Crackers

Today (9 October) was a public holiday and a day of celebration in Valencia, to commemorate the creation of the Kingdom of Valencia in 1238.
Mr P and I enjoyed a long lie after our late night. The fireworks were superb. It was unerringly quiet in the morning, after all of last night’s shenanigans.
At least until 12pm when all of the processions kicked off, followed by what they call the Mascletà, described as an extraordinarily loud firecracker show.
It was Mr P’s first Mascletà (my second) and we had to wait nearly 2 hours in the baking sun for it to start (got my times wrong). We met a very nice chap from Leeds, who moved to Valencia in 2008.
It’s not something either of us will ever forget. Hopefully there’s no lasting damage to our eardrums!
Home for lunch and a lie down (much needed) and then Mr P did some sketching and I went for a calming walk around our local park. The wind has really picked up tonight.