La Feria de Granada

Hello everyone!

This week in Granada was the famous 'feria'. I should point out that 'ferias' in Spain are like village fêtes or festivals: in the daytime, there are all sorts of activities and entertainment for adults and children alike, and in the evening a large array of different discos. This week, I went to the 'feria' in Granada.

In the daytime the centre of town is already very busy and the atmosphere fully charged. People wear traditional Spanish flamenco outfits, and all week the town is lively with a variety of performances and entertainment. But the 'feria' doesn't take place in the town centre. It's a little way off, in an area called the Corpus. It isn't difficult to get there as the town (for once) has various methods of low-cost transport available.

The 'feria' site: I can't tell what the site looks like in the daytime as I only went there at night, but as soon as you get off the bus, you walk towards a lit-up building which shows you the way. When I was there, the town spared no expense on the decorations. It felt like Christmas: with the entire town lit-up (as well as the 'feria' site). As for the site - it is enormous! It's made up of many central paths and smaller paths break off from them every 100m or so. It's a maze. It's like a little fairytale village made up entirely of 'casetas' (marquees).

These famous 'casetas' are actually disco tents at night, and in the daytime some of them are open as restaurants or bars. There is something for everyone! The first ones you come across (by the entrance), tend to be pop-music disco tents, but don't be put off getting lost amongst the 'galleries' where you can quickly find great places with more original music. It all depends on the sort of atmosphere you're looking for.

I'll admit that I didn't go very far - I kept it simple, sticking to the first tents on the main path (probably because I'd already had quite a bit to drink before I got there). I had such a good time. People were dressed casually, everybody talked to each other, and people of all ages were there, in one place. I went to a few different tents. It's important to know that all of the tents have to have free entry - but the discos quickly make money by selling drinks, which sometimes suprised me. Even if, compared to France, the drinks here might seem cheap, in Spanish terms they can be very expensive at the 'feria'. So I'd recommend pre-drinking if you're wanting to drink.

Oh, and another thing... the toilets... disgusting! Even having gone to quite a few festivals, I've not seen anything like it. What's more, going outside, if not on public property, is forbidden - so much so that police are on the lookout for it.

Overall, the 'feria' is an absolute must-do, and for a whole week it was all anyone could talk about. Lots of people come to Granada for this event and it makes the whole town buzz all week long.