Category Archives: holidays

tickets to ride!

30 Friday Dec 2011

Posted by in animals & pets, art, cats, christmas, holidays, Malaga, tapas, travel, trips

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Got the word from Manolo last night – the apartment in Málaga will be available next week! Yay!

So this morning Peter and I went out and bought our train tickets. The plan is to leave early Monday morning and come back on Wednesday afternoon. Which means leaving the cats on their own for two nights (!!!). But after checking with two vets about Azar’s “condition” (which is basically old age) I’ve decided to not worry over much, because this trip feels much-needed. And also much-wanted as I really do want to celebrate my 55th birthday in style. Plus Peter has been working very hard the past couple months and this will be a bit of a reward for him as I think he loves Málaga as much as I do.

While there I want to see two art exhibits, both retrospectives. One of Alberto Giacometti at the Picasso Museum, and the other of Eugenio Chicano at the Museo del Patrimonio Municipal. The first one was actually on when I was in Málaga last October but I didn’t have time to see it, so I’m glad I have this chance as I’ve heard it’s wonderful.

Otherwise I guess we’ll be doing the usual. Well, other than dipping my toes in the Mediterranean – bit chilly for that, I think. But we’ll do a lot of walking and seeing what’s new. I’ve been told the shops and restaurants in the newly redeveloped port are now open. I also want to go up to the Parador Gibralfaro and have a drink on their terraza with spectacular views of the port and city, which is something I’ve not yet done there. And of course just being there at Christmas time is wonderful in itself.

By total coincidence a woman from Israel who took one of my Sevilla Tapas Tours last April, Sarah Melamed (she writes the Foodbridge blog), is also going to be in Málaga while I’m there, so I’m sure we’ll get together for a meal one day. And I may also meet up with some other Twitter friends who live nearby. After all, it’ll be Birthday Week! So stay tuned…

christmas eve 2011

24 Saturday Dec 2011

Posted by in christmas, fiestas, food & drink, friends, holidays, home

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This has been one of the most relaxed and pleasant Christmas Eves I can remember. Got up a bit later than usual and had some coffee and breakfast. Luckily I got all the supermarket shopping out of the way yesterday, so today just had to pop over to the market for the fish and veg. I couldn’t believe my flatmate Peter! He was Feliz Navidad-ing everyone and being all chatty. I think maybe my delight of Christmas has rubbed off a little…

After getting back from the market I wrote a few Christmas cards and we went out again, this time to just stop by a few places – well okay, tapas bars – and say Merry Christmas to everyone. Of course we stopped for tapas at some of them, and I also got to pick up some amazing blue goat’s cheese (cabrales) and a strong cured sheep’s cheese at our second stop, to go with my Victoria Nº2. And then we took a walk through the Christmas Market. My friend Pablo showed up at our last stop and we went next door with him for yet another drink while he had a tapita. And then the owner Carlos invited us to a glass of cava…

So just got home about an hour ago. Have been getting things ready little by little. Going to roast some small potatoes in garlic and olive oil to go with the salmon steaks with jamón and cava sauce. Some simple steamed broccoli to go with that. As a starter I’m going to deep-fry some gorgeous langoustine tails we got at the market today and serve them with alioli. For afters Peter has his chocolate cake and I’m sure he’ll also partake of the three cheeses (the two bought today and also the famous and fabulous cranberry wensleydale). And then we’ll get cosy with the cats and watch a Christmas movie or two…

I hope you are all enjoying your Christmas Eve too!

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the tree is up!

20 Tuesday Dec 2011

Posted by in cats, christmas, friends, holidays, home, sevilla

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It took some thought but last night I tried this hopefully cat-proof set-up, taking a tall bookcase thingy from Peter’s room into the living room and putting it in front of one of the windows. I think it looks okay, don’t you? So far the kittehs haven’t shown too much interest in it (the lower three shelves don’t have anything “interesting” on them) but Luna has a thing for strings and cords, so I tuck the cord away when it’s not plugged in.

Yay! I love this little tree.

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what’s with all the scrooges?

18 Sunday Dec 2011

Posted by in christmas, holidays

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First posted on December 18th, 2006 – exactly five years ago!
I still feel the same about the scrooges…

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It seems to be turning into an epidemic.

Lately I’ve been coming across so many people complaining about the Christmas season in various ways, ranging from mild dislike to out-and-out hatred.

It seems that those who dislike/resent/hate Christmas the most are those who feel somehow pressured or obligated to do things they don’t particularly like doing during this time of year, or they dislike/resent/hate the way other people celebrate Christmas.

But surely they are placing the blame erroneously. If one cannot say no to family and/or friends, should they blame Christmas? If they don’t like the manner in which some people exploit the holiday season and the crass commercialism that goes on … why say it’s the fault of the holiday? And if it’s the religious aspect of it that they dislike, well, this is easy enough to ignore.

It seems to me that these scrooges are redirecting their frustrations in order to avoid acknowledging where the real problems and issues lie. Though of course there are some people who just complain for the sake of it because they enjoy complaining. 😉

Another anti-Christmas argument I often hear is that people should always behave with compassion and generosity towards their fellow man, not just once a year. And I quite agree. But like birthdays, anniversaries and such, Christmas is a once-a-year reminder to behave this way and I see nothing wrong with that.

Anyhow, I really love Christmas, though my best Christmases started happening after I left home at age 15. I’ve had a few nice family Christmases since then, but my best ones have involved cherished friends and loved ones. And one quite memorable one when I was in my early twenties, doing my laundry and then going out to the cinema as I was on my own. I reckoned that since I was all alone I’d get all pathetic and do all these sad and pathetic things … but then I saw that I wasn’t actually on my own. There were plenty of other people at the laundromat and at the cinema and it was somehow comforting to be in their company.

So basically, Christmas is what you make it, though it may not always turn out to be exactly what you expect.

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