Apparently for New Year's Eve everyone heads down to Sol with 12 grapes. As the big clock in the plaza chimes you make a wish and eat a grape for each chime. At 11:30 we planned to meet a girl from my program to head down to Sol together.
As we got close to Sol, there was a HUGE traffic jam and we didn't think we could get any closer. At first I was bummed because I wanted to be in Sol when the New Year came in. However, it turned out the police had set up a check point to keep people from bringing massive amounts of alcohol into the plaza. So we made it through the checkpoint and continued on to the plaza. It started to get unbelievably crowded and we were moving along at barely the pace of a crawl. At some point, we got pushed away from the side barrier. Mistake number two was not fighting tooth and nail to get back to the side. The closer it got to midnight, the more frantic people got about getting to where they could see the clock in Sol and we were smack dab in the middle of it all. Mistake number three was not leaving when we had the chance. It got to the point where I was fighting panic attacks with a constant stream of prayers and Ben was in a near squat position with his arms cocked out around me and creating a buffer from all the shoving. I kept my eyes on the clock waiting and waiting for it to strike midnight.
Midnight finally came and we were trying to eat our grapes. I got about four in my mouth before I thought "What if someone shoves me from behind and I start choking on my grapes?" This thought effectively ended my grape eating. Apparently this thought did not enter Ben's mind and he ate all 12 grapes. About 2 or 3 minutes after midnight there was an exodus of people from the plaza. The exodus was slow going and there was still an unreasonable amount of pushing going on. We got separated from our friend but I texted her later to make sure she made it out alive. She did.
Once we were on the street going home, I told Ben that I never want to do something like that again and that was the most scared I had ever been in my life. If it hadn't been for me praying and Ben telling me over and over that I was going to be ok I think I would've entered full panic mode. It didn't help that I can sometimes get a little claustrophobic. Once we got home, we ate our grapes and made our wishes. We were about a half hour late but my initial and most important wish that I had made back in Sol, that we make out alive, had already came true.
Now while this was a terrifying experience at times, it still was a little fun and I am happy to say that I have experienced New Year's Eve in Madrid like a true local.
(It was estimated that about 300,000 people packed themselves into Sol and the surrounding streets.)
All happy and calm with my sack of grapes headed for Sol.
Right after the clock struck midnight.
Back in the apartment with our mouths full of 12 grapes each.
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