It's beginning to look at lot like Christmas...

It's true! It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Actually, Madrid started putting up Christmas decorations at the end of OCTOBER! Did I mention the giant Christmas tree in Puerta del Sol was set up by November 12th? As many of you already know, I am one of those people that thinks the Christmas season should not be stretched outside of it's limits (Black Friday-New Years Day). But that's okay because the Madrid didn't light up their Christmas lights (or Christmas trees) until December 1st, and that's when all the Christmas magic began.

The Christmas tree in Sol!

I'll admit that I'm a sucker for snow.  It just doesn't feel as Christmas-y without that magical white stuff! But, Madrid rarely gets snow, so I'll have to do without it for now. Disregarding the lack of snow, there is plenty of Christmas spirit to go around! First of all, we are learning Christmas carols at our school. Well, the word "carol" is a stretch considering most of the songs that have been chosen are extremely modern. For example, the sixth graders are singing "Beautiful Christmas" by Big Time Rush, an American boy band. Ever heard of it? Me neither... until my kids started learning it. Either way, the kids are excited about it and there will be a big Christmas concert before winter break! That will be fun to watch.

Also, the city of Madrid does a FANTASTIC job on Christmas lights (economic crisis what?). Nearly every street in Madrid has a string of Christmas lights and no two streets are the same. One street may have holly and berries while the next has Christmas bulbs. Not to mention the GIANT Christmas trees throughout the city. I have counted 5 so far (Plaza España, Puerto del Sol, Grand Via, Callao and Atocha).  All the trees are different, lit with different colors and designs. The lights are such a spectacle that there is something called the Navibus, a seasonal bus that runs from 6-10pm every night during Christmas time. It costs 2 euros and is a 50 minute bus tour through Madrid that highlights the best lighting displays. I hope they're using at least some green energy....

Madrid also has all of it's Christmas markets set up. In many of the major plazas, they have booths on booths set up next to each other selling everything from handcrafted jewelry to fresh mistletoe to those cheap-o gifts you should NEVER buy for your kids because it's just junk. These markets obviously attract a lot of people, so there are also a lot of food vendors, balloon salesmen, street performers, etc. Also, many Christmas markets are supplemented by a ice skating rink (sometimes real, sometimes synthetic ice) and/or a merry-go-round. Spaniards sure do know how to celebrate.

Madness at the metro

This past weekend was a long weekend due to Día de la Constitución which was on Friday. For this reason, it is notoriously one of the busiest weekends in Madrid all year. People come from all over to take advantage of their long weekend, get Christmas shopping done, and make a trip out of it. Police know this is coming and take extreme measures to manage the large crowds like shutting down Vodafone Sol (the most popular and central metro stop) and closing off most streets in the centre to cars; pedestrians only.  Alexa, Makeda and I experienced these massive crowds first hand on our way to the Imagine Dragons concert (which was incredible by the way).  We tried to get on the metro at Gran Vía, the second most central metro stop.  This was a terrible idea.  We were literally body-to-body with thousands (yes thousands) of people trying to get on and off the train. We were moving so slowly that it took us 20 minutes just to get to the metro platform. It was a nightmare. I put up a picture that captures the madness. This is just a little taste of how overcrowded it was this weekend in Madrid. I'm glad it's over and things have calmed down now.

Well there is plenty more Christmas to come! Hopefully a Christmas cookie party will be happening this weekend among other holiday festivities. Merry Christmas everyone!