It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out that the day following Three Kings Day (the traditional day for giving gifts, 6 January), is the equivalent of the Boxing Day sales in Australia.

Shopping in Spain, as a tourist, is a beautiful thing for 3 reasons:

1) At Alice’s (where you can get anything you want), you can get a “tourista card” which gives you a 10% credit towards your next purchase.
2) After Three Kings Day, most stuff is marked down by at least 30% to 50% (sometimes more).
3) Because you’re a non-resident, you can claim the VAT/GST back (15%). Get the VAT back at the airport.

So let’s run a hypothetical situation here………let’s say you see some fabulous Spanish-made, brown leather ankle boots for 60 Euro. After Three Kings Day – taaaa-daaaaahhhh – they are now 48 Euro. Apply 10% tourista discount (5 Euro). Buy boots. Claim the VAT (6.45 Euro). So your 60 Euro boots end up costing 36-ish! Those same leather boots in Australia are over $100.  #needanothersuitcase

Despite spending 20 days in Spain, I’ve not yet had any churro (those long delicious donut-type things eaten with hot chocolate). On our last trip to Malaga, Ross, not one for exaggeration, famously said “there’s hundreds of churro cafes here”. But of course, when I wanted one, there wasn’t a single churro to be found. So needless to say, he’s come to regret that particular statement. I barely mention the churro statement (if by barely, you mean every single day).

This morning, after a few hours looking around, we stopped for hot chocolate at a little bakery. We walked out, with our tummies full of delicious, warm, velvety chocolate. Not 30 seconds later, we came across a churro café. Ross was super excited and dragged me towards it. My protestations of “I’m really full, I just had a hot chocolate, maybe later” fell on deaf ears. “No”, he says. “I have found you churro and you are going to eat churro whether you want to or not”. But the café was in darkness and the waiter shook his head at us, repeating “sin electricidad” (without electricity). Hahaha – the power was out. No churro for me. It’s a bloody conspiracy. I laughed for a long time and I still haven’t eaten a single churro.

Of course, part of the problem is that churros is traditionally eaten in the morning, for breakfast. We usually leave the apartment at the crack of noon, and after a couple of hours walking, driving or wandering around, it’s time for lunch, or as I like to say, vino-o’clock. And then it’s siesta time, so by then, all the churro cafes are closed. One of these days soon, because we’re running out of time, we shall wake up early (at the crack of 10) and venture into the streets to eat churro. I’ll take pictures 🙂.

In today’s edition of spot that car, we saw an KTM X-BOW orange and black track car, a Bentley with the number plate ‘BLING’ and a shiny black Rolls Royce.

PS. Bob and Irene are coming for lunch at our place on Monday. We shall have to go and buy some Russians, to make salad! hahaha

#IloveSpain