Mallorca arrival Living in Spain Christmas news

James 2008 best value living in Spain Mallorca Majorca news

 

Mountain view Calonge Catalan castle views from monastery of San Salvador

Welcome! I have now survived nine years here in Mallorca Spain and it
has opened my eyes,  I enjoy living here, it´s just that on the face of things
they all seem pretty happy and life is such joy, well most of the time it is.

Its like a mountain in a cloud, a little showing out of the mist but a whole
lot underneath. That lot beneath is the bit that jumps up and bites
you when you are not looking. So for anyone who is looking or thinking
a new lifestyle moving out into the sun, sea, sand, and red wine sangria, and living
the real dream,then be aware that you will have to do a lot of research, asking ahead of you.

  christmas or new year here. email   via    gmail

First of all look for the Location, resort, inland or by the coast? there are
important choices to make, as the resorts offers all the fun of one
long holiday, if you can afford it. English, German is spoken in Majorca but the
main language is Catalan. English is spoken in nearly every bar, café,
post office and bank, so you will not have too much trouble settling in and
getting in with the "Locals". But be aware that getting in there is
not a quality, nor ambition, that all wish to indulge in, rather
the reverse, most dream moves want to be out there on their own, or in a
more classy group, or well away from the home types - all together.

Living in the interior offers that to an extent, there are enclaves,
which offer you the chance to be, either on your own or mix whenever
you like to mix, the life inland offers so much more and yet less at
the same point in time.

It is better to mix with the local Spanish community in the early
days, a little Spanish helps before you try this, as they always appreciate you trying!.  Spanish
is an easy language to get the basics with a little time and effort.

When I first moved to Mallorca I had no idea what was right or wrong
within the community that I had moved to. But once I started to learn
the local language and how to behave I realized what I was doing was
not the way it is done. So I asked around within the small group of
Spanish people what is right in their eyes for us other Europeans to behave
like or dress right, here are some pointers that will help you, on
your way to being polite in public here in Majorca Spain.

 In general the Spanish have a very modern outlook on life. They
are keen on designer clothes but quality is more important than a
label name. Spanish made clothes tend to be high quality and
fairly priced.

Teenage girls tend to wear trousers more than skirts. Teenage boys are
keen on designer wear and looks and style are important to them.
Mature Spaniards dress conservatively and with
style. Older men in particular tend to wear high quality clothing. Low
cost cheap imports are impacting on the island from China - all their
goods seem to be low quality lowcost.

It is unclear what the Mallorcan Spanish think of scantily clad holiday-makers
but it is not generally acceptable in small villages, away from the resorts. One
should be particularly careful of what you wear if entering churches.
Swim-wear and short skirts are not recommended.

The Spanish population often start the evening with El paseo, a leisurely stroll
around the plaza or along the paseo maritimo
(promenade) in Palma de Mallorca city.

Much of Mallorcan life is lived in the streets of Mallorca and the atmosphere is
especially vibrant on fiesta days. On a warm evening the street bars, cafes
and restaurants can fill to capacity as people sit and relax. The local
nightclubs and the big resorts attract the attention of the
international media and are always an attraction for the young at heart.
Most open late at night and don't close until late the following day.
Majorca men tend to maintain eye contact with females for longer,
although this does not mean anything. It is not often you will see a
Spanish person drunk in the street, as this is seen as an insult, by other
Spaniards. The only exception to this is during the Fiesta weeks, but they
are never falling over drunk.

The Mallorca Spanish way of life is somewhat slower than the rest of Europe,
especially in the countryside. This may be seen as lazy, but when the
Spanish work, they work hard. They have adapted to all the seasons and
play hard too. It is quite common for life to begin when the sun goes
down, especially in the hot months. They are a very happy people who enjoy
life to the full. They love eating out, music, dance and great food.
Smoking is now anned in most interior public places in Mallorca. Small towns and
villages you may find the exception.

Eating out in Spain is economical and cheap and meals are usually
substantial instead of gourmet. The Spanish tradition of tapas is a
way to sample the good local food. Tapas are small dishes of snacks
which are served anytime especially in small bars. They cover all
types of foods from seafood to vegetable dishes. Most Spanish people make an
occasional evening of hopping from bar to bar trying different tapas. Another of
Spain's favorites is Serrano Ham. Mallorca is famous for its fish
delicacies and simply must be sampled, especially if you get to
coastal areas, baby squid, gilt head, dorada, shell fish etc. Paella
has long been number one, based on
either meat or seafood. Most regions in Spain has its own special.
The Spanish tend to eat traditional continental breakfasts, a light
lunch and an evening meal, very late in the evening around 10:30pm
even later in the hottest of Summer months.

