flashback // Spanish feria

Sometime last week, a friend on my facebook feed who still lives in Spain mentioned going to the local feria, and bam....I started missing Spain again. I know at some point, I'm going to have to stop with all the España posts, because obviously, I live here now, and the whole point of this blog is to share my new adventures in California, but dang, it's hard sometimes.

Back to feria though. It's basically the country's week-long party held a couple weeks after their Easter Holy Week, and in my humble opinion, it's full of the best parts of Spanish culture: Sevillana dancing, sherry, tapas, friends, huge jugs of rebujitos, dancing your little butts off, and those delicious chocolate buñuelos.

Here are some photos I took at last year's feria in Puerto de Santa Maria (taken with my Diana Mini film camera).

The Spanish women get dolled up in the most gorgeous Sevillana dresses, and for them, it's a huge deal. Many will get them custom-made like, months in advance. Even pushing a stroller, that woman looks super classy. In fact, I barely even notice the stroller.

The best part of feria? A delicious pitcher of rebujito (a dry sherry mixed with Sprite). There I am, holding my prize. The second best part of feria? Walking anywhere you want with your pitcher of rebujito, because this isn't America where they section off a drinking-only zone because they think we can't handle ourselves (I'm looking at you, Cinco de Mayo festival in Old Town).

Pardon the blurriness, but I do love this photo. It's a group of little girls (and maybe a boy or two) dancing a traditional Sevillana dance. Yep. They get in on the feria action too, and they kill it.

Feria's motto should be: "You won't leave hungry." And if you come to feria on a full stomach, you're an idiot, cause sometimes things just taste better served fried and under a tent.

Amigos buying tickets for a ride. Adult-friendly rides. Rides that were set up within a day. Perfectly safe.

No, it's not a Tron movie. Just that perfectly safe ride I was talking about.

Speaking of rides, here's what several seconds of bumper cars looks like to a camera lens.

Do you like cheap shopping? I do. And feria has cheap shopping. Mostly clothes and bags and jewelry. Lots of jewelry. Granted, every bracelet I bought from feria broke after about a year, but that's okay, cause it was only 2 euros.

Double-exposure/blurry goodness. But I actually love it like that, cause it kind of embodies what feria was like for me. Chaotic, crowded, dusty, bright lights, and just damn FUN.

flashback // Camden Town, London

I can't believe it was only a year ago that I was in merrie London town! I was traveling there with my good friend Latella, and while I was there primarily for a photography workshop, we were also there to attend the London Lomography Store launch party. Good, good times.

Anyway, I feel like reminiscing. So let's reminisce together, shall we?

We spent a lot of time in Camden Town. Probably because of all the sensory overload, which we both thrive off of. Everywhere you look, there's something to see, smell, taste, touch, and take a photo of. And scooter seats. You can't beat a good scooter seat.

And food. So much food. So many street food vendors packed into one place, it's fantastic. Indian food? Check. Thai? Mexican? Spanish? It's all there.

I reallly regret not packing an extra suitcase for that trip. Once you got past the usual touristy merchandise, there were some really great vintage and antique shops that I easily could've spent hours poring through.

Jamie Oliver's restaurant! Okay, this wasn't in Camden Town, but I'm adding it anyway.

You know why I love big cities? People-watching. And in this case, baby-on-a-traffic-light-pole-watching. Even though I was well across the street when I shot this, I'm positive that kid was staring right at my soul. Look how hard he's mean-mugging me. I forgave him though, he had cool shoes.

Speaking of people-watching, one of my favorite parts of Camden Town was going up to perfect strangers and asking if I could take their photo. I had never done this before, and I was kinda nervous at first, but everyone I asked happily obliged. It has since sparked a desire to keep on with the 'stranger portrait' series now that I'm in San Diego. Must. Do this.

Here's some of my film photos from the trip, taken with my Diana Mini.

/reminiscing. Sigh.