{"id":2387,"date":"2018-12-27T09:15:12","date_gmt":"2018-12-27T08:15:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/?page_id=2387"},"modified":"2018-12-27T09:51:58","modified_gmt":"2018-12-27T08:51:58","slug":"week-51-christmas-begins-the-working-year-ends","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/?page_id=2387","title":{"rendered":"Week 51: Christmas begins, the working year ends"},"content":{"rendered":"

This was the last working week of the year, and thus the beginning of a two-week holiday period. Our office, sensibly, is closed from 21 December until 3 January. So the week was a mix of some intense work to get the last things done at the office and the beginning of the Christmas hiatus.<\/p>\n

51_1<\/strong>
\n‘Tis the season for the Christmas markets in the towns and cities through which I cycle. So when I stopped in Aig\u00c3\u00bces on Sunday morning, an arts and crafts market was being set up on the square. This little dog can look forward to spending a rather boring day with its humans, next to their stand:
\n\"R004952\"<\/p>\n

51_2<\/strong>
\n“Artisanal, made with love”:
\n\"R004955\"<\/p>\n

51_3<\/strong>
\nFaces:
\n\"R004956\"<\/p>\n

51_4<\/strong>
\nSantas are everywhere, including at the local bakery:
\n\"R004957\"<\/p>\n

51_5<\/strong>
\nOn Wednesday afternoon we had our department’s Christmas lunch at a restaurant on the beach, but not the one we usually go to. We chose a nearby competitor, called Divino. A small enough place that we could have it all to ourselves (we were 35). We started with a drink and tapas on the terrace, and of course I was prowling with my camera. My co-workers are used to it, and actually expect it. Here is Stephanie, a frequent subject for me, talking to Nicol\u00c3\u00a1s and Valerio:
\n\"DSF6077\"<\/p>\n

51_6<\/strong>
\nBenjamin, a relatively new colleague, on loan from the Swedish patent office:
\n\"DSF6097\"<\/p>\n

51_7<\/strong>
\nMy Basque colleague Blanca, who in addition to her impossible native tongue, is fluent in Spanish, English, French and German:
\n\"DSF6093\"<\/p>\n

51_8<\/strong>
\nClaire was also taking pictures:
\n\"DSF6084\"<\/p>\n

51_9<\/strong>
\nThroughout, we were being watched by the local fauna:
\n\"DSF6091\"<\/p>\n

51_10<\/strong>
\nThen it was time to go inside for the main part of the proceedings. Blanca borrowed my camera to take a picture with me in it, for once:
\n\"DSF6104\"<\/p>\n

51_11<\/strong>
\nI chose to sit across from Blanca, Stephanie and Carolina, knowing that these dynamic ladies would provide me with photo opportunities (and pleasant conversation too, of course):
\n\"DSF6100\"<\/p>\n

51_12<\/strong>
\nAnd I was not disappointed. I posted this image on Facebook, and it has been very popular among my friends, and among the friends of Carolina and Stephanie, and the two victims like it as well:
\n\"DSF6101\"<\/p>\n

51_13<\/strong>
\nMy fellow Dane, Bente, in the crowd:
\n\"DSF6115\"<\/p>\n

51_14<\/strong>
\nMeanwhile, the little birds outside had a party with our leftovers:
\n\"DSF6106\"<\/p>\n

51_15<\/strong>
\nOnce again, I visited the beach before dawn, this time closer to the centre of El Campello. The promenade and the beach were still deserted:
\n\"DSF6121\"<\/p>\n

51_16<\/strong>
\n\"DSF6125\"<\/p>\n

51_17<\/strong>
\nWell, almost<\/em> deserted:
\n\"DSF6126\"<\/p>\n

51_18<\/strong>
\nOn Friday afternoon, I stopped at the Eastern European grocery on Plaza Seneca to buy some Polish goodies. The square used to house the city’s main bus station. A few years ago the bus station was relocated, and the old building was in a state of neglect until recently. But now it is nicely restored, and it was being used as an indoor Christmas market:
\n\"R004959\"<\/p>\n

51_19<\/strong>
\n\"R004964\"<\/p>\n

51_20<\/strong>
\nEntertainment for the children:
\n\"R004963\"<\/p>\n

51_21<\/strong>
\nIn the evening, I walked to our local pizzeria, Tutti Pizza y Pasta, to pick up a couple of pizzas for dinner. While I was waiting, these two gentlemen came to the counter to pay, and in exchange for a chupito<\/em>, sang a traditional song:
\n\"R004967\"<\/p>\n

51_22<\/strong>
\n\"R004971\"<\/p>\n

51_23<\/strong>
\nThen the weekend arrived, and of course I was out cycling both days. On Saturday in Aig\u00c3\u00bces, I photographed this typical small-town scene on the town’s central square:
\n\"R004977\"<\/p>\n

51_24<\/strong>
\nOn the outside of the church, a painting of the nativity scene by a local artist:
\n\"R004978\"<\/p>\n

51_25<\/strong>
\nOur daughter had dinner with us on Friday and spent the night. On Saturday, I drove her back to the apartment she shares with two Italian guys. On the way, we stopped at a supermarket so that I could buy her a cartful of bulky stuff that is more difficult to drag home when you don’t have a car. The fish counter was really well supplied and crowded with people shopping for the holidays:
\n\"R004982\"<\/p>\n

51_26<\/strong>
\nIn addition to the two guys, Monica also shares the apartment with a cute dog, Meeve:
\n\"R004983\"<\/p>\n

51_27<\/strong>
\nOn Sunday, I cycled to Agost, and again I ran into people singing traditional songs, although a bit more organised this time:
\n\"R004986\"<\/p>\n

51_28<\/strong>
\nI do not recall seeing much of this in previous years, but clearly it is a tradition around here, reminding us of the Puerto Rican parranda<\/em>:
\n\"R004993\"<\/p>\n

51_29<\/strong>
\nThen it was Sunday evening, and I needed a lemon for the dish I was cooking and for my rum & Coke. So it was time to go to the garden and pick a couple. Our new house, like most free-standing houses here, has a lemon tree in the garden. These are still work in progress:
\n\"DSF6135\"<\/p>\n

51_30<\/strong>
\nThis one is ready:
\n\"DSF6132\"<\/p>\n

51_31<\/strong>
\nThe harvest. These are not perfectly looking lemons, but they are good, and they are MY lemons, not sprayed with anything:
\n\"R004996\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This was the last working week of the year, and thus the beginning of a two-week holiday period. Our office, sensibly, is closed from 21 December until 3 January. So the week was a mix of some intense work to get the last things done at the office and the beginning of the Christmas hiatus. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":2074,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2387"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2387"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2387\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2391,"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2387\/revisions\/2391"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2074"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}