Christmas eats, lights and merrymaking

A bit late but it has been a busy few months..... here's a miscellaneous selection of the run-up to Christmas and all that it involves--food, drink and lots of chatter:

A seafood feast at Oscar's house

Christmas lunch at the cooking school Las Carolinas with my favourite doctor students

Christmas dinner

We went to a local restaurant and had lobster rice (famous arroz con bogavante....local lobster that's bigger than what I am used to--they do sell Canadian lobsters too!)...mmmm....

Typical "cocido montañes"--a stew with lots of beans, veggies, meats etc--very popular and common during the winter months

Sunday breakfast--toast with olive oil and tomatoes, cured ham and a glass of OJ--very typical, healthy and yummy! :)

Beans with chorizo--hearty and warm. This second attempt came up perfectly even though I didn't know what I should have been making.... ;)

Our attempt at lobster rice looks pretty but lacked the flavour of the restaurants. Oh well, it was yummy anyhow and a good first try--there will be more to come!

We went to the hotel balneario in Puente Viesgo with a 2 for 1 coupon to enjoy the spa--here you see the water circuit and then you head outside to the heated jacuzzi (top left corner) and finish off with various saunas and Turkish baths (far right behind the benches) and a relaxation room. Estimated time 2.5 hours but we stayed almost 3.5 and a girl came to warn us about staying too long--said your blood pressure gets too low and could be dangerous..... Very nice and fun!

Cute English-style teashop in Ruente, in the valley...who would have figured they would find this in a small town in Spain??

Christmas tree in Plaza Porticada.

The 3 kings (Three Wise Men) arrive on the camels, bringing presents to the good children and coal to the bad....

We went for a weekend down to Madrid to check out the Christmas ambience, but were a bit disappointed with the reduction in lights....crisis crisis means saving money on small things here and there.... =P

Lots of people in Plaza Mayor, checking out the booths. It's typical for people to buy silly hats and wigs and wear them around town....very Christmasy?!?!

Cool cafe called "The Secret Garden"...it was difficult to find but inside was very cool and even has a tree!

Gran Via and the famous Schweppes sign (it changes colours constantly)

People scrambling for last-minute Christmas lotto tickets. This place is known for winning tickets so there's lots more buyers. More buyers, more winners, right??

Metropolis building

La Puerta del Sol and the big hollow tree

You can go inside!

The view from the inside is much cooler!

Some lights along the streets, but not as spectacular as previous years, we're told...

Plaza Mayor at night

Government building--the congress or house of representatives/parliament...

Don't remember what this was, but in the area of the government buildings... =P

Some kids climbed up for a photo but were shooed away by a guard

Little lake in Retiro Park

Canoes for rent for a relaxing paddle around the lake

Busy and yummy eats at this Galician restaurant

Red and Yellow Champions!!

July 11, 2010. World Cup Final Spain--Netherlands. Where were you during this historic moment?

A few of us got together at a local bar with a giant screen and projector, to watch the final game featuring the home country (of most people with the exception of a few of us). :) We came dressed in red and yellow, and some people brought paints to decorate faces, arms or whatever!

There was singing, dancing, cheering and general psyching-up before the game, as people were nervous, and I don't mean the players.

Warming up the voices pre-game

The game was filled with people yelling at the referee, as he was judged to be unfair for not giving the Netherlands more penalties or ejecting people for playing dirty. I don't know anything about football, but even these kicks and direct contact was obvious enough.

Anyhow, despite it all, the red and yellow (playing in blue, go figure) fought hard and came up with the one, game-winning goal. The bar erupted in celebrations and so the night began......

Champagne (or cava?) is brought out right after the goal is scored!

Singing and merriment in red and yellow

You would think this display of nationalism means they are true Spaniards, but these two are not at all!! Guess which country they are from (another trivia contest)! :)

Well one of us ain't Spanish either, but what the heck--when in Rome, right?

