Category Archives: Spain

Alicante in June with Family

July 14, 2024 chaput@live.com

We had a visit from family and we were so excited to have Janice and Scott here in Alicante. They arrived in Madrid and we met them at the airport and then came back to Alicante by train. They arrived at the perfect time because Alicante has a large fiesta called the Hogueras de San Juan, which is an annual event in June. Each day we tried to explore and see different things of Alicante. There is much to see and do here. One day we walked and explored some of the different hogueras that were being set up throughout the city.

The large pieces of art work and sculptures are made with wood and paper mache and are truly amazing to see. We walked along the different streets checking out the various hogueras.

After walking and exploring the hogueras we stopped along the way to enjoy some refreshments.

Scott and Janice enjoying a refreshment with a view of the Santa Barbara Castle behind them

Another day we went to explore and see the 9th century fortified Santa Barbara Castle which is located on Mont Benacantil and overlooks Alicante and the Mediterranean sea.

View of the Santa Barbara Castle from the Marina in Alicante

Janice and Shelley at Santa Barbara Castle

View from the Castle overlooking the Sea

We walked along the promenade and the beach enjoying the view of the Mediterranean Sea. There were parades and music everywhere we went.

We had friends come and visit with us from Sweden. We had a BBQ and enjoyed time together. We even decided to play a Virtual reality game together. It was a great experience involving a scenario of aliens invading Alicante and we had to save the city. It was a lot of fun, here is a short video of our game, spoiler alert, we saved the City.

We so enjoyed our time in Alicante but before we knew it, the time had come for us to head to our next adventure.

We packed our bags and headed to the airport, Budapest here we come.

“hasta Pronto”

Spain

Wine tour in Requena Spain

January 6, 2024 chaput@live.com

We went on a trip for a few days to visit the town of Requena in eastern Spain. It is located on the left bank of the river Magro. The town has a long history and at one time was used as a Moorish fortress. The moors occupied Spain for around 800 years, from 711 to 1492.

Requena is dominated by the ancient citadel of the Moors, and still has traces of the original town walls.

Church front of Arciprestal Del Salvador in Requena

The Iglesia Arciprestal del Salvador is Renaissance-style, Roman Catholic church. It was erected in the 15th century.

We walked and explored some of the streets of the older section of Requena.

Another interesting fact about Requena is the existence of a labyrinth of caves located underneath the streets. Between the 12th and 13th centuries during the Muslim period, caves were excavated and used for storage and protection.

One of the gated and locked entrances into the labyrinth of caves under the old quarter of Requena.

There are 22 caves that can still be found in Requena today. Many homes in Requena’s old quarter have a cave as part of the house. Thanks to geology, it was possible to easily excavate the subsoil which was done by the moors.

Entrance into the Historic Murviedro bodega.

We had the opportunity to visit the Murviedro’s Historic Winery located in the old quarter of Requena.

Entering into the cave system under Requena

Through part of the tour we explored some of the ancient caves under the city.

Ancient containers used for wine storage

It was like going back in time and experiencing the sensation of a different era. The bodega kept some of the original wine containers and in the original condition.

Original clay cast for storage of olive oil or wine.

After exploring the caves of the winery we were able to enjoy a fantastic wine tasting of their different wines.

Overall It was a great experience and provided us with a snapshot of ancient times through the caves of Requena.

We finished our day by walking along the small alleys that led to the edge of the city, where we admired the stunning sunset.

A very enjoyable and memorable trip to Requena Spain.

“En la variedad está el gusto”

Camino de Santiago, Spain

Camino redo from Lugo

October 22, 2023 chaput@live.com

In September of 2021 we started the Camino de Santiago known as the Primitivo route. It begins in Oviedo and is 321 kilometers to Santiago. We left from Oviedo and after incuring an injury we had to stop in Lugo. See this entry for the details https://chaputfootprints.com/?p=18542

After two years we returned to Lugo to complete what we had started two years earlier..

Shelley and Ray on their way to start Camino de Santiago

Our trip began with an 8 hour train from Alicante to town of Ourense in Galicia then we took a bus to Lugo.

Ray and Shelley on the bus heading to Lugo

We arrived in the early evening in Lugo and checked into our Hotel. Excited and anxious to start our camino the next day. Our day began early and we started out at sunrise.

Shelley on our first early morning trek on the Camino de Santiago from Lugo

We reached the camino marker that also marked the end of the camino for Shelley two years earlier.

Shelley at the camino marker outside of Lugo

She stopped and put a new rock on the marker and then we continued along the camino. There were many beautiful spots along the camino and over the next five days we would wake up early and walked long hours. Below are some of the spots along the way.

Although the journey was hard, it was very rewarding with special spots and memories along the way. The experience was enhanced when we finally reached Santiago de Compostela. To stand at the Cathedral of Santiago and look at it gave us a sense of accomplishment. It was a happy and emotional time even though our bodies were sore and tired.

Shelley and Ray at the Cathedral of Santiago

We managed to find a nice table near the cathedral and sat down to relax and take in the moment.

Shelley and Ray near the Cathedral of Santiago

After checking into our hotel and settling in we headed to get our compostela. We arrived at the compostela office and within 10 minutes had our certificates.

Ray and Shelley’s certificates of completion -Compostela de Santiago and camino stamp passport

We spent the day relaxing and had a nice meal to celebrate the adventure and achievement.

