Everything can change in less than an hour.
Wait, you are right if you questioned my opening phrase. Not everything, and not in less than an hour. Sometimes things completely shift in just a few minutes. And sometimes they never do. But in this case, last Saturday afternoon, the sky changed its colour in only 50 minutes.
I wouldn't remember the exact time if I hadn't checked the photos' info I took that day. When we were on this escalator, climbing to the street from the subway, it was 5:31 in the afternoon.
I was here with my son on a mission: Christmas lights hunting! 😂. From his home, we would need around half an hour on foot to arrive at the city hall and the streets that surround it, but he offered the option to go there by an underground tram so I could still walk comfortably and complete my mission. The stop where we had to get off is "Alacant", which is so confusing, as we were in Valencia.
The sky above the main train station hinted at what time of day we were, somewhere between that daytime blue and the grey that comes as we move away from the sun. Somehow dull and inexpressive.
The same greyish, lifeless colour of the sky accompanied us during our walk. We passed by the city hall and the square, which was already very crowded. With the idea to get back here before 6:30, we headed to the Cathedral and the square in front of it to see the Christmas street market.
The huge stars and lights were still sleeping. It looks so different when it is daytime, right?
Getting closer to the Christmas market, the stalls selling roasted chestnuts tempted us with the smell. Maybe it seems like a small detail, but it is essential during a winter walk to buy roasted chestnuts. Yeah, it wasn't even cold outside (we had winter jackets, but there were some people in T-shirts, and the thermometers in the city showed 21 degrees Celsius), and you have black fingertips after peeling the chestnuts' shells; however, sharing it with my son while strolling among the stalls in the street market felt good.
The Christmas street market also had a nice, shiny cover. Strings of lights were hanging over our heads. The sky was still just half-ready for highlighting their grace.
The street market was pretty nice. I visited many of them over the years, and I already know what I can expect. Crafts made using various natural materials, such as wood, ceramics, leather, fabric, aromatic and medicinal plants, and natural ingredients like almonds, figs, olive oil, etc. All of this is wonderful; sometimes it is more expensive, but if we truly appreciate the time an artisan needs to create these items, it is worth buying from these stalls.
After the Christmas street market, my son suggested visiting the interior of the cathedral, even though we were not sure whether we could enter. Usually, there is an admission fee. In front of the entrance, we could also see one of the nativity scenes arranged in different spots in the city.
In the end, we had luck, and the entrance to this part of the church was free. Still, we didn't stay for a long time inside as they were preparing for Mass, and we had to finish our mission. The lights were waiting for us. ✨
And indeed. The sky already changed to a nicer blue! It wasn't yet the complete change that made me start my post in the way I did.
Now yes. At 6:19, we were already standing in front of the city hall, waiting for the fireworks. It took less than 50 minutes for the sky to change completely from the dull grey colour to this beautiful, deep blue.
Isn't it marvellous?
Such a lovely Christmas street market with awesome Christmas lights 😍 Chestnut is a nutritious nut good for digestive and heart health.
Hi there 👋
I know they are tasty, so now I know they are also healthy 😋
Thanks 🌸
You are welcome 😊 Your country is blessed with lots of chestnut supply. Here, in the Philippines chestnut is so rare ☹️. All variety of nuts are nutritious 😊
those little felt dols would be something to entertain my granddaughter :)
!PIMP
!UNI
!BBH
You have been manual curated and upvoted by @ecency
Did you know that @stresskiller is also a witness now ?
I just checked how to say it in English, as I was not sure. So they are called finger puppets. I know your wife likes sewing, maybe she can try to craft some similar finger puppets for your granddaughter :)
yeah maybe she will be able to that in 4 weeks time , tomorrow she will have surgery first , finaly getting her cataract surgery on the left eye done , and soon after the other eye will also be done , then we hope that her vision returns properly.
I wish all the best to her and the surgery to go well!! 🙏
thank you , i'll just bring the camera with me tomorrow and walk arround the hospotal until they are done , need to kill that time with something .
📸
What a wonderful day you all had! I'm so glad you included us in this amazing trip! Thank you!
And thank you for coming along 😇
What a marvelous day! Wish I could pop over to do my Christmas shopping there.
You would enjoy it, there are always cool things that we can find on these stalls 😉
There's one like this in HK. But with sweet potatoes and I already tried it ☺️ they are acute sweeter when roasted than boiled.
Sweet potatoes must also be very tasty. These vendors had roasted corn on the cob too, but we chose just the chestnuts.
Sounds like heaven! I want to fly over!
Because of the 21 degrees Celsius? 😁
We had colder days last week, it is like the weather just went to better for no reason haha
Wonderful pictures @mipiano! Nice walk! The change from the initial pale blue to a beautiful blue as night falls is impressive.
Thank you @beaescribe, the change in the colour left an impression on me 😇
The sky and lights with that cathedral (?) in the background is stunning.
This is what I love about the extensive Christmas lights around - the world gets dark so quickly these days, we need a little something to hold on to and to keep us from hiding inside our houses, don't we?
In the second-to-last photo, we really have the cathedral tower in the background, and in the last one, that building with the tower and the clock is the town hall.
Short days where the darkness comes quickly... with these lights we make them happier :D
When we were in Krakow, so almost a month has passed, the sun was setting already around 4 pm 😬. Now I think it is even earlier. Here it is like two hours later
These are really gorgeous,@mipiano! I lost my black pair that I was wearing in krakow, boo!
I probably put them down in some dark restaurant.
Your post are always so beautiful-thank you for sharing!
Believe me or not, I remembered your gloves while I was writing this part of the post haha. Oh no, so they are lost 😭
Thank you Alessandra. 🤗
How beautiful it looks with the Christmas lights. The market is full of lovely things, and certainly in markets like these everything tends to be more expensive, but the value of handmade items is worth it. The architecture is impressive. It's great that you enjoyed the church before continuing to admire the lights.
