Mostly Spain 2023 - Last Day On The Costa Blanco

As I mentioned in my last post , Wednesday was our last day. 1.1 wanted to go to the sea one more time. 1.2 and wandered the commercial area along the waterfront. I was glad we had the chance to do so as it had a whole different vibe from any of the other places we'd been to. It definitely was catering to the expat/foreign tourist market. However the emphasis was more on long-term dwellers and residents. The eating places were much more low-key. None of the high pressure touts like we'd experienced in Alicante or La Villajoiosa. There was a supermarket clearly oriented toward people staying longer term as were some other kinds of shops. And there was the general attitude of the sales people which was pleasant and understanding but not obsequious or pushy.

Nothing says classy expat community

 

The Benidorm Coast (which looks amazingly like so many other coastal towns on the Mediterranean).

EXCEPT! This Coast has 1.1

While the female contingent were dipping their toes into the Med, 1.1 was on the search for a 'Starbucks style coffee drink'

Mission accomplished

Wife and 1.1 retorted by sharing a Sangria

Our last meal in Spain was at a beach place, highly rated on Google, but clearly oriented toward the expats in terms of menu. Nonetheless, it was good and enjoyable. 

Vegetarian Fajitas? 1.1 said they were good.

More Spanish Like - Garlic Shrimp and Shrimp Cocktail.

I had these and they were quite enjoyable

Wife's Lasagna. 

She loves lasagna (well done). Orders it all the time. Is almost always disappointed. But this was really a pretty good rendition.

Return to Madrid - we were at the same hotel before our flight out today. They have now completely pulled down the old building and are just cleaning up the site. I feel I need to keep coming back to find out what is going up in its place?

Mostly Spain 2023 - Radio Silence Is Not Indicative Of Lack Of Activity

 The opposite. We have been going like crazy people. Well, we've been going like Eldership commandos who should know better than to be going so much! But we wanted to be sure that the grandchildren got a good experience of both the area we were in Spain and of our way of traveling (which they'd never experienced before). 

On Sunday, 1.2 wanted to do the major amusement park in the area (which as fate would have it was only 10 minutes from where we were staying). He and his sister did that on Sunday. 

On Monday, we went back to Alicante. We went by tram, went back up to the castle where the kids wandered all over. Then we took the elevator down to the waterfront (didn't do that the first time we went), and wandered all through the town until we got back to the tram line and came home. We had a rather interesting culinary experience which I will relate below in the pictures.

Tuesday was drive to Valencia day to go to the City of Arts and Sciences, and amazing architectural complex, and specifically to go to the Aquarium, the largest in Europe. Wife and I had hoped to do some photography, as well, but the sky was ominous as we were exiting the Aquarium and starting to rain. We managed to get to our car and make it out of Valencia (with the usual navigational chaos - had to give the grandkids the REAL Eldership Euro driving experience) before the heavens opened up. I had a good 20 minutes of very hairy driving before we broke clear. 

Wednesday, we drove to the beachfront of Benidorm for one last Mediterranean coast experience. Benidorm, is major expat and tourist destination. It has its own vibe compared to El Campello and La Villajoiosa.

Thursday, the grandkids had a 12:20pm flight back home from Madrid. So we were on the road at 5am for the 4 hour drive back. Actually longer, because I planned for and absolutely needed a number of stops along the way to rest, get caffeinated, and refocus as I was very tired from the prior days and the only driver. 

But we had got to the airport with plenty of time, got them checked in, saw them off through security, waited until we knew the flight was off the ground. Then we went to our hotel and collapsed. We leave tomorrow for our next stop, Florida.

Photos

City of Arts and Science (a fascinating place and story. For more information go here.)

We only had a time to take a few quick pictures on our way to the aquarium

 

 

 I didn't even notice there was a guy repelling down the face of this building until I was looking at the pictures afterwards.

In the Aquarium

It is a very challenging environment with the combination of dim light,  shooting through glass, and capturing moving objects. I took a lot of pictures but most were Meh.

Rays. Love Rays.

And I was able to get some good Jellyfish shots too. Love Jellyfish!

An Alicante Culinary Tale

After the long tram ride, getting up to the castle, and running around the castle when we went to Alicante again, it was mid-afternoon and lunch time when we got down. We were on the waterfront so we knew things were going to be touristy. We stopped at a place that had enough things for all the varied tastes of our group. It was pretty busy. We were outside, at a table that was partially in the sun and it was hot. We placed our drink order, then our food order. The drinks came out. A table opened up that was completely shaded. We asked if we could move. This for some reason got our waiter completely out of joint. From that point on we were fully ignored. We tried to get his attention. Finally after 20 minutes, I just had us bail. I left some cash for the drinks and we headed out.

Now we were looking at the various places with a different eye altogether. None of them were appealing to us. Wife and I remembered the excellent meal we had on the waterfront our first visit to Alicante. It was on the opposite side of the waterfront. I found it but it was closed on Monday (Boooooo). We sat at another place. But I took a close look at the prices and realized they were almost double the going rates. So we got up and left again. 