After the game, we headed into the centre of town, to the popular plaza where everyone gathers at night, and man, were people gathered around there that night! The square was filled with people singing, dancing, chanting, hugging, kissing etc etc. All you could see was a mass of red and yellow clothes and flags, and then firecrackers were set off later on.

What excitement in the streets!!

Sergio is an example of joyful merriment here, after being a nervous-wreck through the game, and having to escape outside during tense moments! ;)

Crazy people scale the lampposts to dance

Look, it's Pulpo Paul, the all-knowing 8-legged predictor of football destinies!

The skies are lit up as the festivities continue late into the night

A while later, things started to get crazy as footballs were dug out from somewhere, and people were throwing and kicking them around. This resulted in innocent party-goers being smacked on the head, or kicked in the back with them. Some stupid drunks were breaking windows of the flats around the square and that was not cool, so we left when the atmosphere was still happy and positive.

Still after a week and a bit, people are still talking and the game is still on the news!! This historic event will not be forgotten anytime soon--yesterday on the news we watched a report about how some fanatics were getting World Cup 2010 champ tattoos.....now that's one way to never forget!

My first Spanish wedding experience

May 22nd, 2010~

My first time witnessing a Spanish wedding. Now, having only been to one wedding since age 3, I didn't know what to expect, and if overall it would be any different. The order of events was church, lunch and party. Okay, seemed like the usual deal.

I wasn't wrong about that. But one thing that stood out a lot? There certainly was a higher decibel of sound, with lots of cheering ("Long live the newlyweds!" or "Long live the parents of the newlyweds!" or "Long live the brother of the friends of the parents of the newlyweds!"...you get the idea), singing (folk songs, pop songs and football team chants), clapping and dancing. Not surprising, given the Spanish passion and enthusiasm for everything social. :)

First off, the ceremony in the church of Astillero, about 12:30pm arrival for guests:

The bride is here--let the day begin!

Everyone waiting eagerly for the ceremony to begin

The little ones were supposed to carry a basket and walk down the aisle--a lot to ask for such tiny kids, but they managed, sort of gracefully :)

Cristina's dad was very nervous when they got out of the car, but he seems very happy as he walks his daughter down the aisle

Officially married and waiting happily at the front...do the parents look relieved to you? :)

The boys armed with different things to throw at the newlyweds

The priest said that throwing rice was forbidden (since he had to clean it up) so instead, what you see flying above their heads are....pasta!!! I'm sure he didn't love that smart-aleck alternative. Luckily no one had an eye taken out! ;)

Luis the photographer ducks the onslaught of confetti and others pick out bits and pieces from their clothes.... ;D

Next, we drove out to Escalante for lunch (bear in mind this is Spanish lunch and it was about 3:30pm):

The hotel, San Roman de Escalante, with it's lovely outdoor area for mingling and munching

Lovely garden setting for a calm start to the meal

A lovely shot in the sun, after some drinks and canapes to start it off

The "party" table of guys, with a 3 extras joining for the photo

The newlyweds arrive to applause and cheers

The lunch menu--I think I translated everything below correctly... ;)

Warm cod salad

Monkfish (rape in Spanish) with prawn and velvet crab (necora) sauce

Grilled steak (what do you call this, a ribeye or something??) with some potatoes

Double chocolate cake with strawberry ice cream

Cutting the cake (it was already in little pieces rather than a giant tower!)

Happily sipping on sorbet between courses

About 14 tables or so (I don't remember exactly) of happy folks enjoying the meal and the festivities

The newlyweds have their dance

Sort of like a conga-line, but with different music and it was a bit disconnected as people weren't really keeping rhythm so well..

Up goes the groom....

...and now for the bride....

Lunch, singing and dancing was over by about 8:30 or 9pm and then we hopped on a chartered bus to Noja for more revelry in a bar that was partly reserved for the wedding party:

More singing as we ride the bus to Noja, for more partying and spending the night

On Sunday, we went for a walk along the lovely beach in Noja

To get a real feel of the atmosphere of it all, a few videos for your viewing pleasure: