Category: Holidays

Burriana / Holidays

Three Kings Day: Parades and a special cake

Doer and I admire Spaniards’ spirit of celebration, and we’ve already witnessed a number of holiday celebrations, local festivals, and parades. In early January, Three Kings’ Day (or Epiphany) is widely celebrated, with parades all over the country marking the story of the Magi who journeyed to worship baby Jesus. Though this Christian holiday exists in the U.S., there are many more traditions associated with it here, and it seems to be as widely known and celebrated as Christmas itself. Much like Santa at Christmas, Spanish children set out sweets for the kings and their camels the night before, and

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Holidays / Madrid / Tourism

Oh no, we Madrid’nt

With New Year’s Eve coming up, our next stop with Mom and Jim was an easy choice: the Puerta del Sol, Madrid’s answer to Times Square in New York. We were able to secure a last-minute airbnb just steps away from the action, so it was go time. We arrived on the 30th, so there was even some time for sightseeing. We headed to the Reina Sofia museum the night we got in from Cuenca, after finding out admission was free after 6pm. Lots of classic art there by the likes of Goya and El Greco. We also got to

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Burriana / Holidays / Valencia

Feliz Navidad – or Bon Nadal – in the Valencian Community

As lifelong Nebraskans, Doer and I tend to associate the holiday season with cold and snow. This year, we traded all of that in for sunshine and orange trees. And lots of life-sized nativity scenes, like the above display, which we came across in the city of Valencia. Though local Valencians have embraced their winter season with warm coats, hats, scarves, and gloves, most days Doer and I walk around in our mangas cortas  – short sleeves – and we’ve come to expect a refrain of, “no tienes frío?” (aren’t you cold?) wherever we go. Feels like spring break. The last

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Barcelona / Holidays / Tourism

Barcelona: The Return

We heard there was a Christmas market in Barcelona famous for its pooping figurines. Conveniently, we also had a free weekend in December. Other unaccomplished things from our last Barcelona trip could also be done. Therefore, we had to go. The Fira de Santa Llucia is one of Barcelona’s oldest Christmas markets. Catalunya – the Northeast area of Spain anchored by Barcelona – also happens to be home to some fun Christmas traditions centered around poop. And you know we can’t turn down such humor. First, there is Caga Tió (literally, shitting log). The following comic explains it better than we ever could.   Now, we

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Burriana / Holidays

Thanksgiving in Spain

Thanksgiving – that most American of holidays – is not celebrated in Spain. Working remotely for an American company, I got to enjoy the day off while Dreamer had to work on Thursday. Finally, retribution for all those Spanish holidays she rubbed in my face! We had decided earlier on, though – like, practically when we arrived here – that we wanted to show our new Spanish friends a traditional American Thanksgiving dinner. And thus, our plans for celebrating Día de Acción de Gracias were launched. To comply with the Spanish work schedule, we had our feast at 4pm on the Saturday afternoon following

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Adapting / Burriana / Getting Acquainted / Holidays / Strolling

Open

Even the most reserved travelers have to be somewhat open to new experiences. When you leave your comfort zone, you will have encounters that may make you uncomfortable. Obviously, Doer and I have been trying to approach our time living abroad with as much openness as possible. However, a couple of unexpectedly related recent events have caused me to consider my own openness. The first incident happened our second day in the city of Castellón de la Plana. After spending a week in Madrid, Doer and I were eager to find a home in the province of Castellón, where we

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