Spain

The Three Kings Parade

On January 5th,  we went to see the three Kings parade called “Los Reyes Magos”  or Cabalatas. This is a major Christian festival in Spain and a highlight for the children. In Alicante, the Three Kings arrive by boat and are greeted by hundreds of Children on the shoreline of the Mediterranean Sea.

Parents and children waiting for the arrival of the Three Kings

It was a beautiful day and we went to the Volvo museum at 4:30 p.m.  This gave us the perfect vantage point to watch the arrival of the three Kings. We could see the three Kings coming to dock on a Guardia Civil boat.

Police boat docking with the Three Kings

There were hundreds of children and parents of all ages there waiting to greet them.

The Three Kings getting the waiting children.

Once the three Kings came ashore they walked through the crowd giving small gifts and talking to the children. It was amazing to see how many children were there trying to get a chance to speak to the three Kings.

One of the three Kings going through the crowd of children

The three Kings walked slowly through the crowd and it took them almost an entire hour to get out of the marina area. They then went by vehicle escorted by the police to the Plaza de Toros. There the three kings did activities with the children before the start of the Grand Cabalgata at 7 p.m.

We walked along the parade route weaving through the heavy crowds of people until we came to the start of the parade.

Crowds of people along the parade route
crowds waiting for the three Kings

There were tens of thousands of people along both sides of the road waiting for a chance to see the three Kings. As the parade moved along there were candy, chocolate bars, gifts and other treats thrown out to the crowd. Children were calling and waving in the hopes of catching some candy or a gift. There was a frenzy of activity with the children grabbing and jumping for candy.

One of the three Kings float and candy being thrown to the crowd

We stopped and watched the parade go by. It took almost three hours for the parade to finish. We were often hit by flying candy and we even caught a few candy for ourselves.

The parade was well-organized and there were lots of police security throughout the parade route. Main routes were secured with tow trucks and police cars blocking the way.

Police controlled intersections of the parade route
Police controlling crowd access to the parade route

There were police throughout the parade and some walking in the parade. Although there were large crowds, we felt very safe knowing the security was in place.

Medical response units on standby along parade route

The newspaper reported that there were over 100,000 people at the parade. We have never experienced a Grand Cabalgata, it was an exciting, and fun event. The emotions of the children and the atmosphere of the crowds made it a very memorable event.

We put a video below of some of the parade and hope you enjoy a snapshot of the Grand Cabalgata.

“Adios y que tenga un grand dia”

 

 

Spain

A Different Tradition

In Spain, the Christmas tradition is different than in Canada. Here in Spain and in other latin American countries, the holiday season ends on the Epiphany. In Alicante, they have two parades to celebrate the Epiphany. The first parade was on January 4th and began at the Ayuntamiento (City Hall) in Alicante.

City Hall Alicante

We headed down to city hall early to see the start of the parade. People and children were gathering around excited for the start of the parade. There were different parade characters waiting for the parade to start.

Character heads on the sidewalk waiting for the start of the parade

We saw different characters walking around and Ray managed to stop and get his picture taken with some of them.

Ray with some of the parade characters

The parade also had different bands and a sleigh with “helpers to the three kings”.

Gathering in preparation to start the parade

There was also a group from the “Correos”  which is the government postal service in Spain. The parade travels through the main sections of the city collecting letters from children for the Three Kings. The letters contain the children’s wishes and requests for gifts to the Three Kings.

Correos van and motorcycles to pick up letters

As we waited for the parade to start the “Kings Helpers” stepped out onto the balcony to wave to the crowd.

Shortly before the start of the parade, the “helpers” exit city hall and climb on the sleigh to start the parade.

Helpers on the sleigh to start the parade.

We watched the parade and enjoyed seeing the children handing in their letters for the Three Kings.  It is a very different tradition from a Christmas parade in Canada. The parade is a prelude to the main parade on January 5th.

“Adios y que tenga un grand dia”

 

 

Spain

New year’s Eve 2016

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New Year’s Eve, we went with a group of friends for dinner at an original Spanish restaurant called “La Taberna Iberica”. We were greeted more like family than customers when we arrived. The owner Francesca met us at the door and gave us a big hug and a kiss on both cheeks.

The interior of the restaurant is divided into several different areas for dining and an upper level for larger groups. We went to the upstairs area which was reserved for our group of thirteen. We sat down and settled in for the 6-course meal.

There was a guitarist playing some very nice Spanish music. He entertained us with background music throughout the meal. The guitarist spoke perfect English and we found out later that evening that he is from Ottawa, Canada.

