Tag Archives: Retirement abroad

Spain

Birthday in Valencia

We went to Valencia to celebrate Shelley’s birthday. Our day began with a 1:40 minute train ride to the city of Valencia. We arrived to a beautiful warm day in downtown Valencia. We settled in to our hotel before heading out for a walk through the city. We started out walking through the beautiful “Jardin del Turia.”

Path in the “Jardin del Turia” which leads under one of the bridges in the city.
Jardin del Turia in Valencia

The park has a very interesting past. It was originally the Turia River which overflowed its banks in October, of 1957. The flooding reached heights of over five meters (17 feet) high. At least 81 people died and thousands were displaced during the flooding.  As a result of the devastation caused by the flooding the city decided to divert the entire river through fields south of the city. After much debated and public protest the former  seven kilometres of riverbed was converted to the current park in 1986.

Map of the Jardin del Turia Park

We walked through a section of the Jardin del Turia and then headed towards the centre of the city. Along the way we came across some beautiful  building architecture, parks and statues .

Building in Valencia with ornate decor
Ornate building in Valencia

We stopped along the way to enjoy the views and admire our surroundings.

One of the arches in Valencia
Shelley and Ray in front of one of the many statues in Valencia
Shelley in front of the fountain near city hall plaza in Valencia

We walked along the streets until we reached city hall plaza.

City hall Plaza in Valencia

The streets around the plaza were cordoned off and there was a large street party going on. We stopped to check out the live music and walk through the area.

Street party with live music at Valencia City Hall Plaza

After exploring the city centre,  it was getting dark so we decided to walk back to our hotel, which was a fair distance away.  On the way back the city views changed as it got darker.

Valencia city view in the evening
The view of the City Hall Plaza at night in Valencia
Ferris wheel in Valencia
A section of “Jardin del Turia” at night

It was a long walk but very enjoyable. The city of Valencia has some beautiful features and architecturally interesting buildings.

“Adios y que tengas un gran dia”

Spain

Picnic in a 12th Century Castle

We celebrated July 4th with some of our friends with a picnic. The 12th century castle of Santa Barbara was a perfect spot, for a picnic. We arrived early and began setting up balloons and decorations for the picnic.

Shelley decorating the picnic area with balloons.

The castle has an area with picnic tables and trees which provide shade.

Ray with the picnic area in the background

The Castle of Santa Barbara is located on Mount Benacantil and is a 166 meters above Alicante. The castle provides great views of the area and part of the coast line of the Mediterranean sea.

The view from our picnic area at the castle

Once we were set up lots of our friends showed up to the picnic. It was a pot luck style and there were foods from many different national backgrounds. There was  traditional Venezuela, German, Texas, Polish and United Kingdom foods which everyone shared and enjoyed.

Multi cultural picnic meal with friends at the castle

We enjoyed the day celebrating with our multi-national group of friends from different corners of the world.

Barbara and Shelley enjoying a small beverage

The views were also a great addition to a wonderful day, even the locals dropped in to check out the picnic.

Seagull looking for a free handout.
View of the Postuget beach from the Castle

One of the many beautiful features of living in Alicante is the breathtaking views and unique features.

“Adios y que tengas un gran dia”

Spain

Snorkeling in the mediterranean sea

Felipe and Ray decided to go snorkeling at a spot called “El baño de la reina” which translates to “the Queen’s bath”. It is located in Campello, a short distance from the city of Alicante.

The Queen’s Bath located in Campello

We went down to the tourist centre located in Campello and got some information on the Queen’s Bath.

Felipe and Ray at the Queen’s Bath in Campello

There are former Roman pools located at the Queen’s Bath. These pools were used by the Romans as a fish farm. The tourist centre provided us with snorkeling information including an identification card of different fish and plants.

Fish identification card from the tourist information centre

They also provided us with an audio player which you wear on your arm during the snorkeling.  We headed down to the Queen’s Bath with our gear.

Felipe and Ray at the Queen’s Bath

We swam for about one hour around the rocks at the Queen’s Bath. There were different types of fish along the rocks and we even saw a sea urchin.

Sea Urchin

The snorkeling was great, it was very interesting and enjoyable.

“Adios y que tengas un gran dia”

Spain

An evening at Xiringuito Ton-Tin

We went to an internations event at the Xiringuito Ton-Tin which is a small beach bar in Campello.

The Xiringuito Ton-Tin beach front bar

The weather was nice and warm and the beach was a great spot to spend the evening.  We arrived at around 8:30 pm and sat with some of our friends on the beach.

Ray with friends from the internations group

The views were breathtaking and there was a nice breeze to keep us cool. We enjoyed great conversations and a few laughs with friends on the beach of the Mediterranean Sea.

Shelley, Vicki, Mark, Mary and Bill on the beach

We watched the sun set and the moon rise.  It is one of those enjoyable simple things that always make us pinch ourselves.

The moon over the Medeterranean Sea

There was a full moon and the moonlight was shinning beautifully on the water. We decided to take a picture of our entire group from Internations on the shoreline.

Internations group photo on the beach at el campello

Afterwards we took a picture of us alone on the water’s edge.

Ray and Shelley on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea
View of the Xiringuito Ton-Tin beach bar from the shoreline

We had a great evening sitting on the beach and enjoying the wonderful weather with friends.

“Adios y que tengas un gran dia”

Poland

A Cable Car Ride up the Tatra Mountain

We decided to take a cable car ride to the top of Tatra mountain near Zakapone. The mountain range forms a natural border between Slovakia and Poland. The tatra mountain Rysy peak is the highest point in Poland at 2,503 m or (8200 ft).

The cable car ride took about 15 minutes to reach the top. The views on the way up were stunning. The following video is shortened and fast speed to give you an idea of the trip up the mountain.

We arrived at the top of the cable car landing and exited to a spectacular view of the mountain range.

Shelley and Ray on the top landing of the cable car ride to Tatra mountain in Poland.

There are trails in the area and many people use the trails to explore the mountain. We walked up the trail that leads to the weather station on the Rysy peak.

Shelley and Ray on the Rysy Pea on Tatra mountain in Poland.

At the Rysy peak area, we could see 360 degrees. The views were stunning in every direction and we took our time to enjoy the views.

View from the Rysy peak of Tatra mountain
Ray on Rysy peak
A view from Rysy peak
Shelley on the Rysy peak

We stayed on the Rysy peak for about a half an hour and then some dark clouds began to appear. It changed the looks of the mountains and made it look somewhat ominous.

Dark clouds rolling into Rysy peak
View from Rysy peak with heavy clouds

We decided to head down the mountain before the weather changed. We took the cable car ride down enjoying the views along the way.

“Do widzenia i dobry dzień”