Blogs from Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain, Europe - page 17

The bus trip from Valencia to Alicante is lovely. Only 3 hours and with glimpses of the coast all the way. First impressions of my hotel were “what the?” Vans, trucks and people everywhere. It seems they’re filming ‘My big fat greek wedding 2’ in my hotel so inside was Hollywood in Action! Quick costume change and straight to the beach. I soo love a Mediterranean beach. Miles of sun beds full with beautiful people, so down goes my sarong and in goes the ipod. It’s a lovely 27 degrees but it’s a dry heat so very pleasant. Check out the hot Latinos - everywhere! Where to look, stop steering … but they’re so HOT! Hunk next to me has a mate join him, even hunkier, then they’re both up and heading towards the volleyball court ... read more

We arrived in Alicante after a short train ride from Barcelona. According to our books and fellow travelers, Alicante is a lesser known stop along the Southern coast of Spain. Hoping to relax a little after our times in Barcelona, our first impressions of Alicante were optimistic. Arriving on a Sunday, the streets were unusually quiet. We were surprised to see a variety of float-like statues erected amongst the streets of the city. Although odd, we figured something was just a little different in Alicante. We didn´t have a reservation and settled at Pension Popeye (A portent of things to come). We spent a little time at the beach and got ready for dinner. A cute Spanish waiter served us Paella (a massive rice dish with a variety of different vegetables and meat), which both ... read more

Well, OK, only in the broadest possible sense - but I did go to Javea in Spain to play in a mixed netball tournament. Javea is on the Costa Blanca near Valencia, so when the opportunity to play came up, how could I refuse? We were feeling confident, as we had just won the grandfinal of our Thursday night competition (see photo at right of the successful team), but with one team coming all the way from Malaysia, who could know what the competition would be like? As it turned out, most of the teams were from London (and full of Aussies and Kiwis) and even the teams from Javea were ex-pat only. Had good and bad luck on the trip. It all started at the airport ... there was a crew of 14 of us ... read more

Well, left London after only being there for a few days and toodled off to Alicante in Spain! I loved it!! Beautiful buildings, Sangria, winding streets, Sangria, Castles, Sangria!!! Yes, I absolutely loved Sangria!! Once again, Katie made sure I was up and about... we climbed the rather large hill to the Castle which was a hard slog for me but I made it! Unfortunately it strained the hell out of my foot, but nevermind... the view was lovely. Obviously from looking at the pictures, one of my favourite parts of Alicante was the beautiful winding streets. So many places to eat.. amazing Rose and of course plenty of beer! Other highlights, walking on the harbour and boardwalk at night, shopping at the markets for scarves and jewellery! All in all, glad we went! Mind you, ... read more

Yesterday I went to a brilliant Ancient walled city called Cartagena. It was an ancient Roman city and I visited the old roman ampitheatre lots of it was still in tact, there were also Bizantine walls and mosaics. There were roman ruins lying around every corner. It is a port city and we went for a cruise on a catamaran on the mediterranean! It is really famous as a strong military area with fortresses and canons and walls built into the hills. It was the last city to surrender to Franco during the Spanish civil war. It also had a really old bull ring and university very cool. Had tapas again for lunch yum! Am learning to order my drink, 'una coca-cola light per favore.' Today I went on another tour to the Cuaves de Canalobre ... read more