One year Sadie and eating grapes on New Year's Eve

On December 30th Jose and I celebrated our one year wedding anniversary. I hadn't been feeling too hot the last week or so but was glad to see that I woke up the day of almost as good as new. Jose had made some secret plans and wouldn't even give me a hint about what we would be doing that day. All I knew was that I needed to be ready by 600pm. It turns out that we both ended up taking a looooong nap in the afternoon and began the evening late after getting all fancied up. Jose had bought us tickets for a cruise on the Guadalquivir river but we will have to pospone since we didn't arrive in time for the launch. Instead we walked around the city center before heading to eat in an Italian restaurant. The food was very good and we came back home stuffed. It was a nice way to celebrate our anniversary (no gifts of course since we are busy spending tons of money on our apartment. That is an amazing gift to each other right now).

For New Year's Eve we decided to keep it low key as well. We met up with another couple to have dinner and ring in the New Year. Jose and I were in charge of shopping for the food. Here is a picture of the spread. We ate typical tapas like Spanish tortilla, shrimp, empanada, jamon, cheese and of course Cruzcampo cerveza:


After eating and watching the New Year's Eve television program we rang in 2013 with the Spanish tradition of eating 12 grapes as the clock strikes the hour at midnight. This was also what I gave as a gift to the guests at my wedding. Happy New Year to all!

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

La mesa camilla

Image
The mesa camilla is a very Spanish invention (in fact I believe it to be a very southernly Spanish invention). It consists of a table, a heater and a heavy, long tablecloth-like fabric that drapes over the sides. The idea is that you put the heater under the table and when you sit down you put the fabric over you like a blanket. The truth is that it does keep you quite warm. The downside is that once you get up and move, you lose the heat. Since the houses and apartments here in the south of Spain are not created for the cold (no central heating) a mesa camilla can be found almost every where.  We didn't have one last year and survived with blankets, space heaters and flannel pajamas throughout the winter. This year Jose decided we needed to get a mesa camilla. I fought the good fight (since often times they look very similar to the option in the picture above) but we ended up ordering one not too long ago.  Typically the mesa camilla is made of wood and can be stored throu
Read more

Simple Spanish recipe: Chipirones a la plancha

Image
Ok so I know this picture is a bit blurry and I apologize but it is the final result of my having cooked chipirones a la plancha for the first time. Let me explain, chipirones are small squid and a la plancha means grilled. They are served in an olive oil, parsley and garlic sauce. At first I wasn't sold on the idea of this recipe but believe me, it is pretty awesome and super healthy. It is a really typical tapa that you can order at almost any bar here in the south of Spain. Chipirones a la plancha is usually served on a bed of lettuce or with a small side salad. Yum! Here's the how: First you need the chipirones (small squid that come with the heads and tentacles attached). I can buy them at my local grocery store in the fresh seafood section. I bought a package of 400 grams though the good thing about this recipe is that you can make as much or as little as you like. Allow me to also explain that here in Spain people tend to eat a lot more fish and seafood than
Read more

Spanish names

Image
Maaaaaaaria, I just met a girl named Maria Hopefully you just read that and sang the song from West Side Story in your head. Let's just say that from what I have experienced here in Spain, people really, really like this name. In fact, there are times when it seems like EVERY woman or girl is named Maria (or Maria de/l something) and though they might go by the second part of their name, their given one is still Maria. People definitely opt for traditional names here, unlike the US where names go through trends.  Recently a friend on Facebook posted a link which contained a GIF  (originally from The Atlantic)  showing the different female names that had been popular in the US since 1960. It is interesting to see how a name like Jennifer would be popular in one region and then would sweep the nation. Such a map would not be as cool here in Spain since not a whole lot would change. Maria. Maria del Carmen. Miriam. Marian. Mirian. Variations on a theme. Religious names I
Read more