3- L’atmosfera natalizia in Spagna

This year in Spain, I wanted to make the most of it, and the Christmas atmosphere is one of the things not to be missed. I feel very fortunate to be part of this project and to have met wonderful people at work who are now friends and who involve me in their lives and festivities. Christmas started with the search for Christmas decorations, from serving dishes (to serve the Italian pizzas made together), to decorations for the tree and lights, to typical sweets to keep at home. So our Sunday traditions began, lunch with paella and afternoon to decorate the Christmas tree to reduce the distance and melancholy of not being at home to decorate the tree with my family. For the second Sunday, it was mandatory to go to Valencia, where the Christmas atmosphere was increasingly noticeable among the decorated trees in the various squares, the lights everywhere, and the ice rink in the town hall square that reminded even more of the Italian Christmas cold. Of course, the Christmas Fair in Valencia could not be missing, full of rides, food, and happy people and children. Inside, we all became children, some rode roller coasters, some threw darts to win stuffed animals, and some sat down to play bingo to rest. It was at the fair that I tasted the first real churros I fell in love with. And lastly, in every sense, the famous New Year’s Eve with the famous 12 grapes. After a long dinner at home, the preparations for these grapes began, unfortunately too large, so between one laugh and another, we started cutting them in half and cleaning them from the seeds to simplify everything. Ready to celebrate the new year, we went to the square where there would be a concert all night long; as the 12 strokes of the bell rang, we started eating these grapes one after the other. We all wish for more luck, to live different things… but I think I finished 2023 not wanting anything else, and so I started 2024 as well. My wish for myself and everyone is to enjoy life by doing what makes us happy.