Celebrating Three Kings Day in Spain

AurigaCrown Car Hire offers their clients ideas on different events and places to visit during their stay in Spain. In this article some insights into the annual Three Kings celebration.

January 5th each year sees the celebration of Los Reyes Magos or the Three Kings and is a major event in any Spanish Childs Diary and is celebrated in almost every town.

The three king s celebration is basically a twist on Santa Claus, but then it is the three kings, Melchor, Gasper and Balthazar, who give the gifts. Although January 6th is when the children (and adults) receive their presents, the kings arrive the day before on January 5th which is celebrated in the afternoon with a colourful traditional parade through the city centres in Spain. Upon the arrival of the Three Kings (in the port if the city has one), they are first received and greeted by the Mayor. Then the procession leaves in the direction of the city centre.  The first main float is in the procession the postman – a Santa-esque figure with a long, white beard and ivory-coloured robes. He is followed by the kings, each with their own float, interspersed with various groups representing characters from famous movies, a local clown personality and marching bands. On the way the Three Kings are busy throwing out gifts, sweets and toys to the thousands of people who have lined the route.

These processions and celebrations are duplicated in every town and City in Spain with the largest and busiest parades being found in Madrid and Barcelona. In Madrid the procession makes its way from El Retiro Park and makes its way to Plaza Mayor. It is estimated that up to 7000 kilos of sweets are giving out in the Madrid Procession alone.

An day where you will see any Spanish towns crammed with people of all ages. Every able-bodied person jumped and yelled when a float came near, hoping they would be one of the lucky ones to get some kilograms of candy or gifts that are thrown out. A day where you can see the joy on all faces.

Don´t miss the Three Kings parade or ¨Cabalgata De Los Reyes Magos¨. To make your stay more comfortable hire your care with us. AurigaCrown has offices all over Spain and offers from economic and family cars up to luxury and 4x4s, AurigaCrown offers all options to provide you the car that suits you best. For more information on car rentals, fleet, offices and/or prices, please visit AurigaCrown´s website.

Tour de España 2011

AurigaCrown Car Hire offers their clients ideas on different events and places to visit during their stay in Spain. Providing options for visits that are within easy reach with a rental car, nice routes, places to visit and from where to start. In this article some information about the Tour of Spain and tips if you want to follow part of the tour live.

Just as the famous French and Italian versions, the Tour of Spain is an important event on the European cycling calendar. Spaniards are passionate about cycling and one of the examples is of course the famous five-time French Tour winner Miguel Indurain. The Spanish Tour is divided into 21 stages and covers more than 3000 kilometres passing by Benidorm, Granada y la Sierra Nevada, Seville, Madrid, Marbella, Andorra, Salamanca, Toledo, Pontevedra, Bilbao, among other places. The 2011 tour takes place from August 20th till September 11th.

The 66th edition of the Vuelta returns to the Angliru climb and visits the Basque Country for the first time in 33 years. Last year’s tour winner Vincenzo Nibali was one of the riders present at the unveiling of the route in Benidorm, from where the tour will start as well on August 20th, with a 16km team time trial. Vincenzo commented that it is a ¨very hard Vuelta¨ this year. The tour will end in Madrid on September 11th, after a total of 3295 kilometres.

The route this year does not pass through Catalonia nor the Pyrenees, but does include ten mountain stages and six peak finishes, two that never have been ridden before: the Estacion de Montaña Manzaneda in Galicia and La Farrapona in Asturias.

The race returns to Valdepeñas de Jaen and to San Lorenzo del Escorial, it goes through the Sierra Nevada and visits the Angliru and the Peña Cabarga, where Igor Anton crashed out during last year´s race.

There is only one time trial which is held over a 40 kilometres track around Salamanca, making the Tour de España a race for true climbers. The final stages will be held in Basque Country, and the very last part of 94 kilometres in Madrid where the Tour finishes.

The race had not returned to Basque Country since 1978 as supporters of the Basque independence created security problems by blocking the course with metal barriers and sticks back then. The regional authorities – with nowadays a non-nationalist leader – tried hard to get the Tour back to the region where cycling is a very popular sport.

The stages of the 2011 Tour de España:
• Saturday, Aug 20 - Stage 1, Benidorm, team time trial, 16km
• Sunday, Aug 21 - Stage 2, La Nucia to Playas de Orihuela, 171.5km
• Monday, Aug 22 - Stage 3, Petrer to Totana, 164km
• Tuesday, Aug 23 - Stage 4, Baza to Sierra Nevada, 172km
• Wednesday, Aug 24 - Stage 5, Sierra Nevada to Valdepenas de Jaen, 200km
• Thursday, Aug 25 - Stage 6, Ubeda to Cordoba, 185.7km
• Friday, Aug 26 - Stage 7, Almaden to Talavera de la Reina, 185km
• Saturday, Aug 27 - Stage 8, Talavera de la Reina to San Lorenzo del Escorial, 182km
• Sunday, Aug 28 - Stage 9, Villacastin to Sierra de Bejar La Covatilla, 179.5km
• Monday, Aug 29 - Stage 10, Salamanca, individual time trial, 40km
• Tuesday, Aug 30 - Rest day
• Wednesday, Aug 31 - Stage 11, Verin to Estacion de Montana Manzaneda, 171km
• Thursday, Sept 1 - Stage 12, Ponteareas to Pontevedra, 160km
• Friday, Sept 2 - Stage 13, Sarria to Ponferrada, 150km
• Saturday, Sept 3 - Stage 14, Astorga to La Farrapona Lagos de Somiedo, 173.2km
• Sunday, Sept 4 - Stage 15, Aviles to Alto de l'Angliru, 144km
• Monday, Sept 5 - Rest day
• Tuesday, Sept 6 - Stage 16, Villa Romana La Olmeda to Haro, 180km
• Wednesday, Sept 7 - Stage 17, Faustino V to Pena Cabarga, 212.5km
• Thursday, Sept 8 - Stage 18, Solares to Noja, 169.7km
• Friday, Sept 9 - Stage 19, Noja to Bilbao, 157.9km
• Saturday, Sept 10 - Stage 20, Bilbao to Vitoria, 187km
• Sunday, Sept 11 - Stage 21, Circuito del Jarama to Madrid, 94km

It is very popular to combine the holidays in Spain with viewing and experiencing a part of the tour live. AurigaCrown Car Hire has a great number of offices all over Spain. Visiting for example the region of Andalusia, offers a great possibility to view the runners come by and at the same time offering plenty of options to enjoy the culture, visit the beautiful cities of Seville, Cordoba, Granada and Malaga, enjoy nature, have fun in entertainment parks, etc. With your rental car all sights and towns are within easy reach. For more information on rental cars, fleet and prices, please visit AurigaCrown´s website.