FUN-travel: Chiva & Buñol, Spain
September 10, 2012 by Susan Clarke
Trip Day 49 – Tuesday, August 28 – Chiva & Buñol , Spain
What I LIKE
Tomato Contest
- good hot coffee on patio
- Chris found connection for a balcony on internet & have appt @ 11 am
- 9:45 – drive to Buñol
- find parking close to main square
- in pursuit of a balcony
- walk up Cid (main street for festival)
- many people wrapping & draping their apartment homes with blue tarps
- (tomato stains stucco – need to keep it off)
- see family with corner home & roof top on 4th story
- looks like a good place to be
- walk over and ask in Spanish “Is it possible to rent a balcony?”
- they said, “Si”
- the rest is history
- get interviewed by local TV station
- 11:30 – connect with Jacopo
- wonderful young man from Italy who books balconies for festivals
- his tag line is “Being there, but without the crowds”
- he likes our rooftop so we introduce him to the family
- 2:00 – lunch in Plaza Layana – full of young people partying
- order pizza to be safe
- 3:00 – back to hotel in Chiva
Locals Hanging Out on Cid
- siesta
Cid At Sunset
- 7:30 – drive back to Buñol
- Cid is closed to traffic
- 7:00 – tomato contest – judges are rating the locally grown tomatoes
- street is lined with locals on both sides
- have set up tables with food & drinks
- street has colorful lighted decorations strung across it
- lots of music & people strolling
- get table on street – great people watching
- have beer & paella
- 10 pm – head back to Chiva
- stayed here because they had a *** hotel
What I DIDN”T LIKE
- didn’t get good directions for meeting Jacopo
- wandered around for 30 minutes trying to find him
- more mediocre pizza
- wished we would have stayed in Buñol
- only ** hotels here
- Chiva hotel needs some TLC & maintenance
FF (FUN-fact) – One of the most popular theories is that disgruntled townspeople attacked city councilmen with tomatoes during a town celebration. Whatever happened to begin the tradition, it was enjoyed so much that it was repeated the next year, and the year after that, and so on. The holiday was banned during the Spanish State period under Francisco Franco for having no religious significance, but returned in the 1970s after his demise.