With the start date of my new job looming, I decided to make the most of my 'final' week of pseudo retirement and head off to Alicante in Spain for a week. All very last minute, but sometimes those are the best trips to have and this one was no different.
Glorious sunshine and warmth, hitting late 20, early 30 degrees each day, fabulous food, drink, sights and sounds. Everything was so relaxed - no hurry to do anything or go anywhere, its a lifestyle that suits me well!
I drank and ate at different places throughout my stay and got right into the tapas and sangria. Only thing I didn't get to sample was the paella - they only made this for a minimum of two people, so as a solo traveller, I was stiff out of luck! Gives a great reason to go back again another day, with at least one other person!
To get around I made good use of Google maps and Google translate, to assist with navigating information on websites, certainly not undoable and never found myself lost or not being able to understand information. The majority of the locals spoke English, well certainly their English was better than my Spanish, so after I stumbled across trying to speak Spanish, we'd have a good laugh and then talk in English!
One of the days I went to Castle of Santa Bárbara - perched high above Alicante it had fantastic views right around. Like the castles I've been to in Scotland, the Spanish made good use of the hill/mountain to position this castle, to 'see' any impending aggressors and to have the 'upper' hand to attack!
I spent a number of the days just walking around Alicante and viewing the buildings and seeing how people lived/live. Some parts are like stepping back in time, while others are visibly 'newer', but still older than most of NZ! There were communities of homes and often central or close by there would be a 'central' garden for all to share and during the day people would come and go to catch up with each other. Along the La Explanada de Espana, there were chairs placed in small groups for people to use. I can imagine this way of being connected to your community, would have been very hard not to be able to do during COVID lock downs. The Explanada, was a palm tree lined pedestrian avenue, that was littered with restaurants and bars - great place to people watch.
The Town Hall of Alicante, was a great example of baroque architecture, and was fortunate to be able to see some inside parts of it as well.
The Carbonell House on the Explanada was stunning and a relatively 'modern' building, having being built between 1922 to 1925.
The Central Market was a 'foodies' dream! Fresh seafood, meat, fruit, vegetables, baked goods, cheeses, flowers, charcuterie meats and beverages. As I was staying in a hotel, I didn't purchase anything, but anyone staying in self-catering accommodation, should really make the most of it!
I took a ferry to Tabarca Island, about an hour from Alicante, which is a marine reserve. Did a dual 'coast to coast' - North to South and East to West, the islands so small, you can easily walk around the whole thing! Lovely spot, once again wonderful insight to how people live, which all looks very idyllic.
For five of the nights I was in Alicante at midnight there was a firework display down on the beach. An absolute treat to watch and confirms my thinking that NZ should stop the sale of fireworks to the public. The displays were spectacular and there were 1000s of people there each night enjoying the displays.
This mini break was as much about relaxing as it was soaking up all a place has to offer and doing my usual of walking miles and going from one 'tourist attraction' to the next in as short a space of time as possbile. With lots of reading, swimming, sun soaking, walks, eating and drinking, Alicante certainly provided the right environment to relax, with just the right balance of getting my 'tourist fix'!
Returned to reality back in Scotland and started my new job last week. Aside from the usual new job 'hiccups' e.g. not getting onto their IT system till day three and not having a staff ID card to get in and out of buildings, the first week was great.
Worked two days in the office and three from home. I will turn up next week!
Well must away, planning my next break - three days in London to catch up with a couple of girls I've known for over 20 years and not seen for about 7. One lives in the UK and one lives in NZ, but is over here for a holiday, so it seems right we try and make a catch up happen! Its also been a spectacular weekend of summer sunshine, so need to make the most of this!
Cheers
Sara (aka Miss Sassy) 😘 🦋 💌
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