We went for a walk and came across a wine and liquor store called “Bernardino”. The store is located on a narrow side street in our neighborhood. The place looked interesting so we went inside to check it out.
Shelley checking out the different wines
The inside of the store was lined with rows of unique liquors, beers, and wines. We walked through the rows looking at different types of items on display. We came across a section of local beers made in the Alicante region as well as other beers from around the world.
What was interesting was the selection of unique liquors and wines. We even came across the Crystal Head Vodka which is made in Canada by Dan Aykroyd and John Alexander.
Crystal Head Vodka made in Canada
Some other very interesting bottles included a crystal sail ship, which was beautiful.
Alcohol in unique designed bottles
There were other interesting types of liquor, including other skull bottles and even the devil was there.
Different alcohol containersCollection of the Devil alcohol
There was one type of wine called “Envidia Cochina” which translates to mean Jealous Envy. The label had an interesting story on it entitled “Eat your heart out” and an image of a naked woman going into the water with the devil. The story speaks of a Spanish saying “Envidia Cochina” and how it is used in Spain.
Envidia Cochina bottle of wine
The Store was also a Bodega which sold wine from barrels into different size bottles from 2 liters to 5 liters in size. We watched people come in and buy several 5 liter plastic containers and have them filled with different types of wine. They even sold small barrels of wine.
Wine sold in small wine barrels
We found the store very interesting and enjoyed walking around looking at the different products. This store was tucked away on a back street and we came across it, simply by chance.
We have been trying out new food since moving to Spain. One of the foods we have seen on many occasions is Quail eggs. I do not recall ever seeing them in Canada but they are popular here in Spain. We decided to try “Huevos frescos de Codorniz”. which means “Fresh eggs of Quail”.
Common Quail
They sell the small cartons of Quail eggs at most grocery stores and markets. We went to our local market and our vendor Christina told us they are very good served on toast with cheese.
Quail eggs which are sold in Spain
We bought a dozen of the quail eggs and headed home to give them a try. Quail eggs are much smaller than chicken eggs about a quarter the size of a regular chicken egg.
Carton of a dozen quail eggs
Quail eggs are higher in protein and nutrients than chicken eggs. Their small size makes it very tricky to crack them open without breaking the yoke.
Shelley cooked up four of them for breakfast in a small frying pan. The eggs were so small that there was lots of room left in the pan.
four quail eggs in a small frying panTwo fried quail eggs on cheddar cheese and a half of a toasted baguette
We made some toasted baguette and enjoyed the quail eggs with cheddar cheese and a sprinkle of olive oil.
The meal was very tasty and the quail eggs taste very similar to chicken eggs.
Today December 6, 2016, is an official holiday and fiesta in Alicante. It was a beautiful sunny day and we decided to take a walk downtown. Along the way downtown, we came across an artificial hill made for sliding. It was decorated to look like a snow hill and people were using tubes to slide down the hill.
Artificial hill made to look like a snow hill for sliding.View of artificial sliding hill in Alicante
The sliding area of the hill was made with white plastic and provided a slippery surface for the tubes. It worked fairly well and the children were enjoying the slide.
We then headed to the Plaza del Ayuntamiento which is located beside city hall. Christmas music was playing and a large Christmas tree was on display in the center of the plaza. We also found in the center of the plaza an outdoor skating rink with real ice!
Outdoor skating rink at city hall in Alicante
People could rent ice skates and go skating on the ice rink. We watched as people enjoyed skating on the ice. It was strange to watch because the sun was shining and the temperature was 19 degrees celsius.
Ice rink with Christmas tree and orange tree in Alicante
After watching people skate for a while we started heading home. As we reached the main street there was a parade taking place. We stopped and watched the parade which consisted of a religious procession. They played music and carried a large religious statue.
Religious procession in Alicante SpainReligious statue being carried in parade
At the end of the parade was a truck which was throwing into the crowd small gifts to the children.
It was a nice and relaxing way to enjoy the holiday in Alicante.
We went and completed the driver theory exam for a second time last week. The test location and the process were identical to the first time we wrote the exam.
