Tag Archives: Spain culture

Spain

A day in Alcoy, Spain

We went with friends for a drive to Alcoy Spain. It is a town in the Serra de Mariola and Font Roja mountains approximately 60 Kilometers away from Alicante. The town of Alcoy is very interesting because of its very rich and ancient history. The first traces of human presence in the area dates back to 60,000 years ago when Neandertal hunters settled in Alcoy.

View of the town of Alcoy

Alcoy is also known for its rock paintings, dating back approximately 10,000 years ago. The paintings were found in caves in la Sarga, and feature depictions of deer etc.

We arrived early in Alcoy and decided to explore the old quarter of the town. We walked across an impressive bridge into the old quarter section of the town.

Alcoy bridge that leads into the old quarter of town

We explored the old quarter and came across the plaza de España. This plaza is in the centre of the old quarter and contains the city hall of Alcoy as well as numerous bars and restaurants.

Plaza Espania in Alcoy

We noticed the beautiful design on the plaza floor. It was made with marble and configured in an interesting design.

The marble floor in la plaza de España in Alcoy.

We then walked and came to the Church of Santa Maria which was also located prominently in the center area of the old quarter.

View of the street with the Church of Santa Maria in the background

The church was open and so we decided to go and check it out. The Baroque style church had a beautiful altar area, with a painted ceiling and stained glass windows.

View of the Alter in Santa Maria Church in Alcoy

There were other smaller side altars which also were ornate and interesting.

Altar in the Church of Santa Maria in Alcoy
Mural in Church of Santa Maria in Alcoy

We explored the church before continuing on our walk. There were lots of interesting building and views in Alcoy, including the central teatro, the Parque de bomberos and a great view of the town.

Teatro Principal in Alcoy Spain
Ornate design on the Parque de Bomberos
Ray in front of the Parque de Bomberos.
Statue in park in Alcoy Spain

It was a very enjoyable day and Alcoy is a town we plan on returning to in the future.

“Adios y que tenga un grand dia”

 

 

 

Spain

Wine Tasting in Alicante

Last Friday evening, we went to a local Bodega called” Esteban de la Rosa” What makes this Bodega special is a feature they have on the first Friday of the month. They have a wine tasting event where you pay 5 euros and enjoy the evening tasting the large section of different wines.

Esteban de la Rosa Bodega in Alicante Spain

We decided to enjoy Friday the 13th by going to the wine tasting event at the Bodega Esteban de la Rosa with some friends. We arrived and entered the Bodega which was quite large. They had a very large selection of quality wines from all over Spain.

Rows of Spanish wines at the Esteban de la Rosa Bodega
The inside of the Esteban de la Rosa Bodega

We paid our 5 euros and we were given a wine glass to use for the event. The process was fairly easy, you could simply walk around the Bodega and sample any of the wine bottles which were in a bracket on the pillars throughout the Bodega.

Wine bottles in brackets for tasting

We helped ourselves to some of the wines trying the different varieties. There was also pails and pitchers of water throughout the Bodega to pour out the wine and rinse your glass.

Ray, Liz, Mike, Shelley, and Denise at one of the wine testing stations

We also had some tapas to go with the wines. We enjoyed some local cheeses and other delicacies.

Assorted Tapas at the Bodega

We enjoyed Spanish wines, made some new friends and had a great evening.

Denise and Shelley at the Esteban de la Rosa Bodega

Adios y que tenga un grand dia”

Spain

A day in Elche

The city of Elche is approximately 30 kilometers away and it is a short 45 minutes train ride from Alicante. We headed there to check out the city of approximately 225,000 population. Elche was settled by the Greeks around 600 BC and later occupied by Carthaginians and Romans. Today the city is known for its many shoe factories and the orchard of over 200,000 palm trees.  The Palmeral of Elche was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2000.

We arrived on a sunny day and enjoyed walking through the beautiful Palmeral park.

Palmeral Park in Elche

There were the numerous trails that led us into different areas of the park. We explored the park trails for a few hours finding some beautiful views and scenes along the way. We came across a water feature which led to an Islamic style architecture building.

A section of Palmeral Park in Elche
Round dome Islamic style architecture building.

We walked along an area of the park which had a small fountain area surrounded by ceramic tile features and park benches. We stopped to admire the area and watched as some pigeons enjoyed a bath in the fountain.

Ceramic tiled fountain in Palmeral park in Elche
Birds enjoying a bath in the fountain in Palmeral Park

We came across a path that was parallel to a small creek called “Vinalopó”. The creek flows through the city of Elche separating the city into two parts and there are trails that follow along the creek. We decided to leave the park and walk the creek path.

The paths along the Vinalopó creek which flows through the city splitting it into two parts.

