Wednesday, September 14, 2016
Day 3 Alicante
We're at the airport waiting on our flight home but it's been a super couple of days. We went to cute modern place called Farmer's for breakfast and I had the classic Spanish breakfast of pan con tomate and k had toast and butter, we both also had very nice coffees. Farmer's is the sort of place I would go if I lived in Alicante so I'm very glad we found it.
We then walked down to the new town shopping area cos K wanted to go to fnac and buy some Mecano albums from the 80s. After our shopping trip we wandered about taking photos, being roasting til just before 12 when we had to get back to the hotel to check out. Thankfully they were able to keep our bags since we have an evening flight.
We then crossed over to the big main market where we wandered about and bought some cakes for the flight. We also stopped at a classic market cafe for a caña (me) and chocolate milk (k).
Post market we went for some fro yo to cool down. It was nice to just relax today with nowhere to be or see. After the fro yo the weather suddenly clouded over which meant we could walk about freely without cowering close to buildings to stay in the shade. We wandered down to the marina and went to the Trinidad which is a life size replica of one of the Spanish Galleons that was sunk at the Battle of Trafalgar. It was €5 to get on but that included a drink at the bar on the top deck. It was quite cool and had lovely views over the marina and up to the castle.
Our next stop was back to D'tablas where we went one night one to meet Cath a friend from London who we haven't seen in over a decade but was coincidentally in Alicante today. We had some snacks and cañas in there and then went for more al fresco tapas at El Rincon De Alma. Lunch was good but nothing out of the ordinary, I got my only patatas bravas of the trip and Cath and Coll got weird clams that they seemed to enjoy. We sat chatting and eating for a couple of hours then sadly it was time for us to go. We'll def not leave it so long til the next catch up.
We got our bags from the hotel and jumped in a taxi to the airport and waved bye to alicante. It's been a lovely wee break and I'd definitely come back in the future. We're waiting on the flight and I can see the super blue sea in the distance - I really fancy a paddle!
Until the next trip!
Tuesday, September 13, 2016
Alicante Day 2
The day started pretty early cos we wanted to get out before it got too hot. I had saved a walking tour of the area near our hotel on my phone so we followed that route about town. It was delightful and we saw some gems including the Theatre and the Miro square.
Our next stop was a well earned breakfast of porras y chocolate (basically thick churros). It was good but nowhere near as good as our favourite porras place in Malaga.
It was starting to get hot at this point even though it was only about 930. The beach was already pretty busy too. We were headed to the castle and there is a lift that goes to it from the waterfront which is much better than schlepping way up the hill! The lift didn't up til 10am so I went a wee quick paddle while we waited rather than just stand in the direct sunlight.
The castle was great (and free!), the views were tremendous! We ambled about a bit then had stop at the cafe for a wee drink cos we overheated. While we were sitting an adorable wee squirrel was hanging about near us so we got some shots of it. We continued our castle viewing for a while after that enjoying the sculptures dotted around the place as well as the ruins and the views.
Back at ground level we went and saw the old town hall and sat outside for a bit enjoying the cold cold beer (me) and coke and tortilla (k). Our next stop was the modern art museum (free!) and we went via a wee wander about the old town en route, the Basilica Santa Maria D'alacant was particularly beautiful. The Museum was great and there were a few pieces that I'll look up for more information when I get home.
Post museum was lunch time so we decided to go to Sento Barrio since it was too busy last night. We grabbed a table in the shade and ordered patatas arrugadas to share and they were one of the most delicious things I've ever eaten. We also got 2 montaditos to share, one with sobrasada and honey and one with jamon, cheese and asparagus. Both were great so we ordered a couple more! K had one with sobrasada and melted brie and I had one with thin steak, parmesan and pesto - what a time to be alive! We then went for fro-yo for pudding. It was self service with about 10 flavours and a million toppings and sauces. We were quite restrained and spent about €8 between us but a lot of people were going mental! My favourite fro-yo I tried was green apple. K liked donut flavour!
We were done in at that point but decided to get a coffee on the way back to the hotel. We sat in a wee square surrounded by weird trees that looked prehistoric.
Back at the hotel we both had showers to cool down and watched some paralympics, we missed Balding!
At about 6 we headed back out and decided to get the tram 20min up the coast to San Juan. The beach there was beautiful, much wider than the one in alicante. We grabbed a seat at La Sureña which was practically on the sand. We got a bucket with 5 bottles of beer and a plate of chicken fingers for €6.50!!! We just chilled there for a while enjoying the views and drinking beer juice.
Back in the city a while later it was dinner time. I really fancied a salad and we'd heard good things about La Cocina so we headed there. We were not disappointed, it was incredible! We shared a big salad with nuts and a wee bit of goats cheese which was super fresh, we also shared 3 mini arepas each with a different filling, stroganoff fries and a Croqueta each. My Croqueta was sobrasada, goats cheese and caramelised onions, it was sensational! It was good that you could order the croquetas individually cos I was full to bursting but was really glad I could try it. I couldn't have managed a full portion. The owner was so so very nice and even gave a wee shot of a homemade Venezuelan liqueur at the end. Amazingly this whole feast in a really nice, modern restaurant was only €18! We tipped way more than the Spanish way because we felt it was too cheap.
After dinner it was pretty late but we went a wee wander down to see the beautiful fountain at the Placa de Los Luceros and a wee 50c beer juice which I couldn't even finish cos I was so full. Afterwards, even though it was Spanish early (11pm), we just came back to the hotel via a supermarket to buy water cos it has been a long long day. I genuinely can't believe that some of the things from this morning were today cos it seems so long ago!
I'm looking forward to tomorrow and the final day of our mini break. We're meeting up with Cath at some point cos she's in town so that'll be cool.