In the main Spain is a wine drinking country with each region producing
its own range of special wines. There are several large breweries
within Spain producing the light beers popular which are popular everywhere.
The principal table wines are the rough riojas and the valdepeñas, named after
the areas from where they come. In general, rioja, from the
region around northeast near to Logroño, resemble most the French Bordeaux,
though it is said to be less fine. Valdepeñas is a rougher wine, but pleasant
and with a good taste. It comes from the region where it is
grown, midway between Binissalem and Inca. The mainland Jerez area is famous for
its sherry. Jerez is the place from which this wine was first
exported. Britain now buys 70% of all sherry exports. There are four
main types of sherry, being fino which is pale and dry, amontillado,
dry, richer in body and darker, oloroso, medium, very palatable
and dulce, which means sweet. In the Basque Country, chacoli is a
favorite, green wine, slightly sparkling and sharp. Many of the
Spanish  wines are fruity and sweet and even the lowcost
supermarket wines have an important place in the wine culture. Cider
plays an important role in Spain as well.

Bull Fighting has been, and in some parts of Spain, still is a
national sport, but this is slowly dying out, there are many areas of
Spain that have outlawed it in their villages. Here in Mallorca
Majorca the Palma bullring is used for concerts, special events,
exhibitions.

Christmas day and Boxing day in Spain is unlike many other places in
Europe, Christmas ights do not go up in Mallorca until late December. Most towns,
villages and Palma will ecorate the streets. Christmas markets begin to appear in Palma.
Christmas trees are on sale in supermarkets and jardinieres. The
first major sign of Christmas is he state-run lottery which is drawn on December. The 'El Gordo'
(the big Fat One) is one of the largest lotteries in the world.
Christmas in Spain is based more on  religious theme than in many other places. Churches are packed to
capacity, night and day. For most Mallorcans, there are three main
events to Christmas, beginning with Christmas Eve (Nochebuena) which is
very much a family affair. You will hear people saying Bon Fiesta in
all the towns. The evenings may start at home but often
ends up with a party in a restaurant with family and friends. It is
often likely that every generation of the family is represented. The
young tend to go later to discos and clubs.

The traditional family Christmas Eve meal is one of the most important
meal settings of he year for a Majorca family and the household will be busy preparing
the traditional fare. Seafood is again high on the list for the main meal and
prices tend to go up at this time of year.

First on the menu is likely to be dishes of cold shellfish and cold
cuts of meat lamb, turkey and game. This may be followed by soup then
baked besugo (Bream) r Dorada with potatoes followed by roast lamb or suckling pig. Game
birds is another ption although turkey is becoming popular. The meal will be
complemented with local wines. At the same ime, trays of Christmas cakes and sweets will be served. The
important sweets are turrón and marzipan. Turrón is a nougat made of
toasted sweet almonds and has been made in Spain for over most
parts of the year.

After eating the adults will then exchange presents. The children
will usually only receive one gift. At close to midnight, many people will
go to the Mass at the church. Some stay at home and
open a bottle or two o celebrate the birth of Christ. Some
children go Carol singing and the youngsters may go to bed whilst the
adults go out and party until dawn.

Every town and most churches will have a 'baleen' which is a nativity
static display on show. Some of them are very impressive and can cover
large areas. There are animated and illuminated which  draw great crowds. These are beautiful
and fantastic  to see, and make a visit into the village or town a
special highlight of the  early or late evenings.

Christmas Day is on a fiesta  all banks  shops are closed,
 Christmas Day in Spain is one of the quietest  days of the year.
Anyone wanting to eat out on this special day will have to book  in advance. There are
Restaurants offering a special Christmas day price, where you pay one
price per person and spend the most of the day celebrating and not leaving till
the early hours of Boxing day morning.

On 6th January or Three Kings Day (Los Reyes). This is the day that
the Three Kings arrival in Bethlehem, it is  the most important
day for the  young children as the Three Kings  does replace Father
Christmas for Spanish children (although Santa Claus is becoming better known).
They three kings arrive overnight on the 5th January, riding horses or
in sailing boats and leave presents for the children. Parents encourage children to write to the
Three Kings with their  requests. Every village and city in Spain
will have a  local procession on the night of 5th January where
sweets will be thrown from the passing floats, I have spent many a
evenings with my children picking up the sweets as they are tossed into the crowds.

 The 5th January marks (Los Reyes Day), the special cake is made and sold
all over Spain and in Cala dor. Rosca de Reyes, is a ring-shaped pastry (tasting
like hot-cross-bun mixture), covered in  sweet sugar and fruit flavored
jelly topping. On biting, beware, the cake will contain small toys as
gifts. anyone lucky enough to find one of the hidden charms have
 lots of good luck for the new year.

New Year's Eve is big in Spain's Mallorca Cala Egos,  on New Year's Eve it is the
tradition to wear  bright red underwear but they have to be bought for you by
someone else. Most villages  organize street parties with entertainment
and firework displays that last most of the night in the towns. All
bars and restaurants are open 12:50 till the last person leaves for home. At mid night music and
dancing and the wearing  party outfits is normal. At the stroke of
midnight it is tradition to eat 12 large black grapes - one on each
stroke of the clock to bring  you good luck for the new year. The grapes are a late
variety from Vinalopó near Alicante and is rich in juice and large pips.

James hopes that this has given you an insight into the Spanish
life style I will be updating this page so please re visit fro time to
time also you can click favourites so you can always find.
when I get into the writing mood again, soon till then look after each
other.search in Google for James  mallorca.uk to find more.  search
james mobile UK for my phone number or email at mallorca .uk.net
with your questions or news sell your property contact me  james as I can help.