What was interesting walking along the path was the colourful designs painted along the creek overflow area. There were numerous themes and paintings. It appears that community groups were given a section of the basin to pain a theme related to Elche or Spain.

We enjoyed stopping and looking at all the different paintings, some of which were very creative. Don Quixote with the Quote “A las familias manchegas que vivan in Elche” Which translates To all the manchegan families who live in Elche

“Don Quixote painted on creek basin in Elche
Some of the paintings along the basin of the Vinalopó creek.
Paintings on the basin of the Vinalopó creek.

We walked approximately 3 kilometers along the path and then headed into the main section of Elche.

There was a bridge known as the “Virgin Bridge” which had a monument on both edges of the central part of the bridge.

Monument on bridge in Elche
Monument on bridge in Elche

We walked through the old quarter of Elche looking at the architecture and other sites. We stopped at city hall where they had their Christmas decorations still on display outside.

Ray outside of city hall in Elche
The copy of the stone bust of the “Lady of Elche” in plaza

We walked throughout the city and enjoyed the day before heading back by train to Alicante.

“Adios y que tenga un grand dia”

Spain

Live Nativity Scene in Elche

Elche is a city about 45 minutes away from Alicante by train. Each year they have a live nativity scene. We decided to take the train to Elche and check out the Nativity scene.

We could see the beautiful walkways that led along the road towards the Nativity scene.

Walkway with Palm trees in Elche
Walkway in Elche

When we arrived at the Nativity scene it was unique and interesting to see. The setting was in the old quarter of Elche and the backdrop was a 16th-century church.

Elche live Nativity scene with old church in background

We strolled through the Nativity scene looking at the different structures. They had a Sheppard guarding his flock in one area.

A Shepard watching over his flock

Other areas we walked through had different structures.

A building in the live Nativity scene in Elche

There was a market area where you could buy some food and beverages.

Merchant selling tea and fruit

Merchant selling roasted nuts

We walked through the Nativity scene admiring it and came to the final section. We saw donkeys in a stable beside a manger.

There were donkeys in a stable beside the manger.

Then we came to the manger and we saw baby Jesus with Joseph and Mary.

Joseph, Mary and Baby Jesus in the Manger

The recreation of the Nativity scene in real life was impressive and interesting. It was well worth the train ride to Elche.

“Adios y que tenga un grand dia”

Spain

The Three Kings Parade

On January 5th,  we went to see the three Kings parade called “Los Reyes Magos”  or Cabalatas. This is a major Christian festival in Spain and a highlight for the children. In Alicante, the Three Kings arrive by boat and are greeted by hundreds of Children on the shoreline of the Mediterranean Sea.

Parents and children waiting for the arrival of the Three Kings

It was a beautiful day and we went to the Volvo museum at 4:30 p.m.  This gave us the perfect vantage point to watch the arrival of the three Kings. We could see the three Kings coming to dock on a Guardia Civil boat.

Police boat docking with the Three Kings

There were hundreds of children and parents of all ages there waiting to greet them.

The Three Kings getting the waiting children.

Once the three Kings came ashore they walked through the crowd giving small gifts and talking to the children. It was amazing to see how many children were there trying to get a chance to speak to the three Kings.

One of the three Kings going through the crowd of children

The three Kings walked slowly through the crowd and it took them almost an entire hour to get out of the marina area. They then went by vehicle escorted by the police to the Plaza de Toros. There the three kings did activities with the children before the start of the Grand Cabalgata at 7 p.m.

We walked along the parade route weaving through the heavy crowds of people until we came to the start of the parade.

Crowds of people along the parade route
crowds waiting for the three Kings

There were tens of thousands of people along both sides of the road waiting for a chance to see the three Kings. As the parade moved along there were candy, chocolate bars, gifts and other treats thrown out to the crowd. Children were calling and waving in the hopes of catching some candy or a gift. There was a frenzy of activity with the children grabbing and jumping for candy.

One of the three Kings float and candy being thrown to the crowd

We stopped and watched the parade go by. It took almost three hours for the parade to finish. We were often hit by flying candy and we even caught a few candy for ourselves.

The parade was well-organized and there were lots of police security throughout the parade route. Main routes were secured with tow trucks and police cars blocking the way.

Police controlled intersections of the parade route
Police controlling crowd access to the parade route

There were police throughout the parade and some walking in the parade. Although there were large crowds, we felt very safe knowing the security was in place.

Medical response units on standby along parade route

The newspaper reported that there were over 100,000 people at the parade. We have never experienced a Grand Cabalgata, it was an exciting, and fun event. The emotions of the children and the atmosphere of the crowds made it a very memorable event.

We put a video below of some of the parade and hope you enjoy a snapshot of the Grand Cabalgata.

“Adios y que tenga un grand dia”