Hello dear travel enthusiasts. A few months ago we traveled 60 km from Barcelona and visited a town called Vic. We planned to explore and attend one of the many festivals held here. Being in Spain festivals are a regular occurrence.
Getting to Vic from Barcelona is very easy with public transportation. You can use either a bus or a train and the journey takes a little over an hour. The trains and buses stop right in the center. So you don’t have to search for the tourist area. You can also come by your own car as there are plenty of parking spaces in the city, both in the center and in the outskirts. We decided to explore the city and our first stop was the local market.
There was a stall selling bags and we were looking for a new shoulder bag for my friend. A while ago I had given her a bag for her birthday, but he had to return it because her phone didn’t fit. Here we found a few options. We tried one bag, but the strap was too short. It was priced at just 6 euros. At first I didn’t even realize it was 6 euros, thinking there might be a mistake. We would have bought it if the strap was 10-15 centimeters longer, but since we didn’t want to extend the strap, we didn’t buy it.
This market has everything you could look for: clothes, shoes, jewelry, children’s toys and more. The market is in a beautiful location, overlooking medieval bridges and the remnants of a once-wide river that has now shrunk due to drought. Leaving the market behind we continued to explore the old town.
We approached the festival area, eager to see what festival was taking place and to enjoy the atmosphere. First there was a food area where you could grab some snacks. The food prices at the festival were displayed. There were salads, desserts and more. There was a concert area and a section for various performances, though there was no one there yet, but cheerful music was playing in the background.
Then we went to a market selling local products. There were cheeses, sausages and olive oil. You can taste all of these and decide whether to buy them or not.
We left the exhibition area and at the exit. There was a stall where we could buy a lottery ticket. We continued to explore the old town. We were not alone today, as there were many people around. It was just before Easter and all the shops were ready to sell sweets in the shape of eggs and various figures. We moved to another part of the old town and arrived at the large central square.
The city of Vic is full of tourists with many cafes and restaurants. There are plenty of places to rest. Notably this city is quite flat, making it very easy to walk around. There are some slopes here and there, but generally the city is on a flat area, making it very easy to explore.
A large crowd had gathered, making it impossible to get closer. People were climbing columns just to see how these giant puppets danced.
The dances seemed endless. Different puppets were performing and children took on various roles in the dances. Some were bulls, some were horses. Whatever role they took on they danced. We didn’t wait for the dances to end because dancing was constant here. The square was completely packed with people, there wasn’t even room to step. This is a local entertainment and tradition. It's almost always possible to see dancing giant puppets at festivals. These puppets are quite heavy and require professionals for the larger ones. Children start participating in these puppet shows from a young age. These events strongly unite the Catalan people. We didn’t wait for the construction of human towers. You may have seen them before as I’ve seen these castellers who build these towers before. But we didn’t wait this time.
Feeling hungry my friend and I decided to eat at an unusual place. This was an unusual place. It was a church. We sat inside the church and had our meal. Stepping outside we saw the terrace. It’s a charming and beautiful terrace, perfect for sitting and relaxing in good weather. There’s a celebration happening right now and it’s very crowded. We also had a great time in this courtyard. Since it was cool outside, we preferred to sit indoors. The interior was very romantic, with candles lit. The menu didn’t offer many choices because the kitchen wasn’t operating. It opens at 8 PM and during the day, only snacks were available. We could only get chicken sticks with sauce. We had planned to order other dishes like tacos and cannelloni. Cannelloni was around 12 euros and tacos were about 13-14 euros. We had coffee and beer. We thought about getting drinks from the tap, but the tap was broken, so we had to get bottles. This place was truly interesting, with a very unique decoration. It was a bit noisy but enjoyable. After our meal, we set off to return to the main square.
We returned to the main square because another festival was happening there, the hot air balloon festival. The festival had just begun. Baskets were brought in and we waited for the balloons to inflate.
I was right in the center of the square, surrounded by many baskets. But I couldn’t understand what they were doing. I saw each basket spewing flames, but I couldn’t see any balloons. This festival was announced as a hot air balloon festival, but there were only flames. I didn’t see any balloons being inflated around. No one seemed to be opening the balloons from the baskets. It seemed more like a contest of who could produce the highest flame.
We participated in various events, wandered around the city, ate at an interesting café and finally enjoyed a fire show. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see the hot air balloons. Maybe they fly them at night, but it was 9 PM and it was time for us to head home as we had plans for the next day. That’s all for today. Lots of love and see you.