Travel Blog – Mr & Mrs Smith Boutique & Luxury Hotels

Music-loving travel blogger and Ibiza insider Cila Warncke delivers Christmassy, yuletide greetings to all you Mr & Mrs Smiths from the balmy Balearic Island she calls home…

Christmas is a very special time in Ibiza. Local municipalities have gotten splendidly into the spirit, decking the main streets and town squares with fairy lights and fir trees. The annual Christmas Fair is in full swing on Vara de Rey, in Ibiza Town, with handcrafts, gifts, sweets and mini-fairground rides for the kids. And the famous hippie market at Las Dahlias, in San Carlos just around the corner from Can Curreu restaurant, has gone all Christmassy, too, and is a perfect place to find unique gifts like handmade jewellery and leather goods.

Christmas shopping is a relatively recent invention on the island, though. Historically, winter was a lean time, so Ibicenco tradition focuses on family and faith. Impressive midnight masses are sung in Ibiza’s churches, and the real joy of the season is spending time with friends and family. Imagine the fun of nipping nip off to a super-stylish Ibiza villa with a handpicked selection loved ones to celebrate island style!
Ibiza has fine-tuned the art of having a good time, beginning with a Christmas Eve feast. Local delicacies like jamon Serrano, queso manchego and turron (a fantastically rich Spanish fudge) feature heavily, and local organic vegetables are divine roasted with olive oil and a fistful of wild rosemary. Christmas Day is for relaxing with a stroll on the beach or, if you’re luxuriating at an agro tourismo like Atzaró, through the lush, green countryside. Hold on to the pressies, though: in Spain, gifts are exchanged on 6 January – el dia de los tres reyes – Three Kings’ Day – in honour of the three wise men.
This means you could have a traditional English Christmas, and then slip away to Ibiza for a few days to unwind and enjoy a second helping of holiday cheer (and giant presents). Believe me, once you’ve watched a Mediterranean winter sunset while nibbling churros con chocolate (fresh doughnuts and hot chocolate), you won’t want to leave…

This entry was posted on Friday, December 19th, 2008 at 5:24 pm and is filed under Boutique hotels, Guest blogs, Ibiza, Uncategorized, Worth getting out of bed for. You can follow any comments on this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.