The Fallas fiestas are becoming more well known worldwide as social media and people's own experiences are shared through images on Flickr, Facebook and Twitter. My first experiences of Fallas were in 1988 when I visited Valencia during the University holidays and back in those days of course none of this existed so I was surprised, no... I was blown away.

I continue to be so with such excellent artistry, pagaentry and the influx of huge numbers of tourists into Valencia. This year the hotels were full, the rental apartments were full and the numbers of people in the city grew beyond anything I have ever seen before. So what do the Fallas fiestas mean to Valencia then. Simply put they are the lifeline of the city to tourism at a time of year when otherwise there would be very few people coming into the city. Also they maintain the social cohesion of the city and the villages around as the preparation for Fallas is throughout the whole year. Fallas artists have work all year round because of the Fiestas and traditions are kept alive because of it. They mark the end of winter and the beginning of spring and this year that job was done excellently as the weather started of badly and just got better and better. I have attached a few photos from this year's Fallas but they are missing one important thing. I didn't go to the Crema, the burning of the models, for the first time since I arrived in Valencia in 1998! I was just too tired and it wasn't because of too much partying either. So disappointed though I am I want to ask you to provide those photos if you were out and about on the 19th. Which Falla did you see getting burnt to the ground? [gallery link="file" columns="2"]