Halloween in Europe

Halloween is a European holiday at core. It basically drags it´s roots from the Celtic festival of Samhain which celebrated summer's end. Halloween was taken to US by the Irish immigrants. Though nowadays Halloween is thoroughly celebrated all over US and is one of the most important US holidays, Europe celebrates Halloween too. Wearing costumes and attending costume parties, dining in Halloween decorated restaurants, ghost tours, watching horror movies and telling scary stories are common Halloween activities in Europe. Trick or treating is not as common but is not unheard of in some counties.

In Valencia, where I live now, the heraldic symbol of the city is the bat. A bit spooky and Halloweenish, isn´t it? The bat is represented all over the city and supposedly has its origins in a winged dragon. There is a legend that says that thanks to the humble intervention of a bat, king James I of Aragon was able to win a crucial battle against the Saracens that allowed him to win Valencia for his kingdom. Go Baty!

See the bat on top of the Valencian Town Hall

And on top of "La Puerta del Mar" (Sea Door) from Valencia

I love Valencia by night as the streets are inundated by this pumpkin like light color. Last night everybody was there: The Kitties, The Nurses, The Wiches, The Devils, The Vampires who don´t show of in pictures because they are, well, vampires, even characters from Alice in Wonderland. It was a hell of a Halloween party!

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Valencia Travel - The Silk Exchange

Today I´ve visited La Lonja de la Seda (The Silk Exchange) in Valencia for the thousandth time. I love it. The entrance is free and the place is not very big and lacks furniture, but it is really refreshing and castle like, with huge doors, very high ceiling and enormous columns. The Silk Exchange was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996 for being one of the most stunning, most important and best preserved examples of Late Gothic architecture in the entire Europe.

Built at the beginning of XVIth century, La Lonja (Silk Exchange) is the real emblem of the Golden Age of Valencia - the times when the city was one of Europe's main economic centres. La Lonja is an impressive building and a must see for the traveler to Valencia and that´s why it is always included in any Valencian travel itinerary. La Lonja is composed of three parts (plus the Orange Garden - a walled court-yard). The main hall, Sala de Contratacion (The Contract Hall) is an enormous, lavishly decorated space supported by gorgeous twisted columns. This was the centre of life in La Lonja, the place where the merchants would meet, deal and sign. The side-wing is named the Pavillion of the Consulate, and this was the seat of the Tribunal del Mar - the first merchant tribunal to ever be formed in Spain. The first two floors were the main function rooms, with the upper one hosting a richly decorated ceiling - a masterpiece of medieval art which had the King ride out of the capital just to see it. La Lonja is situated next to the Central Market and only 5 minutes from the Town Hall, basically in the heart of Valencia and next to many typical tapas bars tourists and locals alike so enjoy.

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Saint Dionysius´ Feast Day in Valencia

On October the 9th Valencia celebrates Saint Dionysius' Feast Day, the local version of Saint Valentine. The valencian men wrap up in silk handkerchiefs specially decorated and shaped marzipan sweets that you can find in almost any valencian bakery around these dates and give them to their girlfriends as a demonstration of their affection. As I love colorful marzipan sweets I took a lot of photos as you can see. And yes, I got a nice marzipan box too. I´m a good girl, you know? I always get what I want!

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