Spain

A day at the Market

Yesterday we went to the outdoor market. It was a vibrant and busy day with lots of people shopping in the market.

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People at the outdoor market in Alicante

We went for a walk down each aisle of the market enjoying the sights and sounds. The items for sale were as diverse as the people selling them. You could buy everything imaginable including bathing suits and comic underwear.

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Bathing suits for sale at the market
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Underwear with assorted funny sayings for sale at the market

We walked down the different aisles and there were specific themes in each area, clothing, plants, flowers, pastries, fruit and vegetables were some of the sections. There was no shortage of choices and selections each area contained multiple vendors.

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clothing at the market on display

 

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Spices and honey products at the market
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Spices of every imaginable kind for sale
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Flowers and house plants at the market

 

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Olives of every kind at the market
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An array of different nuts
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Pastries and cakes for the sweet tooth
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Candy of every kind

We walked throughout the market for quite some time admiring the different displays and listening to the noises of the market. People shouting their prices and discounts loudly. There is music being played,  people talking with vendors and the hustle and bustle of all the people talking in Spanish. It is a very unique and enjoyable noise.

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Street musician playing at the market for donations.

There are also people selling unique items as they walk down the market, They shout the price out almost in a song like voice, attracting people to buy their items. The lady below was selling snails and garlic.

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Lady selling snails and garlic at the outdoor market

We came across the most amazing fruits and vegetables on display. There was such a large assortment and selection that it was difficult to choose.

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We came across some vegetables that we did not recognize and have no idea what they are. Below is a photo of a large pear-like fruit which I have never seen before. We have no idea what that is?

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Pear-like fruit on display at the market

We spent a few hours walking around the market taking in the sights and sounds of this rich and beautiful culture.

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Outdoor market in Alicante Spain

“adios y que tenga un gran dia”

Spain

Visitors from Canada

We are excited to have our first visitors from Canada. Our friends Brad and Louise who live in Calgary have come to stay with us for a while. We arrived at the airport and waited for their plane to land. We were excited to see them when they arrived at the exit.

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Brad and Louise arriving at the Alicante airport

We then headed by bus to our apartment to get settled in. Later in the evening we headed out for a walk and went into the old quarter of Alicante. We stopped at a local restaurant and enjoyed some tapas and a glass of wine. We even tried some garlic butter prawns.

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Prawns at local restaurant

After the tapas, we went for a walk along the boardwalk. Exploring the sights and sounds of the evening. We walked along the pier and enjoyed the view of the Castle lit up in the distance.

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View of Alicante and the Santa Barbara Castle in the distance

It was a great day and looking forward to adventures with our friends from Canada.

“Adios y que tenga un gran dia”

Spain

Enjoying Alicante

We have been enjoying the weather and seeing some of the sites in Alicante. We took a walk up the mountain which takes approximately one hour to see Santa Barbara Castle. It was very hot and there was limited shade on the walk up the mountain.

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Louise, Brad and Shelley along the walk up the mountain to Santa Barbara Castle

The castle is always a great spot to see, with the history and scenery. We arrived at the top and was met by great views of the entire vista.

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Brad, Louise and Shelley at the Santa Barbara Castle

We walked around the castle and checked out the 11th-century historic site.

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Original wall of Santa Barbara Castle with Mediterranean sea in background
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Ray in guard post at Santa Barbara Castle
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Shelley overlooking the city of Alicante from Santa Barbara Castle
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Santa Barbara Castle
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Stairs on outer wall area of Santa Barbara Castle
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Shelley and Louise at guard post overlooking the Meditteranean Sea.

After walking throughout the Castle and enjoying the sites we stopped at the outdoor bar for a well-deserved refreshment.

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Taking a break and enjoying a refreshment at Santa Barbara Castle

After visiting the castle we headed back down the mountain. We took a different route and came across a quaint neighbourhood. The narrow streets and colourful buildings were lined with assorted plants and flowers. We walked through the neighbourhood looking at the buildings and eventually walked home.

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When we arrived back at the apartment we decided to take a relaxing swim and cool off by the pool.

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Ray diving into the pool

The day was very enjoyable and we had lots of fun.

“adios y que tenga un gran dia”

Spain

Beach Party

Friday evening we went to a beach party in El Campello, which is a short distance from Alicante. There are miles of beautiful white sand beaches and a gorgeous view of the coastline. We went with friends and arrived at around 8pm. The small beach pub was quaint and a perfect spot to watch the sunset.

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InterNations Beach party

The theme of the beach party was for everyone to wear something white including funny t-shirts etc. We mingled with people from all areas of the world, including Sweden, Holland and other areas of Europe.

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Ray wearing Norwegian Bingo T-shirt

The music and ambience were great and  we enjoyed assorted tapas throughout the evening.  It was a nice way to spend the evening and unwind after studying for the driver exam.

“adios y que tenga un gran dia”

Spain

Today we wrote our theory driver test

We have been studying and spending a lot of time preparing for the theory driver exam. In Spain, the theory exam can be in English which is both a bonus and a curse. The questions are translated from Spanish into English and sometimes the translation changes the question into a very difficult question to understand.

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Shelley studying the sample exams for the driver test

We have been online practicing the sample questions that were provided by our driving school.

Yesterday we attended the driver test location which is on the outskirts of Alicante. The driving school transported us along with two other students to do the test. There were groups of people waiting to do the test at the centre. We waited outside until it was our turn.

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People waiting to do the driving test

We were called in by name and sat at a bank of computers and the instructions were provided in Spanish. We managed to figure out what was being said and entered our identification into the computer only to have a Spanish test display on the screen, Yikes!!! Shelley and I both had our hand up and explain in our best Spanish, “Ayuda por favor”  we needed an English test. After a bit of confusion, they provided both of us with a paper exam. The process which is very different from Ontario; took half an hour and then we were completed. The results of the test are posted online the following day.

So this morning we logged on to the website and found out that unfortunately, we both failed the test. We are disappointed but we are determined to not let this set us back. We know how to drive and it just means completing the test again. Apparently, there is a very high percentage of people who fail the first time, so I guess we are in good company. We will hit the books for another couple of months and try the test again later. Until then we are going to enjoy the beautiful weather and travel a bit.

“Adios y que tenga un gran dia”

Life is too short to wait for adventure!