Blogs from Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain, Europe

We woke up around 9am, and after a cup of coffee we were on way to the beach to catch the bus to the Santa Barbara Castle. At about 10:30 a small bus approached and turned out to the ours. After we boarded, along 5 or 6 others, we rode around the mountain thru a small town at the base and up the road to the parking area. We got off, and walked up to the entrace, and were surprised to find out there was no entry fee. Winding our way up and around, we reached the top level. Here, we took some good photos, then started back down, convinced we'd missed the 40-minute delay between busses, but the bus was there waiting for us. After the 20-minute ride back down, the bus stopped at our ... read more

After kicking off the summer with a trip to Italy, I didn't really have any further travel plans and thus I wasn’t expecting to be writing again so soon - but here we are! Life has a habit of keeping you on your toes. The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the world of work forever by forcing millions of office workers to work remotely and for many companies across the globe, this forced experiment proved to be a huge success, as employers realised that productivity could be maintained or even improved, and employees realised that they really didn't need to be in the office every day anymore - that work could now be much more flexible and convenient than ever before. I am fortunate enough to be working for a company that has not just embraced remote ... read more

Thursday, March 31, 2022 Alicante, Spain The sun rose over the ocean to a cloudless sky, the light brought into view a castle resting atop a crag of a mountain, a modern city with high rise condos and hotels and a long curving sandy beach, while a mountain ranges off in the distance framed the scene, a view unlike anything we’ve seen on this trip. Its roots are ancient, its port a mainstay for Madrid and a working persons city abundant with midcentury high-rise buildings favoring the brutalist period. Welcome to Alicante, Spain. We arrived at 10am this morning after a somewhat rocky night. It may have rained in Alicante, but today was brilliant with sun and blanketed by bilious clouds. My sleep, even after a Unisom intervention, was somewhat fitful. I gave up at one ... read more

Two weeks to Thailand: trip preparations Friday 17th January 2020 We have just got the rucksacks out of the cupboard, have drawn up the packing list and shopped for most of the essentials that we need (medical, toiletries and so on). Just before Christmas, we visited the International Diseases Unit at the Vega Baja Hospital in Orihuela, as we always do before backpacking to tropical climes and were delighted to be told that all of our previous inoculations were still within their end dates, so no jabs required this time! Our blogs are arranged into trips, so this blog is the first of Trip 9 on travelblog.org (other trips have been recorded elsewhere). Blogging is our way of preserving and treasuring the memories. We have just up-dated our profile text on travelblog, in preparation for this ... read more

Saturday 27th April 2019 Preparing for a road trip is completely different to preparations for backpacking. We keep forgetting that we shall not have to carry rucksacks, so the clothing allowance can be a little less frugal! However, since we are taking some camping gear with us, space will not be over-generous in our wheelie holdalls, just a little more ample than in a rucksack. Weight will not be a problem: the little tent weighs just 2.2 kilo. So, the packing list is complete, we have shopped for most of the things we need (medical, toiletries and so on) and John is playing with his new Canon camera! Another difference is that we have not had to visit the International Diseases Unit at the Vega Baja hospital in Orihuela as for past big trips. Unlike when ... read more