, it gets morphed into a lot of different things in Spanish. So, again, as I said at the beginning of season two, we were going to start smooth and go increasingly Difficult, well, and increasingly like a little bit more conflicting. So I'm going to say it Right In Spanish and you try and figure out what it means, okay? So the sentence is me cago en la leche.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:Me cago en la leche.
Speaker 1:Something with your milk.
Speaker 2:So translation in English is is I poop in milk?
Speaker 1:that's what I wanted to say, but I didn't want to say it okay.
Speaker 2:So spanish people, when do you think that they say that like? When they're really angry. Yes, now why in milk? Why that? I have no idea, but it's something that you will hear very, very often.
Speaker 2:So, like if let's say, for example, something goes wrong or gosh, you know, like the tire broke down in the car or something, and that is something people will say oh, I see, okay, guaranteed. But, like I said, the first part, followed by a lot of different things, is very, very common here and it's something that you would hear, like your grandmother say it's not like you know.
Speaker 1:So it's something that you say in the moment out of frustration Like oh, yeah, yeah. Okay, all right, that's a good one, yeah. So, I'm going to listen for it now. Yeah, you will hear it for sure.
Speaker 2:Okay, well, okay, well. Closing reflection that we wanted to share with you is FIAS definitely isn't just a festival, it's a full heart experience. You feel it with your heart, you see it with your eyes. It's very sensory, so super recommended, and it's something for the soul absolutely yeah, this was a great episode awesome.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you for joining us. Please remember to subscribe, and especially in the podcast platforms, because then you know you're not going to miss an episode. We would love to hear from you, so please make sure that you write either questions, comments and the recommendations. Don't just use it for recommendations. We want to interact with our audience Absolutely, and thank you for being a part of Made in Spain. Hasta luego, adios.