Now we decided to get off the waterfront. Just a couple of blocks inland, we bumped into this small place advertising real Alicante food. There were a few tables outside on a side street that were full but nobody inside. We went in. The waiter was so nice, so pleasant. The food was very different and very, very good. There were a couple of toppings for bread that defied my ability to analyze them (like the sauce I had on the chicken at Lami in El Campello). Then we went into our main meal.

A homemade falaffel

Fried Potatoes with a Mushroom Stroganoff topping. Very good flavor. A bit heavy considering the main course 1.1 and I got

Wife had salmon on a bed of potatoes and a cream sauce. She thought the sauce was a bit too much but the fish was very good.

 

And then the star, a rice dish with salt cod and a slew of vegetables. This was for at least two people.

Rice is a big deal in the Valencia - Alicante region. But there is a ton of mediocre versions, so I'd been reluctant to try it. This was off the charts.

The texture of the rice was firm but filled with the flavor of the fish broth. Each vegetable was cooked to its right texture and filled with flavor. I really wish I had skipped the potato dish to have more room for the rice!

When the meal was over, the waiter gave us each a small glass of sweet wine (and a fruit juice for my 13 year old 1.2). With wine and sangria, soft drinks and coffee, it was 71 Euros or $78.

Mostly Spain 2023 - Gettling Settled And A Return To El Campello

 After the ordeal of getting the #1 offspring, the four of us were gathering our thoughts on the things they would want to do while they were in Spain. One thing that both children said was they wanted to get an idea of what the 'real' country was like. This was based upon a recent experience they had on a cruise to Mexico where they felt all they saw was the very tourist part of the country.  So we suggested they come to El Campello. It was a real town. It still had a waterfront which met another need for some to put their feet into the Mediterranean. 

We went through town. We showed them all the daily things we did. Wife took them to the Facebook, knitting, expat group, she had been visiting and introduced all of us. Wife and 1.1 got pedicures. 1.2 and wandered the seafront and had tapas. Then 1.1 and Wife went down to the sea to have that experience before we had our late, Spanish lunch. It was a nice first day out.

Views of our Casa

We are actually in a town called Finestrat just outside of Benidorm.

 

Bliss...we can still see an Avramar fish farming operation!

Espouses Fotograficus right on our rental!

1.2 and I touring the sea walk

Wife and 1.1 experience the Med.

Another satisfied de-I Sandia Outfitters International Experience Clients

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Mostly Spain 2023 - The Rocky Return To The Alicante Area

 It has been three days since I last posted. You will remember in the prior scintillating entry we had overcome the defenses Sweden had erected to prevent de-I blog posting. The mighty citadel of Lund University had succumbed and we had returned victorious to Copenhagen. 

So what has happened since? 

Travel. Transit. Turmoil. Travails. 

After a rest day on Monday, we said our goodbyes to the #3 clan and on Tuesday we flew back to Madrid, Spain. No major issues there, other than driving our new rental car down a deep, narrow (it's Europe  remember)  ramp underground into the hotel parking garage only to find a metal door baring our way with no obvious way to get in, I will spare you the story of Wife trudging up the driveway, to the hotel reception and finally our getting the door open. (Or I guess NOT spare you).

Wednesday was the big day. We we were scheduled to meet up with the two grandchildren of the #1 clan. We arranged for them to fly from San Francisco to Madrid where we will take them back out to the Alicante area, though in a different locale from our stay in El Campello.

This was a first for the grandchildren 1.1 and 1.2 (18 and 13 respectively) in terms of flying on their own such a long distance, particularly on an international flight. Since we had arrived in Madrid, we were able to give them detailed instructions on how to navigate getting through the large airport, passport control, and where to meet up with us. 1A had made sure they had a phone that would be able to communicate with us when they landed. They were scheduled to arrive just after 2pm. Once they made their way out, (if you've never traveled internationally, it can take an hour or so to make your way through everything), we had a four hour drive ahead of us to get to our new destination, an area between La Villajoiosa and Benidorm to the north. 

All the planning went incredibly smoothly. The plane was a tiny bit late. We timed our arrival at the airport well. We had no problems finding parking or getting to the international arrivals area. As planned we got our WhatsApp communications from them that they were at the gate, at passport control, and then on the train to the main terminal, and exiting. 

We coordinated our meeting them in the very crowded arrival area. And we happily met...with one slight problem. 1.1 looked terrible. It turned out she had been very sick on the plane the last half of the flight. She'd throw-up at least five times. She looked like she was ready throw-up that moment!

We quickly surveyed the area and found a place she could sit down in relative quiet. I conferred with Wife. There was no way it was going to benefit 1.1 to have another 4 hours of transportation movement. Wife and I decided to call an audible. I got on my phone to the Booking.com app. I found a suites hotel with a 2 bedroom offering just little ways from the airport for less that $300 for the night including breakfast. I texted the rental property manager an told her we would be a day late. 

It was a good call. 1.1 had gotten no sleep. She took a shower, feeling much better afterwards, and then went right to sleep. There turned out to be no restaurant where we were staying. But we were not that far from our hotel of the prior evening where we'd had a good meal, so we walked there. 

While the hotel was as good an option as we could have hoped for, I had a difficult time sleeping, not ideal before having to do a long drive. But all was well and on Thursday we arrived early enough to go do a supermarket run and get ourselves settled in.