Tolosa's Carnival

During this weekend in many cities and town Carnival has been celebrated, one event that here in San Sebastian has a lot of success.

Year after year in the last time, the event of Carnival has played a big role and, more and more, many people decide to dress themselves up and go out to enjoy the atmosphere everywhere, but, to tell the truth, apart from the kids, years before, it was difficult to come across somebody dressed during the night.

There’s no doubt that those who actually want to dress up during Carnival in San Sebastian must approach to Tolosa, (town 30 km far from San Sebastian) where its carnival they have is spectacular.

Last years, I have not been able to be there, but There have been a lot of years in which the gang has moved to Tolosa to enjoy those wonderful parties as a typical classic in our “Parties Calendar”.

In My mind, that unforgettable night in company with Javi and Santi we finished dancing on a Ford Escort going through the streets like a Carnival carriage.

I hope you have enjoyed as you should this party because, as I have mentioned, It is a little petty here in San Sebastian, despite more and more, it wins supporters year after year.

Donosti's Day

In couple of weeks, one of the most expected dates for Donosti’s people is arriving, the famous San Sebastian Day.

Probably, it’s one of these days with an enormous atmosphere all round the city, taking into account that Santo Tomas Day has left us one month ago. However, I’ve got no doubts this is the most expected and celebrated by all the Donosti’s Inhabitants.

Tradition is to meet your friend’s gang (called “cuadrilla”) or the family the night of 19^th and having dinner. Years before was typical of this dinner to eat small eels, but it has become in a whim of the wealthy people. The rest must resign with other kind of seafood.

The most traditionalist have dinner in the so famous called “Sociedades Gastronómicas”, but I can ensure that it’s no easy to get a booking in them during these dates in one of so many dinners organized all round the city by Donosti People.

The rest meet at home o in any a restaurant, nevertheless, those who go dinner to a restaurant must be ready to pay a good bill because, it’s known by everybody that Donosti dinners are not Cheap.

Moreover, at midnight, everybody goes to the Constitution Square to see the raising of the City’s Flag with the sound of the drums and barrels of the Company “Gaztelubide”, Tamborrada that plays the lyrics of the San Sebastian Day, or laziest watch it on TV.

This Tamborrada Band is the official, but every corner of the city is filled of from other “Sociedades”, hotels, different associations and so on.

Many of my friends are to march in this kind of Tamborrada, Iker, Ivan, Cesar, Oskar, Asier, Javi, Luisma and more.

Despite I enjoy the party a lot; I don’t participate too much in this kind of events, because normally I have to work during the broadcasting of the celebrations in the streets

To tell the truth this is one of the parties, including its hangover, most important you can enjoy in San Sebastian.

The following Day is typical to spend the morning seeing the Tamborrada of the youngest actors, the Kids, till midday, However, those recovered of the party did during the night can wait and go directly to see how is lowed the flag of the city ( One of the symbols of the celebration) during the latest minutes of the 20^th.

We will see how everything runs during the Eve, working most probably by my side, but I will try to get some photos and publish them afterwards.

New Year's Eve Party at the Fishmonger's

Finally, here you have the article you were ansiously waiting for, all the tales we did during the New Year’s Eve. Telling the truth, it is not easy the selection of photos to create and ilustrate the article due to enormous nuember of them I took. Despite that, I think they show 100% the reality of the Night.

First of all, I must admit if I would have told somebody that we were going to spend New Year`s Eve into an old fishmonger's of a small vilage of Lleida called Castellserá (more info about the village click here) nobody had believed me at all. That’s exactly what we did with an resounding success.

At the beginning we ignore what we would do that night. We had several options, but, between coming back to the city of Lleida for a stroll in its pub’s area, already made last Saturday, or try something different in the parents’ village of Montse, we chose this way.

It was Luisma with the help of Asier who prepared a tasty hake casserole with clams as main disk of our New Year’s Eve dinner.

Round the table were Asier, its wife Montse, Montse’s uncle Tio Antonio, Luisma and myself.

As typical during this night, alter dinner we watched TV waiting for the sound of the twelve bells, indicating the beginning of the Year 2008 and of new binge and hangover included, Something that, at least, I wished the most.

So after the bells, and made a toast with a france champagne an embraces and kisses wishing the best for the year coming, we went down to the pub and starting the party. Before Going to the pub we met Monste, a friend of Montse (wife of Asier) ( incredible Saint’s Name in Cataluña for Women).

During a while we stauyed into the pub taking something to drink and playing to “Futbolin” spanish game consisting on introducing a small ball into the dep goal of the oponent with the help of swivelling wooden football players.

Actually during those minutes, Neither Luisma or I were afraid of the worst, in that pub with 5 or 6 guys, something logic taking into account in the village were aprox. 1200 inhabitants. All this produced us a lot fears for the New Year’s Eve Party where we were going to.

Sincerely, during those moments, I think, the three knight-errant (Asier, Luisma and myself) despite telling nothing, regreted a lot the decision made.

Traducido por Luisma.