The two days leading up to Christmas Day and the day after, I spent quietly in Almería. Let me tell you about them:

Day 23, Monday: I spent an interesting morning chatting with the Host, Esther. She mostly works nights, so during the day she sometimes spends it at home relaxing, and she is still trying to get over the cold and terrible cough she has been dealing with for probably three weeks now. Poor thing.

So, we ended up talking for a couple of hours, about our lives, work, families. She is really a nice person and seems to have a great relationship with her husband. They are newlyweds, even though they’ve been together for 10 years I believe. It was a great way to spend the morning, getting to know her. 🥰

They invited me to spend Christmas Eve with them and I offered to bring something. They will be cooking, so we decided I would bring the wine. Esther told me of their favorite wine store in the Downtown area, so I’ll head that way this evening. But first, I have a nail appointment, at a nail salon I found on Google. The nice thing is, it’s very close to where I’m staying. I stopped by a couple of days ago to check out the salon and see if they work with the same nail product that I´ve been using in Mexico, and they do! So off I went and the nail technician did a great job. My nails look great!

Afterwards, I took the 20 – 25 minute walk to the wine store and the wine expert in the store helped me buy a Spanish Sauvignon Blanc for me and two bottles of a red wine for everybody else. The white wine was very good and I hear the red was, too. I don’t mind red, but I prefer white. On the way home, I decided to stop for dinner at a restaurant called Foster´s Hollywood. Yes, it is an American-style restaurant, but listen, it was open and it was on my way home. You´ll be happy to know (I´m sure) that I did not order a hamburger. But I did order a 1/2 rack of ribs and french fries. It was very good. Take a look:

Day 24: Tuesday, Christmas Eve – slow start this morning. My AirBnB Hosts were busy in the kitchen making dinner. I headed out for a walk along the beach. It was cool out, but a really beautiful, sunny day.

It was around 1:00pm when I started out for my walk, and even though it was Christmas Eve, all of the restaurants and cafes along the Boardwalk were open and busy. I decided to get some lunch, as dinner was not scheduled until 9:30 – 10:00pm. I stopped at a restaurant with outdoor seating. As soon as I sat down, I was told the Paella had just been made, and it was ¨mixed¨ (seafood and chicken), so I said, ¨yes, please.¨

I headed back to the apartment to relax a bit and then get ready for dinner. I’m sorry to say that I did not take any pictures of the amazing dinner. We ended up having dinner with the Host (Esther’s) aunt, uncle and their two 20-something kids. They brought a really good appetizer of a charcuturie board with delicious cheeses, hams, fruit, paté and crackers. I wish I would have taken a picture, it was really good. The rest of the meal was prepared by the Hosts (David and Esther). We started off with a homemade bruschetta (toasted crusty bread with a lovely spread, arugula and parmesan cheese). We then went and sat at the dining room table, as the yummy cheeses and sliced meats were enjoyed around the kitchen island. The first course was clams in a delicious broth followed by meat-stuffed cannelloni smothered in beschamel cheese and for dessert a crispy sweet phyllo dough with a vanilla pudding-type filling. The entire meal was delicious accompanied by the wine. Dinner was served around 10:30pm or so and we ended the evening at around 1:00am. Again, apologies for the lack of photos. I have included some pictures I found on the internet that closely resembles what we ate.

Christmas Day (#25), Wednesday – As I called around a couple of days ago trying to find a Christmas Day mass, I learned that midnight mass on Christmas Eve (12:01am on the 25th actually) is the norm in Spain. So much so, that most churches I called only had one mass on Christmas Day. I ended up going to the church close to the apartment (which I had visited last week) for the 11:30am mass. I expected it to be full, standing room only (like in the USA and Mexico), but not at all. In fact there was not even a choir or cantor. They had Christmas music playing when the people were arriving, and it was recorded and played over the church speakers. I am so used to Christmas mass being quite a production with lively music but that was not the case here today. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the service and walked home after less than an hour. I decided to stay in today, as most places were closed anyway. The Host family were out all afternoon and evening, presumably visiting family. I relaxed in my room and watched movies on Amazon Prime on my tablet. Great way to spend a quiet day.

Day #26, Thursday – another lovely, sunny day, although cool. I headed out for a walk around 12:00pm. The Boardwalk was very busy with families out enjoying the day together. I stopped by the supermarket on the way home. I went back to the apartment, had something to eat and got ready to go out. I walked downtown and decided to visit the Museum of Doña Pakyta. It was a home in the downtown area that was donated to the city. It was built in 1928 and currently includes artists from Almería over the last 100 years. It has some beautiful paintings and sculptures. Here are a few that I really liked:

I rounded out my day with dinner at an Italian Restaurant, Gino’s, which was quite good. Yes, I’ve eaten quite well on this trip. Thank goodness I am walking as much as I am on a daily basis. Onward!

Day 23: 10,817 steps

Day 24: 10,076 steps

Day 25: 2.693 steps

Day 26: 15,239 steps