Of course, the focal point of the first week of the year (or the last week of the previous year, if you will) is New Year’s Eve. This year, because both children were here, my wife decided to have a big party, and a lot of effort was spent on decorating the downstairs den. But the results were very nice. Other than the party, we enjoyed the good weather in Alicante, sunny and a bit cold, with temperatures around 16-17C in the afternoon.
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Like me, Moses appreciates good beer, so I had bought two bottles of Westvleteren, the Holy Grail of Beer, in preparation for his visit. A couple of days before New Year’s Eve we finally performed the Ritual of the Sacred Hops:
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A snap during a walk in the centre of Alicante. A man reads his newspaper inside a bakery/coffee shop:
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Outside a clothing store in the centre:
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The Christmas season was still in full swing, because the culmination of Spanish Christmas is not Christmas Day, but Three King’s Day on January 6th, which is when Spanish children get their presents. There are many small traditions, one of which is that special pastries, polvorones, are offered to customers in shops, along with sweet wine. Most shops have a bottle of wine and the pastries on the counter, here in Apedales, my local bicycle shop, which adds the additional touch of using a porrón for the wine:
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As usual, I was out cycling every day, enjoying sights like this:
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December 31st has arrived, and our den, usually occupied by my bicycles and various odds and ends, has been transformed:
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We dressed up for the party:
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Finally, the guests are here and the party starts:
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The women pose:
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The men take pictures:
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When the clock strikes midnight, everyone eats a grape for each stroke of the bell. The twelve grapes are put on a stick for easy retrieval. Obviously, to minimize the risk of choking, seedless grapes are used:
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2015 is here:
On Sunday afternoon we went for a walk in the city.
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For some reason, someone put knitted warmers on this railing on the Esplanada. No idea what or who is behind this:
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We went to the Valor shop for some hot chocolate:
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Moses also bought a selection to take back to Buffalo:
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Enjoying the sunshine on the Plaza Puerta del Mar:
