Merry Christmas and a happy new year from Marco, Susan, Minnie and North!!

North, the christmas white rabbit got scared by the Tió, who teamed up with Santa (in the background). No presents for you!!

Navidad en Barcelona! It´s Xmas in Barcelona again! -- Sorry everybody for being so slack at sending cards, it´s been a very, very hectic year.. but to make up, here´s a little recount of our Xmas day! Merry, merry xmas from Susan, Marco, Minnie, Northie... and little baby on the way!

Los mercadillos de Navidad, en el barrio gótico. Son espectaculares!! Navidad apenas ha empezado, y continuarán hasta Reyes..esto hay que disfrutarlo.

It is becoming ´family tradition´ to visit the Xmas markets at the Gothic quarter, next to the Cathedral. They´re full of colour and little presents,and you can buy the figures, houses, and everything you need to put together the Nativity Scene, which is very big here in Spain. And if you´re lucky, you can also buy hot chocolate con churros on the way!

Although very humble, our Xmas tree lit-up the room with all different colours, as we prepared to receive Santa. ¿Had we been good this year? Well, I think so!!

It was a fantastic dinner! very Spanaustralian... red wine and ginger ale, and a roasted chicken with side champagne-potatoes, chips, allioli and BBQ sauce, veggies and corn and nice anchovi-filled olives. And afterwards, turrones!!

This is our Tió. We got him last year, and although we haven´t fed him much, he really behaved well!! The idea is to feed him all month, and then on Xmas day you cover him up, hit him with a stick and ask him to shit lots of presents!! -- well, we didn´t hit him, but still he DID give us plenty of pressies! Thank you to the Santa´s for the baby towels, the videos (in English!!), the Xmas decorations for Sue, the CD... and the angels!! Oh, and I got a radio-clock and a jumper and a cat calendar! The Tió really behaved well this year..

Susan got a ´Susan-stereo´! That is, a stereo without the usual Marco add-ons...no MP3, no extra cables for hooking up to the computer, no multifunctional three-digit buttons... just your plain, nice, good-homely-sound stereo. And she´s stoked!! :D