Our Feria Experience

We are both so conflicted on how to describe our night last night. You know when you watch travel shows and they get into places and talk to people that make it seem so cool but you know in reality normal people don't have that same experience? Like when Samantha Brown goes to Thailand and a Thai woman teaches her to make pad thai at a street booth but you know if you went there you wouldn't get that 'in' because you don't have a camera crew... Last night we were Samantha Brown with the 'in'.

First of all we arrived to the fair well in advance of our meeting time which was perfect because we needed a solid hour to let our brains and eyes adjust to what we were seeing. We spent some time sitting on a wall and watching people - there is video on Flickr. Here is one of girls dancing and another of people just walking is here. Though neither of these really captures the chaos and beauty and energy.

After a bit we met up with Enrique and Cristina who I connected with through Luke, a guy I work with. The fair consists of typical fair things (rides, games etc) only everyone dresses in flamenco and dances a lot. BUT there are also hundreds of 'casetas' or tents. People group together to fund them so most of them are private and you can only enter by invitation. There are some that are public but they charge a cover and are quite expensive. We were very fortunate that Enrique's family pitched in for a caseta so we spent some time there drinking the traditional Rebujito (7up and a sweet wine - thought of you Mom!). Then we went for a walk, ran into some of their friends and then went to their tent for a while and drank some more and watched them dance. It seems most people just wander and hop from one friend's tent to another.

For us it was so much fun. Even though we were dressed so casually people didn't seem to mind, they were so willing to pose for pictures and welcome us into their tradition. We met many really nice people and really really wished our spanish was better. :) It was an experience that was so full of smells, tastes and sights that all I can really do is share a few pictures and cherish the memory...there isn't really a way to describe it. I know cheesy, cliche etc but it's true in this case.

Some of our new friends were kind enough to escort us to our bus and we easily and safely made it back to our apartment and after a few hours sleep are up and ready to go explore more of the city before returning to the fair again tonight.

Enrique - I know you're reading this. Thank you so much for being our host and introducing us to your...friends. ^_- Even if you are a liar you're still a lot of fun and the perfect gentleman. Cristina - thanks for making sure all of the boys behaved and for being such a gracious hostess, welcoming us in to your Feria week, we can not WAIT to see your dress tonight!