Christmas Eve in Don Benito

For Christmas Eve, my friend Maria invited me to her house for dinner. Since I had no other plans, I of course accepted her invitation. I walked to her house which is on the other side of town, about twenty minutes away from my apartment. I arrived about half an hour late and was still there before many of Maria's family. Nobody is ever on time here in Spain, it's completely acceptable to be half an hour or more late when meeting someone somewhere. Maria's family had the dinner in their garage which has a huge lounge that they use for parties before going out to the clubs.

For dinner there was a roast suckling pig, plates and plates of jamon, shrimp, salad, cheese, and lots of other things to munch on. For dessert one of Maria's relatives brought a couple chocolate mousse cakes which were delicious. The food was all really good, even the baby pig that I was apprehensive about eating.

After dinner which ended around 1 a.m. the young people went out to the clubs to meet up with friends. There were tons of people out as Christmas Eve is one of the most social nights of the year. Each place we went to was packed and it was really a good time out.

I'm happy with my decision not to jet-set to a European capital for Christmas since I had a good time right here in Don Benito and I got to experience a traditional Spanish Christmas Eve dinner. The way I figure it, I can visit Rome or Amsterdam any weekend, but Christmas only comes once a year. Plus it's cold in Amsterdam!


Christmas Eve dinner with Maria's family


the Christmas lights in the plaza in Don Benito