IAN & SPAIN

The Fair of the Nations got off to start in Valencia on the 10th of May. A month-long event which tours around various Spanish cities and will be in Seville on the 8th of September through to the 4th of November.

This cultural festival was set up in the Turia river-bed and sets out to promote different nations from around the world, as it's name might suggest, with market stalls selling ethnic souvenirs from around the globe and a large variety of international cuisines . We finally managed to pop down last Sunday and had a walk around, a friend of ours was organising a child's music concert as part of the show. Well over 20 countries were represented around the festival from Venezuela to Germany and Greece to India. I must admit the smell in the air from the food court was quite overpowering. Even Australia was represented with it's Fosters beer and Kangaroo or Ostrich burgers. There were also a number of Spanish stalls but I wouldn't recommend it for finding good local food. I am not at all familiar with South American food but I would say it looked rather interesting even though I didn't get around to trying it. Basically the festival is set up in two areas, one area being the food and music section and the other being a street market where you can find souvenirs, crafts and ethnic household items, silver rings from Mexico, jewelry boxes from Ukraine, statues from Senegal, buddhist accessories from Tibet, fabrics and carvings from India and even a sarcophagus from Egypt.

Once you've traveled the world eating, you also have a wide choice of drinks from freshly crushed sugar cane juice with a dash of rum for the adventurous to mojitos or German beers. And if that wasn't enough, Brazillian capeta  or Tequila. I have been told that in the evening, these bars have a great atmosphere where you can enjoy a truly international evening. We left much earlier, however. The prices of food and drink were fairly average for an event like this, you could have lunch and a couple of cocktails for around €20. All in all it was an interesting afternoon out, not something I would travel to visit but if you happen to be in the neighborhood worth popping in for a browse and a snack. One other element which was actually quite interesting was the military side of the fair. There were first and second world war soldiers dressed up with vehicles and weapons acting out typical war scenes. It was almost like walking into a first world war army camp, quite amusing and the kids loved it. So if you happen to be in Valencia before the 6 of June take a look.

festivaldelasnaciones.es