Holiday in Spain

New Year's Eve

As I recollect on past New Years Celebrations, only one stands out in my mind. That one was the celebration that took place in Madrid.

We wake up the morning of the last day of 2005, and we cannot wait for the fabled celebration that night in downtown Madrid. We got in the bus and went out on a tour. This time we go down to the entrance to the city as they call it. Two towers line the road as we look out on the largest city in Spain.

We spend the day walking, tour busing, subwaying, and running through the streets of Madrid as we take in the grandest of sights. A simply marvelous action-packed day.

We get back around 8 for a dinner at the hotel (one of the better meals of the trip). We then rest before going back out for the New Years Celebration. We partake in most of the festivities, but it is mostly too crowded to even move.

The Spanish have a tradition for bringing in the New Year that involves the eating of 12 grapes in certain time increments as the clock counts down. The celebration was a mere 2 blocks from our hotel. The downtown square has huge screens set up for the countdown.

Right at midnight, flames fill the sky as the fireworks burst in every direction. Everyone is screaming and cheering and I could not be happier. As I look around at all of the smiles, I know that this year is going to be great and no way to kick it off better than a Holiday in Spain.

During the flight to Spain, our whole group chanted the words to the Counting Crows song "Holiday in Spain." We knew what we were doing and that night was so spectacular that the song still resonates in all our heads. There could be no more applicable song for us that new year and we knew it.

At the conclusion of the ceremony, while others went to pubs and bars to bring the new year in their tummies, we paraded back to the hotel singing the words to the lasting song. We had done exactly what the Counting Crows did, we caught a plane to Barcelona because our city was a drag.

That was the best New Years celebration ever, and I hope everyone gets to experience a great celebration at least once in their lifetime. I wish everyone a very happy New Year, and may all your goals and wishes come true.