Merry Christmas :)

The highlight of Christmas this year was by far the annual visit from our favorite Minnesotan, Adam. :) He made the two-hour AVE trip down on Friday afternoon, stayed here for the celebrations all day (and night) the 24 and headed back to Madrid on Christmas day. It was a too-short visit, but all the same we were happy to see him. Somehow, having visitors at Christmas makes it seem more festive!


Last year, if you remember, we made a bonfire and spent the night of Christmas Eve singing carols and celebrating. This year, however we were quite a bit warmer, since we all got together to spend the night in a friend's garage that is equipped with a wood stove. :) Bedtime was 6:15am...

No sooner had I closed my eyes, than my parents called wanting to Skype! I'm sure they assumed they'd woken me up and thus my refusal to get up and turn on the computer, but that was far from the case. I was exhausted after a full day of merry-making. Nothing could take me away from my warm bed and snuggly down comforter. (sorry!)

Chirstmas Eve is just the start of the holidays here in Spain. There's still New Year's Eve and the Epiphany to be celebrated! Although some of the excitement and joy abates after the 25th, people are still in festive moods and this year there are all kinds of activities and events that the city has organized to celebrate the holidays.

Wednesday was the equivalent of "April Fool's Day" in Spain: el día de los santos inocentes. The city organized a costume foot race for the occasion. In the end it was more of a jog/quick walk for about a mile through town, but it was great fun. What did I dress up as?? Santa Claus and his six reindeer!

Here are the pictures:

The reindeer.

We look slightly like Christmas hobos...but once we're pulling the sleigh it's obvious what we are. :)

Santa in his sleigh! :)

This is the sleigh from behind. Apparently the white doll figure is the symbol of los inocentes. Just like a "Kick me!" sign, people cut out a little paper doll like this one and stick it to your back... strange Spanish customs, what can I say. I think a "Kick me" sign is funnier!

And here's the view from the front. All of us reindeer were holding the reins that had jingle bells sewn on to them. You can't really see that in the picture.

The only awards given at the race were for best costume. We won second prize: a surtido ibérico (a chorizo, a salchichón and a cured pork loin). Mmmmmmmm... Soon we'll have a party all together to enjoy our winnings. :)

Finally, among the other events in town, last night was a concert at the church. It was a trombone and piano duet--beautiful! It's been at least two years now since I last played my trombone, and the truth is that as I sat there in the church listening to such wonderful music, I couldn't help wanting to join the band again. I do miss playing, but I really haven't got the time to dedicate to it... The concert lasted for about an hour and they played a great variety of songs: classical, jazz, film sound tracks, Disney. Finally they played an encore of my all-time favorite Christmas Carol, Silent Night.

I hope your Christmases were merry and you've been properly enjoying the holiday season. Have a happy new year!