Tag Archives: Spain culture

Spain

Merry Christmas from Spain

It is our first Christmas in Spain. The culture here is different from that of Canada. One of the things we noticed is the lack of Christmas decorations compared to Canada. Here there are less Christmas trees and assorted Santa decorations. Most of the homes we saw lacked Christmas decorations and there are very few homes with Christmas lights.

There is more of a family focused time and the city has different activities for family fun.

Christmas decoration in Alicante
Artificial slide for family fun

The main streets of Alicante have lights strung across the street and they are very pretty at night.

Street in Alicante

Stores decorate with lights and avoid Santa or Christmas trees for the most part.

Christmas decorations in Mall

There is less active merchandising with more of a focus on the religious aspect and not on the commercial merchandise. It is not uncommon to see a Nativity scene here,  where in Canada you would likely see a Christmas tree or Santa decoration. The focus here is more centered on the religious aspect of Christmas. It is a nice difference and one we enjoyed.

There are subtle differences as well. For example,  you do not say Merry Christmas, the greeting is ¡Feliz Navidad! which means happy Christmas. They also say Felices Fiestas! which means happy Holidays.  The word merry is not used in this context.

They also say “¡Feliz Año Nuevo!” Happy New Year. We found out quickly that a good response to ¡Feliz Navidad! is simply “Igualmente,”  which means equally.  The focus here in Spain is on happiness, family, and friends.

“¡Feliz Navidad! mi amigos”

 

Spain

Huevos de Codorniz

We have been trying out new food since moving to Spain. One of the foods we have seen on many occasions is Quail eggs. I do not recall ever seeing them in Canada but they are popular here in Spain. We decided to try “Huevos frescos de Codorniz”. which means “Fresh eggs of Quail”.

Common Quail

They sell the small cartons of Quail eggs at most grocery stores and markets. We went to our local market and our vendor Christina told us they are very good served on toast with cheese.

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Quail eggs which are sold in Spain

We bought a dozen of the quail eggs and headed home to give them a try. Quail eggs are much smaller than chicken eggs about a quarter the size of a regular chicken egg.

Carton of a dozen quail eggs

Quail eggs are higher in protein and nutrients than chicken eggs. Their small size makes it very tricky to crack them open without breaking the yoke.

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Shelley cooked up four of them for breakfast in a small frying pan. The eggs were so small that there was lots of room left in the pan.

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four quail eggs in a small frying pan
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Two fried quail eggs on cheddar cheese and a half of a toasted baguette

We made some toasted baguette and enjoyed the quail eggs with cheddar cheese and a sprinkle of olive oil.

The meal was very tasty and the quail eggs taste very similar to chicken eggs.

“Adios y que tenga un grand dia”

Spain

Alicante Fiesta

Today December 6, 2016, is an official holiday and fiesta in Alicante. It was a beautiful sunny day and we decided to take a walk downtown.  Along the way downtown, we came across an artificial hill made for sliding. It was decorated to look like a snow hill and people were using tubes to slide down the hill.

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Artificial hill made to look like a snow hill for sliding.
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View of artificial sliding hill in Alicante

The sliding area of the hill was made with white plastic and provided a slippery surface for the tubes. It worked fairly well and the children were enjoying the slide.

We then headed to the Plaza del Ayuntamiento which is located beside city hall. Christmas music was playing and a large Christmas tree was on display in the center of the plaza. We also found in the center of the plaza an outdoor skating rink with real ice!

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Outdoor skating rink at city hall in Alicante

People could rent ice skates and go skating on the ice rink. We watched as people enjoyed skating on the ice. It was strange to watch because the sun was shining and the temperature was 19 degrees celsius.

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Ice rink with Christmas tree and orange tree in Alicante

After watching people skate for a while we started heading home. As we reached the main street there was a parade taking place. We stopped and watched the parade which consisted of a religious procession. They played music and carried a large religious statue.

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Religious procession in Alicante Spain
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Religious statue being carried in parade

At the end of the parade was a truck which was throwing into the crowd small gifts to the children.

It was a nice and relaxing way to enjoy the holiday in Alicante.

“Adios y que tenga un gran dia”

 

 

Spain

Animal Museum in Ronda

We went to a museum in Ronda called “Museo de Caza” which translates to the Hunting Museum. We thought it looked interesting so we went to see it. Once we entered inside the museum we were greeted with a large stuffed grizzly bear.

