Alcalá del Júcar

7th of March we spent in Alcalá del Júcar, which is a small, charming, built-in-mountain village with a castle at the top. It is located in province of Albacete in Castile-La Mancha. It has a population of 1,442.

Alcalá del Júcar is located in the Manchuela area, 66km from the city of Albacete, 287km from Madrid, 130km from Valencia and 210km from Murcia.

See larger map

Alcalá del Júcar is located in an exceptional setting, on a hill below which we find the gorge formed by the Júcar river.

Narrow, steep streets lined with well-preserved houses crawl up towards the castle, from which we can have splendid panoramic views of the gorge.

The fortress is of Arab origin, rebuilt during Christian times. The bridge that crosses the river was built by the Romans, and rebuilt in the 18th century; it offers beautiful views of the surroundings and leads to the parish church of San Andrés, from the 16th-18th centuries, with a classical entrance portico.

On the other side of the river, on the hill, we see a peculiar bullring, unique because of its location, construction, and irregular shape. The natural caves, some of which were turned into old-worlde inns, are common around this area. They have the peculiarity of being able to maintain, naturally, the same temperature in their interior all year round.

Las Fallas 2009 in Valencia

During the Fallas we stayed in Valencia. We wanted to go for a weekend before Fallas to visit Toledo and Segovia, but we were ill and didn't go.

Since the begining of march we wanted to go to see the mascleta but we couldn't, because we had classes at the politecnica at these hours. Finaly our classes have ended and we went to Plaza de Ayutamiento to see it. It was a new experience for us because in Poland there is no such kind of fireworks. We really liked it, especialy because the fireworks are fired in such way that there is a rithm and people are jumping and clapping their hands. Unfortunately, we were a bit ill and we couldn't go to see mascleta one more time.

Every day from monday till thursday we were walking along the streets and watching fallas statues because we wanted to see as much as possible of the special ones.

In Valencia during the Fallas there is a lot of noise and party. Whole city is decorated with lights. There were many beatiful dressed Falleras walking along the streets.

We were also going to see castillo at nights and we liked it a lot.

The best, off course, were the fireworks during the noche del fuego. The same day when we were walking near to the river we came across the parade of L'Ofrenda floral and after the final castillo we went to see the statue of Virgen composed of flowers.

The last day we went once again to see the fallas that we liked the most to take more pictures and then in the evening we went to see the crema of one falla infantil which was quite a nice and strange experience. Then we saw the crema of a big special falla. It was the first time we've seen such a big controlled fire in a city - it was amazing. We admire firemen, who have a lot of work during the last day of Fallas. We were standing so close to the falla that when it started to burn we had to move back 15 meters becouse of the heat. As a last thing we went to see the fireworks and the crema of the falla at Plaza de Ayutamiento .

All the Fallas was a great, new experiance for us and we think that it is a really worth seeing fiesta. We would recommend it for sure.

You can read more about Fallas on Wikipedia or Fallas Official Site and see a short film showing one piece of a Falla - one ninot - from the forming of the scale model right through to the burning.

Pisa

See larger map

9th and 10th of February we spent in Pisa.

Pisa is a city in Tuscany, central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the Arno River on the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. The city is known worldwide for its famous bell tower.

While the Leaning Tower is the most famous image of the city, it is one of many works of art and architecture in the city's Piazza dei Miracoli (Square of Miracles), to the north of the old town center. The Piazza dei Miracoli also houses the Duomo (the Cathedral), the Baptistry and the Camposanto Monumentale (the monumental cemetery).


See also A virtual travel to Pisa and the leaning tower.

Albacete

On 6th of March we went to Albacete - our flatmate's homecity :).

Albacete is a city in southeastern Spain, 258 km southeast of Madrid, 190 km from Valencia. Albacete is the capital of the province of Albacete in the autonomous community of Castilla-La Mancha.

The cathedral in Albacete ->

See larger map


<- Pasaje de Gabriel Lodares

This place was named Al-Basit, "the plain," by the Arabs. The city has been known as a center for the manufacture of fine daggers, scissors, and knives.
Albacete is not known as a tourist destination, but its sights include the cathedral and the Museo de Albacete.