That is understandable that the price is a bit higher; the local craftsmen's items can't even be compared to those from chain stores, where the quality is much lower. Thank you for your comment @doriangel 😇
I have spent so many hours with the camera on the tripod, waiting for that perfect blue and then photograph like crazy because I have less than 5' to make good use of it :)
Nice walk!
Oh well, maybe you could also take a walk before those 5 minutes instead of waiting. 😁
Just a joke, of course 😉.
I am sure that a lot of preparation and planning, plus focus and patience, are needed to be a good photographer, apart from the talent, good eye, and good equipment! 📸
This deep blue on the sky, wow! One of favourite colors.
Your favourite as well? 😇
I hope there are many similar evening colours at your current place. 😃
Good evening @mipiano. I'm not going to be very original... that sky in the last photo is a feast for the eyes.
The whole walk was very enjoyable. I found the market with its crafts very interesting. And the interior of the church is also impressive.
Thank you so much for sharing this very Christmassy walk.
Big hug.
Good evening @enraizar
I am glad you found it interesting. It wasn't the biggest Christmas market I have visited, but there were interesting things I enjoyed seeing. To my surprise, I saw one stall that I had seen some years ago in Huelva - the shoes. I immediately recognised them, the style and the colours, as I liked them back in time also!
Good morning @mipiano. I noticed those shoes while I was strolling through the market, although what really caught my eye was the incense. I occasionally light some at home, and I'm sure I would have bought some sticks.
Hope you have a great day!
Good morning @enraizar
So that would be your favorite stall, with the incense :))
Have a great day you too 😊
Good afternoon @mipiano, that stall with incense would probably be one of my favorites.
I hope your day is going well.
Buenos días @enraizar, sí, un día largo pero productivo. Si no hablamos antes, entonces te deseo ahora un buen fin de semana 😇👋✨️
Justo tengo un ratito libre ahora. Feliz fin de semana @mipiano. 🤗
Gracias!!
I was thinking about that very thing, about how long it takes a craftsman to make the wonders he does, the work and the dedication. I stopped to look at these beautiful things and then at the wooden spoons and combs... you know those combs are used in head massages for special sessions. What a beauty.
I love the lights, the sky changes but I'll take the whole flea market!!!
A head massage would come in handy after this long day. Hey, you are also still awake? 😂
Yes, a craftsman needs a lot of time and dedication, the same as happens in arts
It's time to rest. 😉Good night 😴 💤
Se me hizo super tarde... estoy muerta de cansancio jajaja
Te dejo mi canal favorito en esos temas!
Huy! me encantan esos zapatos hechos a mano de Huelva.
Tanto me gustan que estaría casi dispuesto a comprarme dos pares de ellos y si es posible que tu me los enviaras aquí a Venezuela.
Si tienes el chance, por favor verifica si ese valor de 115 que aparece en algunas de las etiquetas es el precio de los zapatos. Y si lo es, en todo caso los zapatos que me gustan pudiesen ser un poco más caros. Pero si tienes la oportunidad, averigua de todos modos. Porque si los dos pares de zapatos que me gustan andan alrededor de los €250,00, es muy probable que decidiera comprarlos. Solo faltaría conocer el costo de enviarlos a Venezuela y su tu estarías realmente dispuesta a enviármelos aquí, y ya solo restaría que yo hiciera los trámites para vender uno de mis viejos riñones en el mercado negro para transferirte los churupos y que concretáramos el negocio.
Definitivamente me encantaría que me enterraran vistiendo cualquiera de los dos pares de zapatos que he seleccionado de tu foto y te muestro a continuación:
Hombre, esos zapatos morados son chulísimos, buena elección. 👌
Pero creo que cuestan 130 con los cordones, y las botas, bueno, ni idea, jaja. Lo que pasa es que no son euros €... Creo que la chica que viajó desde Huelva a Valencia a exponer sus productos pide abrazos, y luego, cuando paga los impuestos y la cuota de autónomo, también reparte abrazos en la Administración Tributaria. 😁
Espero que estás bien 😉, te deseo felices fiestas 🎄✨️🎶
Ah! perfecto, fantástico. Pues que por regatear que no quede eh? Cuando pases de nuevo por allí, pues me le das 350 abrazos a la niña si es necesario y que te de los zapatos morados obviamente con los cordones y también las botas (que probablemente no lleven cordones) y me los envías a Venezuela antes de Nochebuena para ponerlos debajo del árbolito y poder presumirle a mis amigos y conocidos que este año si me trajo algo el olvidadizo niño Jesús. Ya yo luego me las arreglo para reembolsarte todos los abrazos y besos que tengas que dar más los costes monetarios del envío. Uff que suerte, a lo mejor y hasta me ahorro el trabajo de los trámites en el mercado negro y recibo el Año Nuevo 2026 con mis dos viejos riñones intactos. :D
Lo mismo para ti mi estimada. Que tengas y disfrutes siempre de unas muy felices fiestas absolutamente repletas de salud, alegría y bienestar. Un besote y fuerte abrazo. (como los que le has de dar a la niña para que te entregue mis zapatos)
Take care of your health —
two kidneys intact must remain!
With humour, hugs, and comfy shoes,
there's nothing we can lose.
😁👋
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Thank you for the pin 😇
Life is a constant ebb and flow, where the irreversible can happen in an instant. Although change sometimes seems slow or non-existent, last Saturday reminded us that even the sky can transform in just 50 minutes. This duality teaches us that, although some situations persist, there is always room for hope and transformation. Appreciate every moment, for every second has the potential to be a new beginning.