Spain World Cup Parade, Celebration to Last Days

The national celebration and parade honoring Spain's first World Cup title is slated to continue all-day Monday, and is expected to last until Tuesday, as the country welcomed back the team that outlasted the Netherlands a day earlier.

The Associated Press reported the team arrived at Madrid's Barajas airport shortly before 3 p.m. (9 a.m. ET) as dozens of airport workers cheered the plane with "Proud of our National Team. Champions" plastered on the fuselage. The players were slated to meet with King Juan Carlos in the Royal Palace and then they were to head to meet Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero before a three-mile bus ride through Madrid.

Organizers expect the parade -- which will feature the hoisting of the trophy at Principe Pio, a famous hill in Madrid -- to attract several hundred thousand people.

Despite the best efforts by some on Facebook and other sites to declare Monday a national holiday so people could recover from Sunday's partying, Spaniards weren't let off the hook and they had to drag themselves in to work on Monday.

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The price tag for the two days of partying could reach into the millions for Mardrid, mostly due to increased law enforcement costs.

"No one is going to want to sleep for a long time," goalkeeper and captain Iker Casillas was quoted by Yahoo! "It is special, magical. We will enjoy it, don't worry."

From there, it's off to to an authentic Spanish dinner for family and friends, and other initiation-only events, including an invitation-only party at New Garamond in Madrid, according to Yahoo!

The celebration will then apparently continue into Tuesday as players hit the morning television circuit and a few sports shows before they head to breakfast at Casillas's house.

"The celebration is going to be fun," defender Sergio Ramos told Yahoo! "And it is going to be long."

The players will head their separate ways Tuesday night.

World Cup Trophy Pictures and Photos

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World Cup Trophy Pictures and Photos