Spain: Magi King Parades and January Sales

After I returned back to Don Benito from Chipiona for New Years, I still had five or six days left of christmas vacation to enjoy. Plus, for the Spaniards Christmas doesn't end until January 6th. That's when the three Magi kings bring all the good little Spanish children gifts. They are really lucky because Santa Claus brings them something and then a fortnight later they get even more gifts. I talked with all my students about what gifts they received and they got mostly clothes, money, and a videogame system. Some of them only got money though which was interesting.

On the night of the 6th there was a parade all through Don Benito with themed floats. The themes varied, Toy Story, Cinderella etc. In total there was about fifteen and the whole town showed up to see them slowly make their way down the avenida. The best thing for me was that they were tossing candy at the bystanders so everyone was scrambling to pick up the candy off of the sidewalk. Some people even brought umbrellas to catch the candy with. My favorite float was the techno dragon that some of my students were on. Pretty creative.


One of the Magi kings throwing candy to onlookers with his helpers


Cinderella

After the parade went by us we decided to try a 'caña tour'. The cafes here all give you something to munch on when you order a drink and some of the food is quite good. This one bar on the plaza gives you fried chicken wings or calamari. The first two cafes we went to gave us chips, and the third gave us peanuts. We didn't start off very well, but finally struck gold with El Diamante where they gave us some sort of green bean casserole. It was so good we stayed for another caña. Each time you order a round they give you something different usually. We finished the tour at the plaza where we sampled the calamari at La Candela.

The day after "Reyes" is the official start to rebajas (sales) season. Every store participates and the discounts can be pretty steep. The stores started with smaller discounts like 20% off and then in February they kicked it up a notch and now have some pretty nice bargains. Rebajas will go on until the end of February and then prices will go back to normal, until August when they have the summer sales.

Another thing that changed with the new year is the law regarding smoking indoors. Before January 2nd, 2011, people could smoke in bars, clubs, restaurants etc. But now they have to go outside and it is so much better. At first it was kind of quaint and different that they smoke inside here, but after a few times out I just wanted to come home without smelling like an ashtray and with my eyes burning. I used to stay away from certain places because the ventilation was so bad, but now it doesn't matter. A lot of Spaniards complained about losing their 'rights' to smoke indoors, but what's more important, the right to smoke inside, or the right to breathe fresh air? It's not as if this is Siberia, going outside isn't that big of a deal.

New years eve in chipiona

For New Years Eve I went down south to Chipiona to see some friends from the last couple times I came to Spain. I haven't been down there since the first weekend of October so I figured it was time to return and New Years Eve is a great holiday to spend with friends. I took the train from Don Benito to Sevilla and arrived around noon. Then met my friend Margari there who just happened to be driving to Chipiona around the same time I arrived. Sevilla was beautiful as always and much warmer than Extremadura.

Margari dropped me off at Rocio's parents' store just as they were closing up for the weekend. Rocio's dad took me for 'una tapita' at a new restaurant/bar that I really liked near the lighthouse and then to another bar across from Rosa's store. I took the opportunity to surprise her that I was there and we chatted for a few minutes before I had to leave.

Fast forward a few hours and another friend Jennie picks me up at Rocio's parents' house around 11:30. We head back to her house to watch the New Years Eve special on tv and do the 12 grapes. Each time the bell tolls after midnight you are supposed to eat a grape for good luck. You are supposed to be done with them just after the twelfth toll. It took me about 4 minutes due to all the seeds and the skin. Seedless grapes are really underrated.

After we watched the action from Puerta del Sol in Madrid we headed out to the clubs. Everyone was out and lots of people were wearing tuxedos. I was really surprised by that but Jennie told me it's something the young kids do. We stayed out until breakfast, which some old guy paid for, and then I took a glorious nap after the long night out.

On new years day I went with Jennie and Carolina to Sanlucar de Barrameda to eat at McDonalds. It's really different here, they have sandwiches called the CBO (chicken bacon onion) and the NYCrispy. Same monopoly game, but all the streets are streets in Madrid.

Chipiona is really different in winter. It's not packed with tourists and it seems half empty. The town is really just chill and people seem to be enjoying their downtime. Come July the place will be buzzing with beachgoers. See you soon in March Chipiona...


12 grapes ready to be not eaten in 12 seconds


friends

Spain: Roman Ruins and The Three Kings

After Christmas I went to Merida, a city 50km away and the capital of Extremadura, with my friend Joe to check out the sights and do a little tourism on the cheap. The train ride there and back only cost 6.50 and took about 45 minutes. We went to the see the Roman ruins and they were spectacular. We also went to eat in the beautiful plaza in the center of Merida.

In the plaza kids were lining up to tell one of the three kings what they want for Christmas. Santa Claus isn't big here, but the kids ask the Magi kings for gifts instead.

Enjoy the pictures!


In front of the Roman bridge in Merida










Los Reyes Magos in Merida