On the Seventh day of Christmas

 

I'm in Barcelona celebrating the end of 2009 and welcoming in 2010!

Hmm... I can't think of anything to do with the number 7 (to match the title)... I know! We'll be having 7 bottles with varying degrees of alcohol tonight! :p We've got 1 bottle of "fresita" which is a Chilean drink I picked up at the supermarket in Li�ge and is basically strawberries in chapmagne, it's for the "ap�ritif". Then with dinner 1 bottle of white and 2 bottles of red wine. Then two bottles of cava (Spanish champagne) for dessert and to ring in the New Year. And finally as a "digestif" a bottle of p�k�t (a special drink typical from Li�ge) "fruits des bois" (forest fruits macerated in that gin-like alcohol) which I also brought from Li�ge! So that's 1+3+2+1=7! Whew! I've been having trouble with this idea of mine of getting something match the Christmas Day number! We'll see if I manage to continue pulling it off...

I wrote up a post on year-end traditions last year, those in Spain include the consumption of Cava (Spanish bubbly) and eating 12 grapes during the 12 strokes of midnight to ensure good fortune throughout the new year. My mom says that when she was a kid my uncle used to cheat by peeling the grapes during dinner and then taking the seeds out so he could eat them faster, lol! But no cheating for us (unless buying seedless grapes counts)... ;o)

I'll leave you off with a very Spanish Holiday Greeting, the Freixenet TV add. It's one of the main two brands of Cava -Spanish Bubbly-  and one of the things people look forward to during the holidays here is seeing what gorgeous new TV spot Freixenet will be doing for the holidays (since 1977, some years it has been 5 minutes long!). If anyone has read my Christmas posts from last year then you might recognise this spot. The company decided to not make a new one for this year as a sign of solidarity to the families suffering from the economic crisis (they thought it would be too ostentatious, probably as a help to their own budget as well, lol!). Anyhow, last year's was so wonderful -with our Olympic synchronised swimming medalists- that I think it's just perfect!

So have a WONDERFUL time tonight! Make sure you eat your 12 grapes in time!!! And if you're out and about, beware the nasty combo of bubbles and wheels! See you next year! ;o)

PS: I'm not sure how punctual the writing/posting of the rest of this series is going to be... I've got even more limited internet access since I'm out of town, and when I get back I'll have a friend visiting so I won't be able to hang out at my parents' using their internet as much! I'll try to prepare as much as possible in advance (the previous two posts were "scheduled" ones, I love that option!)