¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

If Spanish traditions have anything to do with it, 2007 is going to suck. Hopefully it won't, but things got off to a rocky start.

You see, in Spain, they have a tradition where everyone eats 12 grapes at midnight on New Year's Eve, one for every chime of the clock. Doing so is supposed to bring good fortune for the coming year. So, there I was, waiting among thousands gathered in Plaza Nueva here in Seville for the clock to strike midnight.

I bought a baggie full of grapes earlier in the evening and pulled them out as the clock ticked closer and closer, and then...silence. No chimes. For a few moments, we all stood around confused, grapes at the ready, but eventually everyone decided to eat their grapes anyway. Which of course, led to the second problem, mine had seeds. So, not only was there no chiming of the clock, it would have been impossible for me to eat 12 seed-filled grapes in 12 seconds.

No chimes + seeds in grapes = horrible 2007.

Okay, maybe it won't quite work out that way, but if my tradition holds true, that you have a hell of a lot of fun on New Year's Eve, 2007 is going to be incredible.

It didn't look very promising early in the evening as few restaurants were open and the ones that were had huge lines. I had to settle for a crummy slice of pizza at a take out place. I worked my way through the central part of Seville and stopped into an Irish pub around 10. It was packed as it seemed like every English speaking person in Seville was there.

I had a couple of beers there and headed over to Plaza Nueva around 11:30. I didn't realize you could drink alcohol openly in the streets, but everyone else did. People were walking around with wine and champagne, one bottle to a person.

A crowd of thousands had gathered in the plaza and people were lighting off fireworks like crazy. There was no one really running the show, so if you had one, you just walked to the edge of the circle and lit it. Everyone was drunk and having a blast, but at any moment I expected someone to lose a hand.

Midnight came and went and with it my ordeal with the grapes. I had my small camera with me and was taking some vidoes when an Italian guy came up and, noticing how I couldn't see over the crowd too well, ushered me up onto the base of a light.

From there I could see the whole crowd and it was awesome. People were running around, drinking like mad, dancing and lighting off fireworks. One woman, without meaning to, started a conga line, which snaked its way through the crowd. Couples took their turns on top of a small pedestal while the crowd urged them to kiss and cheered wildly after they did it.

Oddly enough, on the base of the light with me were a couple from Iowa. A young boy came up with a bag full of fireworks and asked them for a light. They let him borrow a lighter and he stood there with us for a few minutes and lit off his bag full. They weren't really fireworks, but just made a loud bang when they went off. It was funny watching him light them, but I did get a little concerned when he started throwing them at people.

The fireworks eventually died down though, not because people ran out, but because the conga line took over the empty space in the middle of the plaza. One extremely drunk woman wearing a santa hat and a very short skirt tried to clear it out again, but it was impossible. I guess you should never underestimate the power of a conga line.

My words will never do it justice, but New Year's Eve in Seville is definitely worth seeing in person. It was really interesting to see how other cultures spend their final day of the year and I have to admit, they blow us away. I'll try to post some pictures, but even more so, some videos. I don't think I'll be able to do the videos until I get home, so you'll have to wait for those.

I hope you all had a great time last night. Happy New Year everyone!