Un día con la Fallera Mayor Elena Bonet.

Cómo os venía comentando, esta temporada hay una novedad, y son los reportajes de Valencianas. Aquí os presento parte del reportaje que le hice a mi FM (Fallera Mayor) favorita. La simpatiquísima Elena, de la Falla Pintos Salvador Abril, En Russafa.

Espero que os guste!

Comuniones

Empezamos con la época de Comuniones en España, y os quería mostrar una selección de imágenes de una de las sesiones de comunión que podes realizar conmigo.
Intento capturar momentos dónde se vea cómo son los niños, que ellos se sientan cómodos y buscar esa imagen que nos llegue al alma. Cuando pasen unos años, y volváis a ver estas imágenes tengamos un agradable recuerdo de cómo éramos de niños, qué nos gustaba hacer ...
Las sesiones duran una hora aproximadamente y se puede elegir una zona que sea especial para la familia.
Si quereis preguntar sobre cuanto invertir en crear estos recuerdos, escribidme a : info@amparoespana.com
Os veo pronto!

Valencia at Spring, Fallas.

In Valencia we have a spring party called Fallas. We celebrate the end of winter, the beginning of the good weather and also Saint Joseph´s day, the carpenters day.

More than 100 years ago, 19th of March, carpenters in the city used to burn down the left overs of wood and material gone bad during the year, and the bonfires developed into a figure composition.

Nowadays Fallas look quite impressive and there are over 120 figures around the city from the 15th of March until the 19th , when they burn down, following the tradition. 

Artists would work the whole year to create these monuments.

During these days also locals dressed into the traditional custom, every now and then the look of the dress and hairdo changes a bit.

Valencia turns into a very noisy city almost the whole month, something that can be very frustrating if you are looking for quiet time. "petardos" (firecrackers) explode almost every 2 seconds nearby you.
Every day from 14:00-15:00h takes place the Mascletà, were gunpowder is been placed and exploded with a certain rhythm.

Music is also a big part of this festivity, bands are playing all over the city.

Fallas is one of these love-hate situations. I enjoy the music, the colourful dresses and admire the statues. But I have to recognised that improvements need to be done. Less noise, less pollution and rubbish would be good. And respect for those who had to suffer them.

Still, something to be seen once in lifetime.

Travel: Saint Petersburg, Russia

Last Summer we visit our neigbourg country, finally! Saint Petersburg has been in my wishlist for very long time...
Travelling to Russia might be a bit complicated, you will need to prepare yourself quite some time in advanced. So I am going to give you some tips:

Helsinki would be the starting point. From there you can choose, road, sea or railway to travel.

By car and train you will need to contact the Russian authorities in your own country and arrange the Visa permit. Passport,  pictures and hotel reservation will be asked from you.
Normally the Visa allows you to be in the country for few weeks. There is also the Working visiting Visa which allows you to come and go for a year.
Book yourself 3 weeks before hand to apply for this.

We chose to go by boat for few reasons:
We were not in a hurry and we don't get seasick ;), you travel by night, sailing is always great experience if you are travelling with kids, you don´t need all the Visa stress papers and documents, is cheaper than the train if you travel in a group, you get an automatic 72 hours Visa staying.
Here is the link of Saint Peters Line for more info:
https://stpeterline.com/en

Weather last July in the north was not very pleasant, it was quite chilly and stormy. But is a normal thing here, we are used to this, and there is not bad weather, just the wrong clothes!.

Leaving the boat in the morning takes some time, you have to go through customs, be patient!
We stayed at Sokos Bridge Hotel, so there was shuttle bus service from the pier that took us straight there for free.

Once the check in was done, we started our tour with local guide Ulrika and driver Mijael!
Lovely people!

With the private tour we visited most of the main sights, the Winter Palace, the Sailors church, The Church of the Saviour on Blood, San Isaac Church, The Nevsky Market , Peter and Paul Fortress..
Such an impressive culture and history!
The tour took almost half of our day, so after that we head for lunch in a local bistro, the plan was to visit the Hermitage or Winter Palace after lunch, but, travelling with kids means to take it easy plus the rainy weather took on us all...so, we head to hotel, that offers spa and swimming pool, now was time for kids to have fun :)

Next day we explored the metro. We knew that there are few stations worth to visit, so there we went!
The first line was built in 1941, the Avtovo Station is consider one of the most beautiful ones,  was ready in 1955.  The metro service is very regular, so you have time to stop in a station, have a look, take some pics, and jump in the next train to the next stop. Very much recommend this visit! Really impressive!!!

Afternoon was booked with a boat tour. It was great to explore the channels of the city.

Last tips from my experience:

The city has lots to offer, so going to SP for longer then 72 hours is very good idea too.
With kids, think about walking and timing, is a long distances city, so better to book a Hotel closer to centre, on the inland side of the River. Sokos Bridge was ok Hotel but nothing to see or do nearby the building. Hotels are expensive in SP. Book with plenty of time in advanced.
If you want to visit the Museums, take it easy and spend the day there. The crowd in the Hermitage is huge! so if you don't like to be surrounded by million people go to the National Museum, Russian artists are really talented and this Museum is not as popular as the Hermitage or the Winter Palace.
Be ready to crash against Russian authorities or bureaucracy in some point. Use your imagination to talk to them, cos they are not going to speak much english.
Try local food. Visit the street markets.
Locals are just great, so friendly and warm, enjoy their company!

I will definelty go back!.