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Sunday, January 05, 2003 Went out to a film ("Last Orders"), emerged from the theater into pouring rain, Spanish families walking together beneath umbrellas, unprepared young couples striding quickly along, staying close to the buildings, huddled together, shoulders hunched up against the weather. Despite the weather, stores remain busy, restaurants and bars filled with customers appearing extremely content. The sidewalks are aswirl with people, many carrying gift-wrapped packages, heading toward dinners and get-togethers. The evening has the same kind of family energy and cheer that I saw here on Christmas Eve day, with far more people about than on Christmas Eve -- more like New Year's Eve's level of activity, minus the manic let's-get-ripped quality. Tonight and tomorrow -- gift-giving, family dinners. Tuesday: the return to more normal routines. The Christmas lights will come down, regular life will reassert itself, though enhanced by yet another shopping season: las rebajas, a month-long sales period. More relaxed, I'm told, than the Christmas shopping frenzy. Recreational, not obligatory. And life rolls on. rws 2:45 PM [+]
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