Sunday, March 18, 2012

Holiday Recap: A Spanish Christmas


Christmas in Spain

***
I've been in a different country for every holiday since I moved overseas.
Thanksgiving in Denmark. Christmas in Spain. NYE in Ireland. 
Valentines in Nepal. St. Patrick's in Norway. 

Sarah and I have tickets for a birthday in Switzerland.
We expect to be home in time for Independence Day in the USA.
***
I went to visit Jake who was studying in Valencia.

A week filled with:
The Mediterranean. Sundresses. Libraries. Biking. Salsa dancing.
Horchata. Tortilla making. Museums. Towers. 
Cooking. Books. Siestas. Exploring. 

 

We streamed "It's A Wonderful Life" from youtube.
The Christmas lights (we bought from the Chinese dollar store) clicked on and off,
the dogs barked next door, and the smell of urine floated up off the street.

Coziness is a state of mind. 


Christmas Eve: 
Picnic on the beach, wandering the shore, eating ice-cream.

We were invited to dinner with some fellow Americans and Lithuanians.
Attempted to make Spanish tortilla but it fell apart.

"We'll just cover it with cheese and bake it...now it's a casserole!"

Baking lard smells like an old man's feet.

I made sangria. The Lithuanians made beets, herring, and some potent cider.
Spanish cheese. Jamon. Hummus. Cheesecake. Multi-cultural delights.




I spent Christmas morning making sweet potato pancakes 
and then running through Valencia with my suitcase to catch the bus Barcelona.



That evening I grabbed a kabob for dinner before returning to our dirty hostel.
  I sat in a beer soaked couch and tried to Skype my family on a bad connection,
 while holding the power adapter at an awkward angle, in the air, 
so the battery wouldn't die.
Honestly, not my favorite Christmas.



However, Barcelona was breathtaking.
Holiday: Redeemed!


3 days. Gaudi. Paella. Sun. Wandering. Bliss.
Forty dollars will fly you to Dublin.

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