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A stuffed Grizzly Bear at the Museo de Caza in Ronda

We paid our two euros each and began exploring the different rooms which displayed an enormous amount of stuffed animals.

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One of the rooms in the Museo de Caza in Ronda

As we walked through the museum we came across more and more stuffed animals. There were animals from all over the world and displayed beside the animals were plaques identifying their origin and where they were killed.

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Plaque displaying the area where the animals were killed.

We came across tigers and lions in one of the rooms and an alligator in another room.

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Lion on display in Museo de Caza in Ronda
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Large cat in Museo de Caza .in Ronda
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Shelley with an alligator on display at Museo de Caza.

The animals on displays were all over the walls and there was very little free space in the Museum. It was a bit unsettling being in the rooms with so many dead animals displayed as trophies. There were some areas where we needed to watch our heads in order not to bump into an animal on display.

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Some of the animals on displayed that were on the wall causing a low overhead when walking.

Walking through the different rooms we came across animals from all different areas of the world. We came across monkeys, gazelles and wild boars from Africa.

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Monkeys, wild boars, and other African animals on display
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Wild boar in Museo de Caza in Ronda

There were water buffalo and other African animals, some which I have never seen before.

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There was a pair of  Elephant tusk that was on display which was enormous. The plaque indicated that the tusk were obtained prior to the ban on ivory.

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African Elephant Tusk on display at Museo de Caza in Ronda

We even saw animals that were from North America and Canada in particular.

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Brown Bear that was killed in Canada
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Black bears and assorted gazelles on display. Note the elephant foot used as a table on the right.

There were walls full of mounted skulls with horns displayed from all over the world.

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Horns and skulls mounted and displayed in Museo de Caza

They had every imaginable type of animal displayed including waterfowl, groundhogs, and birds.

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Waterfowl on display at the Museo de Caza

The museum was full of animals from around the world. It was hard to imagine that such a collection of animals were on display in the small mountaintop town of Ronda Spain.

“Adios y que tiene un gran dia”

Spain

The city of Cadiz Spain

We went to the city of Cadiz Spain which is in the south of Spain. Cadiz is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Spain and one of the oldest in western Europe. The Spanish navy has been stationed in Cadiz since the 18th century.

We decided to walk through the old section of Cadiz exploring the narrow streets and admiring the historic buildings.

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Narrow streets in old quarter of Cadiz Spain
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Typical historic building of Cadiz

We came to a large central plaza where people were enjoying the day at the cafes and pubs.

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Main Plaza in old quarter of Cadiz Spain

We walked through the plaza enjoying the hustle and bustle of people. We came to the Cathedral in the plaza which was quite nice.

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Cathedral in Cadiz Spain

We walked along the streets until we came across the ruins of a Roman Theater which was partially excavated. It is believed that the theater was built in the 1st century BC and one of the largest ever built in the Roman Empire. It could hold more than 20,000 people and was mentioned in Roman writings.

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Roman Theater wall from 1st century BC in Cadiz
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Roman Theater remains in Cadiz Spain
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Roman Theater the view of the seating area

We went into the Roman Theater and explored the site. It was truly amazing to see the ruins knowing that they were built in the first century BC. We were able to enter underground and see parts of the Theater from below.

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Archway to below grade of the theater
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inside the underground passageways of the theater

Inside the passageways, we could see the walls which were pitted and worn over the years.

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The walls of the underground passageways

After exploring the underground passageways, we went into the museum section of the Theater.

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Shelley in the museum section of the Roman Theater

We read about the history of the theater as well as to the discovery of the ruins after being excavated in 1980.

Afterward, we headed to the walkway along the edge of the city. The  views along the walkway were beautiful. We could see the entire coastal area of Cadiz.

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Walkway along the coast of Cadiz Spain

We stopped to admire the views and enjoy the beautiful sunshine.

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Louise and Bard on the coast of Cadiz Spain
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Shelley at the coast of Cadiz Spain

We walked along the waterfront for a while then headed to the park before heading back home. The park area was nicely groomed and was a relaxing walk.

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There were statues and nice shaded areas to sit and relax.

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Blaz De Lezo Statue in the park in Cadiz

“Adios y que tenga un gran dia”