La nochebuena

Today is Christmas Eve and it feels nothing like it. It really doesn't feel like the Christmas season at all, which is sad, but maybe it's a good thing because now I won't miss my family as much. It's just a normal day, but it was still fun and even though it doesn't feel like Christmas to me, I helped spread Christmas cheer in Sevilla. We started our day with breakfast and I was forced to try two different types of toast. The first is bread with extra virgen olive oil and sugar and the second is bread with extra virgen olive oil, garlic, tomato, and salt (and ham, but I opted out of the ham, because I am not a fan of the Spanish ham). Both kinds were good, but I liked the one with sugar more and it was sooo filling. Also, Lucia and I ate our last chocolates in our advent calendars.

The end of getting chocolate everyday :(

Also, Lucia and her mom did serenade me with a Christmas Eve song. Here it is...

Then, we played dress up because I plan to return to Sevilla for the fair in April, so I of course will need a dress to wear to the fair. My favorite one was the purple one, but unfortunately I have larger hips than Lucia's sister, Carmen, so it didn't zip up, but the other two kind of fit so I have a dress I can wear if I need to. :) I am so grateful that they not only let me try on their dresses, but that I will be able to wear one to the fair if I go.

Richard, their dog, dressed up too. :)

After playing dress-up, we picked lemons from their lemon tree they have out front and brought them over to their neighbors houses for Christmas and then they took me on a tour of Sevilla by car. We drove by all of the buildings that were built and used for the 1992 Sevilla Expo and are now used for a few other things. We also drove on the bridge that I am sure was designed by Santiago Calatrava (It was, it was made for the '92 Expo). The bridge looks exactly like the bridge in Valencia and there is another one that very similar to the bridge in Bilbao. We also purchased some reindeer antlers to wear around in the spirit of Christmas.

The river with a possible Calatrava bridge
and the tower that everyone hates.

Carmen, Lucia, and I in front of the Calatrava bridge.
It was windy. Ha.

The oldest church in Sevilla.

A very small part of the old wall that used to surround the city

After our drive, we went to the grocery store, reindeer antlers and all, and shopped for some things to make Christmas treats. We made a game out of shopping and I felt like I was in Supermarket Sweep. Side note: I always wanted to be on that show. Lucia's mom would tell us what we needed to get and we would go running to try and find it. :) THen, of course we had to continue the game up until checkout and we all guessed what the overall price would be. Lucia won on all accounts. It was entertaining. And one of the guys in the store said that someone should warn Papá Noel (Santa Claus) that he has four reindeer loose. Haha.

Once back at home, Lucia's mom made/taught me how to make croquetas (essentially cheese curds) and tortilla de patatas. Both were so good and after lunch, we just relaxed and I blogged.

Flipping the tortilla (The hardest part)

Roscón de Reyes
We put out cookies and milk for Santa Claus.
The Spanish put out Roscòn de Reyes and alcohol for the Wise Men.
AND they put out water for the Wise Men's camels. Tehe.

So far, I haven't loved any of the typical desserts eaten here at Christmas time here like Roscón de Reyes and mantecados, however I haven't tried the typical Roscón de Reyes with cream and there are Christmas cookies and truffles that Lucia's mom made that I'm sure will be delicious (They are)!!!! After relaxing for most of the afternoon and evening, Lucia's dad came and picked us up and we ventured over to his house. Right when we got there, we watched King Juan Carlos' annual speech that he gives on Christmas Eve. I didn't understand the majority of the speech because he used eloquent words that I didn't know, but I can tell you he talked about the crisis, he thanked certain people and groups in Spain, he gave his thoughts to those who have been affected by terrorism, and he told all of Spain Merry Christmas. After this, we listened to some Christmas carols and started a puzzle. Then, Lucia's grandma, aunt, and uncle came over and we started dinner at around 10:50 p.m. That's a huge difference from my family in the U.S. I don't know if I will ever get used to eating that late. The food was delicious, we had some apetizers to start with (shrimp, bread, chips, ham, cheese spread), then we had some chicken in broth (which was good, but filling), and my favorite part dessert. :) I chose to eat the macedonia, which was like a fruit soup. It was pineapple, bananas, peaches, pears, and strawberries in orange and pineapple juice. It was so good!

After dinner, I plopped myself down next to the fire and worked on the puzzle some more. THen, we opened presents. Lucia's dad got me a nice LED flashlight and I got the present under the tree that said "Surprise" on the outside. It wasn't even a thought in my mind that it would be my present, but it was. And it was a doll that lights up and plays really pretty lullabies. His name is Pocoyó and he is from a little kids' television program. I really like the gift and there was a really thoughtful note that came with it. Below is an episode of the show.

After opening gifts, we watched T.V. and finished the puzzle.

On T.V., we watched Lo Mejor de Cada Casa, which was a special that showed the top 50 best moments on television in 2013. It was really good, but I feel asleep for part of it, but it was weird to think that I have been here long enough that I had seen some of the moments when they were on T.V. for the first time, because of La hormiguero and another show called Tu cara me sueña. Anyway, that program ended late and we left Lucia's dad's house at about 3 a.m. Haha. I don't think anyone reminded them that if you don't go to sleep Santa Claus doens't come. The good thing about being up so late was that it was the perfect time to Skype my family on Christmas Eve in the U.S. So, I skyped them and my boyfriend's family and I think I finally tucked myself in at about 4:30 a.m. It was a long Christmas Eve, but it was fun. Merry Christmas everyone! Hope all is well!