A very happy Christmas day

We had a wonderful time at Benidorm for Christmas, the hotel we had was very good and the food was too good you were spoilt for choice so had to sample lots.

Benidorm is known as the concrete jungle as it is all high rise buildings, nice to visit but would not like to live there.

The tall building is the Hotel Bali and is the highest Hotel in all of Spain, it stands at 186 mtrs. high. It is a five star hotel and quite expensive to stay in.Our hotel was very nice although only a four star.Here are a couple of photos of ours.

Benidorm is surrounded by mountain and this is what gives it the all year round weather (except when we arrive the rain was bouncing down but the rest of the stay was beautiful). the main mountain is called Sleeping Indian Mountain as when you drive along side it it looks like an Indian with his headdress of feathers lying down the side of the mountain and his mouth is open while asleep.

As you can see there is a gap which is quite large and the story goes:- A giant fell in love with a fair maiden from the fishing village of Benidorm as it once was, and her father forbid his daughter to marry the giant, in his anger the giant tore a chunk of the mountain out and throw it out to see hence we have the Isla De Benidorm.

This island is a bird sanctuary today with only a restaurant and bar on it, there are boat trips to it they run every hour just like a ferry so you can stay as long as you want to.This is the beach and one of the sand sculptures, there was one with the whole nativity scene but with the rain he had covered it over and had not removed the cover while we were there.

We had some presents with us to open on Christmas morning, but my main one I had to help Brian choose it as he was a loss What he wanted.

I got an iphone it is great, I can get my emails away from the computer which will be great when we are out in the van, and all my music on it and it has Microsoft words on. I connected it to my computer and all my documents downloaded to it. there is lots I have to learn what to do with it.When Brian was asked what computer I had (meaning Apple or Windows) he told them it was Packard Bell,I had do see the person myself and give details. The only thing is I had to change my number as my sim was Vodaphone and with this I had to have Movistar. As it's a Movistar (which 02 in the UK, ) it belongs to telifonica (BT in the UK as telifonica owns BT, they are the same company) so have had to learn a new number.

I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas's and you have a good year next year

A very happy new year to each and every one of you from Spain

Jeanette Spain

Happy Christmas

Hi all, this is just a short mini blog to wish you all a very happy Christmas, Feliz Navidad.
I hope you all have a great time and don't over eat well not to much.
I would like to say a very happy Christmas to my dearest friends Tina and Dave, I wish them and you all everything you wish yourselves, good health and good family and friends.
Not to many sausage rolls Sindie save some and send them here to Spain they looked delicious, and Babs go easy on Mo's wonderful cooking. Leeta and Sandie have a very happy Christmas.

Feliz Navidad from Jeanette Spain

A Spanish Christmas

A Spanish Christmas is celebrated very different to the British Christmas.

In the Plaza ( the town square) you will see a model of Belen ( Bethlehem) and other parts of the Holy Land. This is put up in the plaza every year and is opened on the 8th. December at the fiesta of the immaculate conception.

The statue of the Immaculate Conception ( a statue of the virgin Mary ) is carried through the streets to the church, where it stays all year till the next year.

The nativity is a wonder to see with moving parts, fires in the houses, washing blowing on the lines and children singing Spanish Christmas songs.

The Spanish always have this little man warming himself at the fire in their nativities to show that man was not made perfect, we all have our faults, it has become a game each year looking for the bare bottom, it is somewhere different each time.

On Christmas Eve Spanish families their Christmas meal, this begins at 10-30 p.m. and it consists of at least nine course, The meal goes on till after midnight when Christmas day arrives. They do not give presents on Christmas day this comes later on the three kings day. No food is cooked Christmas day they eat the left overs from their banquet.

January 5th. is the Three Kings day, there is a parade through the streets to the Plaza where they give out gifts to the children, it is very similar to our children going to see Father Christmas, but Spanish parents don't have to pay for the children to receive the gifts it is all free. After the Three Kings parade the family has a celebration meal and the children all go to bed to wait for Papa Noel to come if they have been good and go straight to sleep. Sounds familiar doesn't it, when the awake all their Christmas presents have been delivered.These photos are from last January's parade

On new years eve everybody gathers in the plaza in front of the church and wait for the church bells to strike the new year in.

It is a Spanish good luck tradition that on each strike of the bell you pop a seedless grape into your mouth, if you don't eat them very quick you have twelve grapes in your mouth.

We did it last year I could not eat them fast enough and had a mouth full of grapes, but I could not manage the twelve. The supper markets run out of seedless grapes at this time of year, imagine having to do it with grapes with seeds in.

Well all there is left to say is I hope you all have a very merry Christmas and a happy new year

Feliz Navid y Anos Nueve.

Jeanette Spain