Sunday, December 20, 2009

Puerto del Sol and The Fat One

Madrid at Christmastime is a special place. Big cities always are. I love to see how each urban metropolis embraces the season in culturally-specific yet still universal ways.The Puerto del Sol is the place to be. The tree is funky and modern with Spanish flair!
The Tio Pepe sign is one of those nostalgic Spanish landmarks in the Puerto del Sol.
"O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!"
In early evening the Puerto del Sol is filled to the brim. Everyone is out and about strolling on their nightly paseo.Connor and I went to the Musee del Jamon (Ham Museum) near the Puerto del Sol for a ham and cheese sandwich snack. They sure love their ham in this part of the world.By far the most attention-grabbing sight in the Puerto del Sol was the long lines of people lining up for lottery tickets. We were perplexed at first by the hype, but then we read more about El Gordo -The Fat One. Spain's annual lottery to end all lotteries. The El Gordo lottery numbers will be announced on Dec 22. Prize money equals 2.3 billion euros. Tickets sell for 20 euros apiece. In Spain the lottery is a holiday institution. We saw the devotion and diehards in lines around the block!

1 comment:

Stacie B said...

My dad would be so jealous to know you were in Tio Pepe country. That's his favorite Sherry. In fact, he's getting two bottles for Christmas.