Ministerio del interior Centro de Exanenes
We entered the testing room and wrote a paper exam with completely different questions than the last one. Some of the questions were on motorcycles, traffic statistics, and illegal drug use. We completed the English version of the 30 question exam and returned home to await our results. Two days later we received notification that we both passed the exam and could move on to the practical training.
In Spain, it is mandatory to take driver training through a government recognized driving school. We signed up with a local driving school called “Autoescuela Pausa” which is walking distance from our home.
Ray and Shelley in front of the Autoescuela Pausa
There are few things that make driving a challenge in Spain. There are no English instructors and all lessons are conducted in Spanish. The final exam testing is also completely in Spanish and you are not permitted to have an interpreter present during the exam. The road system here is very different from Canada. The traffic lights, signage, and intersections are dissimilar to what we are accustomed to. Finally, the majority of vehicles in Spain have standard transmissions, there are very few automatic transmissions. The issue here is If the driver’s exam is done while driving an automatic transmission then you are only licensed to drive an automatic. In order to rent vehicles and have the flexibility, we are both taking our exam with a standard transmission vehicle.
On Tuesday we went for our first driving lesson. Our vehicle was a smaller compact car with standard transmission.
The driving school training car
Our instructor’s name was Oscar and he could not speak any English. He was very good at explaining things using hand language and clear Spanish. He was very helpful and had lots of patience with us.
Ray was the first to drive while Shelley sat in the back seat waiting her turn. Oscar would give directions in Spanish.
Here is a very small list of some of the Spanish driving words:
Gire a la izquierda (Turn left)
Gira a la derecha (Turn right)
tome la segunda a la derecha (take the second right)
tome la segunda a la izquierdo en la rotonda (take second on the left in the roundabout)
perada (stop)
Tranquilo ( calm or relax)
Espere (wait)
Mas rapido (faster)
Mas dispacio (slow down)
Empuje el embrague (push the clutch in)
Suelta el embrague (let out the clutch)
Cambiar a tercera marcha (change to third gear)
This is only a very small portion of the language we need to learn before taking our practical drivers exam.
We headed on to the roadway and drove through the streets of Alicante. After about 45 minutes we stopped and switched seats. Shelley has never driven a standard before and Oscar was very good at explaining the gear shift and clutch process.
Shelley and Oscar reviewing the standard shift and clutch process before heading onto the road.
Shelley drove around the city and did very well navigating the clutch and standard shift. After about 45 minutes we headed back to the driving school and finished for the day. It was a nice pace and we enjoyed ourselves very much. We are looking forward to more driving and getting the driving test completed.
We went with Brad and Louise to the Santa Barbara Castle to see a Sci-Fy display, which featured memorabilia of different Sci-Fy movies. We walked up the steep trail to the Castle which takes approximately 45 minutes.
Trail up the mountain towards the Santa Barbara Castle
When we arrived at the Castle, stopped to admire the beautiful view of the Mediterranean Sea.
View of the Mediterranean Sea from the Santa Barbara Castle.
The display was held in an original area of the Castle which had a smaller entrance door. We had to duck when we entered the room in order to get through the doorway.
Brad and Ray at the entrance to the Sci-Fy display area
We are a big fan of certain Sci-Fy movies including the Matrix, Terminator, and Back to the Future. When we went inside we saw an exhibit of original movie props of some of the classic Sci-Fy movies.
Exhibits of Sci-Fy movie props in Santa Barbara Castle in Alicante
Some of the displays were movies that were unknown to us, while others were of our favorites.
back to the Future memorabilia
The Back to the Future Flux Capacitor and if you look close you can see someone from the future.
Flux Capacitor from Back to the future
We walked through the rooms looking at the unique and different props on display. Some of the props were very large and lifelike, while others were small.
Props from Iron Man movieProp from RoboCop movieProps and script from the movie “Blade Runner”Motorcycle used in the SyFy movie “I Robot”Movie props from “I Robot”
We came across props from some of our favorite movies including “The Matrix”, and “The Terminator”.
Head plug from the Movie “the Matrix”
The Terminator Movie props
There were several smaller props from the Terminator movie.
Terminator skullSome movie props with Shelley in the mirror
The Sci-Fy exhibit was very interesting and there were some very neat items on display. We enjoyed the free exhibit and walked around for about 45 minutes looking at all the props and reading about the movies.
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