Shelley and Ray toasting the finish of the Camino de Santiago

The following day we headed home to prepare for our next adventure.

Shelley and Ray heading home from the Camino de Santiago

“Hasta la próxima, buen Camino y disfruta de cada paso de la vida.”

Canada, Spain

Busy Summer

August 10, 2023 chaput@live.com

It has been a busy summer but a very rewarding and fun time. We went to Canada for a visit with friends and family. Ray was able to finally visit with his uncle, (first time since covid). They played some games and enjoyed quality time together.

Uncle Adrien and Ray playing shuffleboard.

We were able to rent a beautiful cottage on the Ottawa River.

Ray enjoying the view and a Timmy´s coffee

We spent a fabulous week there and enjoyed some relaxing time by the water.

Shelley enjoying the view and calm of the Ottawa River

One of the highlights of the cottage was that we were able to entertain and reconnect with close friends. Overall it was a great week at the cottage and the weather was quite nice during the week.

Shelley at the waterfront of the Ottawa River

We went to Ottawa on July 1st and we celebrated Canada Day with family. It was raining but we had a Barbecue anyways.

Our grandson Keenan was a sport and did the barbecue cooking. The rain stopped later in the day and the sky was clear for the fireworks. We headed to the park and watched the fireworks celebrating Canada day.

Canada Day celebration fireworks in park in Ottawa

It was a great last day in Canada before we headed back to Spain with our Grandson. The next day we drove to the Montreal airport and flew back to Spain with our Grandson Tyreese.

The next few weeks in Spain were very busy. Tyreese was able to experience Spain for the first time. It was such a joy to show him around and try out new adventures with him. Each day we tried new things and had many adventures, below are only some of the activities we did during out time in Spain. We hiked up to the Castle of Santa Barbara and explored the 11th century castle.

Tyreese at the turret on the castle of Santa Barbara

There are some amazing views from the castle and we would stop to take in the vistas and beauty of the area.

Shelley and Tyreese at the Castle of santa Barbara

Tyreese and Ray at the castle of Santa Barbara

One day we explored and walked some of the beaches in Alicante.

Shelley and Tyrsse overlooking the Postuget Beach in Alicante

Along the way we would stop and enjoy a cool drink at one of the many chiringitos along the beach.

Each day we tried new things including Go Cart racing and we had a great time.

Ray had the best time but Tyreese was disputing the winner outcome. All and all Karting Alicante was a lot of fun.

We went parasailing and we had a great time. We enjoyed the best views and flew along the coast at 150 meters high. The views of the city of Alicante from the Mediterranean Sea were amazing.

Shelley, Tyreese and Ray getting ready to start our parasailing.

Shelley Tyreese and Ray 150 meters parasailing along the coastline of Alicante

Each morning Shelley and Tyreese were out for an early bicycle ride.

Tyreese and Shelley heading out for daily bike ride

We took Tyreese for some surfing lessons and he loved it. Both Shelley and him spent the day surfing the waves.

Shelley and Tyreese getting first lesson for surfing.

After spending two action packed weeks in Alicante and area we went to Madrid to visit this amazing city before he went back to Canada.

Tyreese and Shelley in front of the Almudana Cathedral in Madrid

Tyreese in front of the Royal Palace of Madrid

In Madrid we met up with a friend of Tyreese’s. Monica who was a Spanish student that lived in Ottawa as an international student for a year. She took the train to Madrid to meet with us and spend the day.

Tyreese and Shelley at the Madrid Train station waiting for Monica to arrive.

Monica and Tyreese in front of the iconic bear and strawberry tree statue in the Puerta Del Sol in Madrid.

We explored the city of Madrid with Monica and enjoyed the day.

Monica and Tyreese in El Retiro Parque in Madrid.

The Next day we took Tyreese to the airport and said our goodbyes. It was time for him to go home.

Shelley, Tyreese and Ray saying goodbye at the Madrid Airport.

It was a very busy and enjoyable few months with lots of adventures and memories being made. These are only some of the activities we enjoyed during our busy summer.

“El mundo es un libro y los que no viajan leen solo una página.”- St. Augustine

Spain

Terracotta Warriors at the Marq Museum

April 16, 2023 chaput@live.com

We went to visit the Marq Museo Arqueológico de Alicante, which had a special exhibition from China of the XI’AN Warriors.

There was a complete section of the museum dedicated to the terracotta warriors and the dynasties of Qin and Han.

The entrance into the exhibit had a video display with some of the history of the terracotta warriors. It also showed the behind the scenes of getting them to Alicante and how the set up of the exhibition was completed. The set up of the artifacts was extremely delicate and time consuming.

There were three galleries of the Qin dynasty which included tools, armour and weapons. One gallery displayed how the terracotta warriors were made.

They explained how prisoners and slaves were used to build the vast terracotta army, which included 8000 warriors, 500 horses and 130 combat chariots. which protected the underworld. The soldiers were dressed, hair styled and armoured according to their rank. Each one was unique and they were laid out in battle formation facing the East.

Display showing how the Terracotta warriors were constructed

Below are a few of the unique items we saw.

Armour made of Limestone and Copper wires Qin Dynasty (221-206BC)

Limestone and Copper wires of the armour

In 221 BC, the king defeated enemy kingdoms and subsequently proclaimed himself as the First Emperor of China under the name of Qin Shi Huang Interestingly his name Qin (pronounced Chin ) would remain engraved in the name China.