Kyle the guitarist from Ottawa Canada

We had a choice of two main plates “Cerdito” and “Filete”,. Ray ordered the Filete and Shelley ordered the Cerdito. That way we could both try the two main plates. The food was traditional Spanish with cheese and ham as a starter. We then had a plate of seafood and salad.

shrimp, tuna cake, and salad

We were then served another type of shrimp which looked similar to a small crab or prawn. We both tried them but it was not what we would normally eat.

Shelley trying the crab like seafood.
A serving of crab or prawn type seafood.

Then our main course was brought out and served. Shelley was surprised to see her Cerdito plate when it arrived. Certainly not something we would normally eat.

Main course “Cerdito” Piglet in English.

Cerdito is Spanish for piglet and the little guy was staring at her from the plate. Shelley turned the plate so the Cerdito was not looking directly at her and enjoyed the tasty meal.  After the main course, we enjoyed an assortment of cakes for dessert and an after dinner drink.

We then got a bag of twelve grapes and a few bottles of cava (similar to Champaign) delivered to the table.

Bag of twelve grapes for New Years Eve tradition in Spain

There is a tradition in Spain called “Las doce uvas de la suerte” which means “the twelve grapes of luck”. The origin of this tradition dates back to 1909 and began here in Alicante. Apparently, there was an abundance of grapes that particular year and the growers popularized this custom to sell large amounts of grapes.

In Madrid, they have a similar event to Time Square in New York. There is a large ball in Madrid that is lowered at Midnight and it is televised across Spain.

Spain New Year’s Eve countdown from Madrid.

We took our grapes and cava and headed downstairs to the main room which has the TV. We watched the countdown and at midnight ate the 12 grapes to the sound of the bells chiming midnight.

Waiting for Midnight to eat our grapes
Ray waiting to eat his grapes
12 Grapes at the ready for midnight

After finishing our grapes and wishing everyone Happy New Year, we headed to City Hall. There is a large plaza there where the party goes on until the early hours. When we arrived there were thousands of people in the plaza dancing and having fun.

DJ set up at City Hall in Alicante

They were playing music and people were dancing all in the plaza. We saw people of all ages enjoying themselves, including people in their sixties and seventies.

Partying at city hall in Alicante

Some of the people were sharing a bottle of wine and passing it around the group. Below is a short video of some of the dancing and music in the plaza.

We stayed at City Hall for about a half an hour before heading to another bar. This bar was unique because the entrance doorway is only four feet high.

Shelley going into the doorway of the bar

The entire Inside of the bar was decorated in graffiti made by patrons of the bar. There were two floors to the bar, and we headed upstairs to have a drink.

Unique bar in Alicante
A wall covered in graffiti in a bar in Alicante
Graffiti on wall

What was interesting was that we could not find any inappropriate graffiti in the entire bar.

Our first New Year’s Eve in Spain was very enjoyable.

“Adios y próspero año nuevo”

Spain

New years eve traditions in Alicante spain

They have a tradition in Alicante of starting New Year’s Eve early in the day.  The festivities begin with a children’s party at 11:00 a.m in the plaza at City Hall. They celebrate with music, balloons, confetti and party toys. The party goes until 1 p.m. when they have a New Year countdown called the “Australian.”  It is based on the start of New Year in Australia.

Plaza at City Hall Alicante before the New Year’s Eve Party

After the children’s party is over, people either go to different bars or to the Mascletás and the festivities begin.

We started our New Year’s Eve by heading down to the Luceros Plaza for the Mascletás (daytime fireworks). We gathered on the plaza along with thousands of other people.

Plaza de Luceros before the Mascletás

People were celebrating and having drinks of Moscatel which is a sweet wine. As we were waiting for the fireworks to start the group in front of us offered us a glass of Moscatel. We gladly accepted and enjoyed the drink with our new-found friends.

Shelley and Mike enjoying a drink of Moscatel
crowd drinking Moscatel waiting for fireworks to begin

The crowd was very well controlled and there were police throughout the area.

Police patrolling through the crowds at the Mascletás

The start of the Mascletás was signaled by a single firework blast. The crowd cheered and the fireworks began. They are very different because of the focus on sound and not light. Where we were standing you could feel the vibrations of the sound hitting your chest. It was very invigorating and exciting to experience. Below is the video of the Mascleta in its entirety.

After the Mascletás the people go to local bars and pubs for tapas and drinks. Some of the bars are very popular and fill up very fast.

People at a popular bar in Alicante on New Year’s Eve

We headed to one of our favorite bars in the old quarter of Alicante. The bar is in the lower section of a building and is fairly small.

One of our favorite Bars in Alicante

We arrived early and it was still fairly empty, so we settled in and enjoyed a few drinks and Tapas.

Tapas and drinks at the bar New years Eve

Afterward, we headed home to rest before heading back out for the evening festivities, but that will be for another blog post.

“Adios y que tenga un grand dia”

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”

 

Life is too short to wait for adventure!