Kiki's Spain writings: ‘With 12 grapes and a red string through the center of Alicante’
Dear friends of the good life! Happy New Year! In other words: all the best wishes. So there are serious rules, you know, when it comes to wishing someone a happy new year.
The main rule is that it can still be done until January 6th (Three Kings) before it gets awkward. Yes, I think: I'll look it up for us right away, then that's clear again. Anyhow, I don't know about you, but after the festive noise of the past weeks, I'm going to take care of myself a bit more normaaaaal again. Yes, with five a's. They are necessary.
Not under the guise of New Year's resolutions. No, being extra strict in January often doesn't really work and mind you, they are not packaged as a kind of lifestyle rules in a jacket of toxic positivity), but just: act normal. A little more movement and healthier eating doesn't make anyone worse. Besides, I saw Lieke van Lexmond's new body on Instagram and it reminded me of the phase when I spent my days fully dedicated in the gym. Cough *previous life in this life* cough.
They don't have those gyms here on the mountain in Spain (at least, you have to drive twenty minutes to get to one) and honestly: my inner Gerard Joling would say that I no longer have the strength to sweat five times a week. Besides: achieving goals works best when you break them down into small mini-steps. And that's why the motto for now is: eat more vegetables and fruits and cook deliciously again instead of constantly dining in restaurants where the vino blanco flows abundantly. Should be doable, right? Seems like it to me.
The highlight of this week was definitely the New Year's Eve experience on the beach. Normally, we would celebrate New Year's Eve quietly from the living room with some apple fritters, cheeses, and Linda de Mol in the background, this time we walked through the center of Alicante with little bottles of cava surrounded by a procession of people with light-up bunny ears (apparently super trendy here), rolling tongues, masks, and above all: lots of glitter outfits. Underneath? Red lingerie. Yes, that last one is said to bring good luck and is a typical tradition for Spaniards during New Year's Eve.
That participating in that tradition resulted in me walking through the center at night with a mega-scratchy, annoyingly ugly Brazilian thong, let's just leave that aside. Oh, and something else: the grapes. Spaniards stuff one grape in their mouth at every stroke of the clock in the last seconds of the year. Those who can eat the grapes on time are once again promised a year full of prosperity and happiness. And hey: we managed to eat them on time. By the way, there are more fun traditions like putting money in your shoes and carrying a suitcase to ensure that you go on vacation in the coming year.. Also different from the Netherlands: they hardly do fireworks here. In June during the summer festivals on the beach, there are the biggest fireworks shows you can imagine, on New Year's Eve the scene is modest. At midnight, a few rockets went up, and around a quarter past twelve it was all over. Well, nice for the animals and children. We saw several moms with a baby carrier and a grunting baby. At half past one at night, mind you, including bunny ears. It's funny how such a cultural difference works.
I hope you all had a nice New Year's Eve, Amayzers, and welcome to a shiny 2024!.
Kiki's Spain writings: Spaniards do hilarious things during New Year's Eve
Love,
Look
