1. España
Comida
Celebraciones
Lugares de Interés
Información Adicional

2. La Comida Española Tapas Gazpacho Paella Jamón Serrano
Tortilla Española
Sangría
Tapas are found in Tasca bars. They are small snacks eaten between meals.
Gazpacho is a cold vegetable soup originating in Andalucía.
Paella is a rice, saffron, and seafood dish originating in Valencia.
Jamón serrano or “country ham” is a dry-cured ham generally served raw in thin slices.
Tortilla Española is an egg omelet with fried potatoes.
Sangría contains red wine, sliced fruit, carbonated water, sweetener, and other spirits. Sangria blanca can be made with white wine. It gets its name from sangre - blood.

3. Comida Española

4. Celebraciones La Tomatina El Festival de San Fermín El Gordo
(Running of the Bulls)
El Gordo

5. La Tomatina Buñol, Valencia on last Wednesday of August
1 hour - begun & ended with the firing of a water cannon
plastic for storefronts
protective googles and gloves.
smashed before throwing for safety – over 90,000 pounds .
clothing usually ripped
origin = not known – most popular theory is that upset townspeople attacked city councilmen during a town celebration several years ago.

6. La Tomatina

7. Running of the Bulls
held in San Fermín, Pamplona and is from July 7-14
6 bulls and 2 groups of oxen run streets for a ½ mile heading to a bullring.
People run in front to guide the bulls to the ring – usually lasts 3 -4 mins.
barricades along sides of street for people to slip in and out, but not bulls.
1 rocket launched for opening of gate, another for release of bulls, a third when they enter the ring and a forth when its officially over.
against law to touch bull b/c it distracts them, but some do for good luck.
dressed in white shirt, trousers, and red sash at waist and neck

8. El Festival de San Fermín

9. El Gordo “The Fat One” is the Spanish Christmas lottery
tickets go on sale in the summer
drawn every December 22
takes in excess of 3 hours to draw winners
drawn by hand in front of a live audience in Madrid
children sing out the numbers while the crowd chants “gordo, gordo”
is the biggest and oldest lottery in the world
1 big ticket is $310(U.S.), but its split into 10 for $31 each.
total winnings is over 3 billion U.S. dollars with multiple winners
use the verb tocar for winning the lottery, not ganar.

10. Lugares de Interés La Alhambra in Granada, Andalucía
shaped like a ship if you look close
was home to the Moorish kings, but unsure how it was formed
has over 30 impressive towers, but some are in ruins now

11. Lugares de Interés La Mezquita in Córdoba
one of the largest mosques in the world – Moors arquitecture

12. Lugares de Interés El Parque del Retiro in Madrid, the capital city
a large 300 acre lake in center of park with paths to many monuments, a rose garden, and the crystal palace

13. Lugares de Interés La Plaza de Toros in Sevilla
Seats 14,000 spectators and is the largest and oldest bullring in Spain

14. Información Adicional
Spanish nightlife starts around midnight and extends until sunrise.
All establishments that serve food/drink that a “siesta” between pm.
Most other businesses close for a “siesta” between 2 and 5 pm.
Big meal of day is considered lunch between 2 and 3 pm.
Dinner is not eaten until 9 pm at the earliest.
Equivalent of tooth fairy is “Ratoncito Perez”, who leaves treats or $.
Bonfires on Christmas eve to cleanse the spirit of illness and evil.