Culture Nuggets 🌍

This Christmas, my Great Aunt from Texas asked me to record myself singing the holiday classic song: O Holy Night. So without further a do, ladies and gentlemen...don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel 😁

For Christmas Eve I'm normally at home in Detroit cleaning up and preparing for the family dinner at my grandma's house. But this year, I decided to do something different. Since I was alone in Spain for the holiday, I wanted to do something that would remind me of my grandma. When I was a little girl, I told my grandma I wanted to ride in a hot air balloon like Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. So I booked a balloon flight over Segovia! I flew over a big, beautiful castle, met a nice family that let me "borrow" their grandma for the day and overcame my fear of heights as well as cured my homesickness.  ¡FELIZ NAVIDAD! Don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel. Here's the link to the Civitatis website where I booked my hot air balloon ride. Click it to check it out:  https://www.civitatis.com/en/madrid/hot-air-balloon-ride

Madrid's Christmas Light Festival I went to Madrid city center to watch the Christmas light show projected on a building. It included the Nativity, the nutcracker and a Christmas medley. The excitement of finding a spot, seeing the crowd's reactions and the count down before the show gave me a sense of nostalgia and holiday spirit! The show lasted for about 15-20 minutes, sort of like the Detroit Fireworks. People gathered in the square (Christmas Market) to watch the light show, shopped with vendors, and walked around socializing afterwards. It was a really fun experience! Check out the video below & be sure to subscribe to the Culture Nuggets YouTube channel.

      This train station has very detailed art work along the walls and the ceilings.These pictures actual have history behind them. In the video clip before, you'll hear some of the stories behind the artwork....                                                                     Subscribe to my YouTube channel 😁

Q: What's the fancy word for "the fear off heights"?  A: Up high and I feel like I'm going to pass out-ophobia?   Yeah, well I have that!! Check out this video to see this cool bride in Porto & don't forget to subscribe on YouTube!

This day trip to Ribera Del Duero was a nice little treat! At this vineyard tour and wine tasting event in Burgos, I was able to actually learn about the process that grapes have to undergo to make wine. We also got to see where the wine is stored for aging, how it's bottled and corked. Then we were able to taste 3 different wines and go outside to see (and taste) the grapes! What a fun day trip!! Click on the link below to plan your next vacation with City Life Madrid!  https://www.citylifemadrid.com/events/day-trip-ribera-del-duero-mar-07-2020/

The Manneken-Pis Belgium's famous peeing boy statue! People from all over the world crowd around this statue to take pictures of him. He was built in 1913 and has been stolen 13 times under the rule of King Louis XV by French soldiers. The square where the Mannekin Pis is located used to be a market place and some people were so poor that they sold their children's urine for money. The urine of children was used to produce ammonia by leather makers. Nowadays, the Mannaken Pis has over 1,000 outfits that he gets dressed in for specific holidays and events at the museum! For Christmas, he wears a Santa hat, for Farmer's day ( a Belgian holiday) he pees milk and for the Belgian Beer Festival he pees beer. Now that's one interesting baby!! Listen to the podcast episode about the Manneken Pis using the link below: https://anchor.fm/culturenuggets/episodes/The-Worlds-Best-Beer-and-the-Famous-Peeing-Boy-eeb33q