Spain

Bubbly times!

Last night we went to the “6th FASCV Sparkling Wines Bubbles Party” held in Alicante. The event was part of the InterNations activities held each month. The party was held at the Isla Marina, which is a beautiful restaurant and marina on the coast of the Mediterranean sea.

We registered at the entrance and paid our 5 euros to receive a sparkling wine glass for a free sample drink and our name tag. This was to allow us to try one glass of champagne for free. The person doing the registration could not find our names on the list so he added them and gave us two “name Tags” with the word “Professional” on it. Well, it turns out that having the “professional” name tag provided access to all the champagnes for free.

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Our name tag which allowed for unlimited free champagne

Off we went to check out the more than 20 producers of sparkling, champagne, cider and other wines.  We met up some of our friends from the group and tried a glass of champagne.

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Ray and Shelley with InterNations group

After sampling a glass of champagne we headed to the sitting area near the water to enjoy the scenery.  We found a beautiful spot to sit and relax.

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Ray and Shelley enjoying the view of the Mediterranean sea

The view from our table was spectacular allowing for a complete view of the sea.

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view from out table

Our friends gathered at the table and we had a great time chatting about all kinds of different things.

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Our group sitting at the table

One of the items we chatted about was the use of the “abanico de mana” which is Spanish for “hand fan” . They are very popular in the Spanish culture and most of the women at the event had an abanico de mana with them.

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Abanico hand fan
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Shelley with some of the group

We had a great spot and stayed there for most of the evening only heading out to refill our glass or to get some tapas. There was a selection of different tapas which we could buy for three euros.

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Tapas for sale at the event

We tried different types of Spanish wines and champagnes including Caves Mestres,  Gramona, Juvé & Camps and a few others. Each vendor had an area on display.

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One of the vendors displaying her selection of wines

We stayed until 11 pm and enjoyed the event. The weather was hot and there was a nice breeze from the sea. We then headed home by taxi with our wine glasses in hand.

“Adios y que tenga un gran dia”

Spain

Bull fighting in Alicante

We decided to attend a bullfight, although we are not entirely sure we will enjoy it. The culture here is different and we are trying to embrace the culture and immerse ourselves into it. It certainly is not up to us to judge one way or the other the merits of the bullfighting tradition and this blog is not going to debate the issue.

We went online and ordered our tickets which arrived by courier a week before the event.

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Ray with the bullfighting tickets

The day of the event we headed to the Plaza de Toro a little early so we could check out the bull fighting arena.

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crowds of people gather to enter the bull fighting arena

We headed inside the Bull fighting arena and took our time to check out the building. The inside is old and with partly tiled walls and cement features.

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Inside the arena

We walked up the stairs to find our seats. The stairs were uneven with different  riser heights, some were over one-foot high. The seats are basically a board with a rubber finish on top.

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Arena seats with small rubber mats

The view of the arena resembles a gladiator’s arena with an open top.

https://youtu.be/h_1LKSXLA4E

The centre ring area is covered in sand and there were two vehicles on display before the show. It was very hot and there was no shade where we were sitting.  We decided to tour the arena before sitting down in the sun.

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Shelley and Ray at Bull Fighting arena

The start of the event is done with a band walking around the arena playing for each section of the arena.

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Band playing music for the opening of the bull fighting event.

After the band, there is a parade of the matadors and people on horseback. The media is also there taking pictures of the matadors and the crowd cheers and shouts. The atmosphere is similar to a major league baseball game.

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Matadors walking around the arena before the start waving to the crowd.
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Men on horseback leading parade
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Matadors being photographed by reporters
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men on specialized equipped horses.

The bullfighting is not done by a single matador, which is what we thought. There are four or five matadors in the ring and they distract the bull and have it run through their cape. There is one main matador who sets the pace and finishes the bull fight. The crowd is very much apart of the bullfight and sing and cheer.

https://youtu.be/fgKZNNW-NXU

We stayed for about half of the event and then left early. It is not for the faint of heart and it is something we experienced but will not likely go to see again.

“Adios y que tenga un gran dia”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spain

Fireworks contest in Alicante

There is a week-long fireworks competition in Alicante every year. It is called ” LXXI Concurso de focs artificials” and begins the night after the Fogueres de Sant Joan festival ends. They are set off at midnight down on the beach area of Alicante.  We headed down to the beach area and walked along the breakwater pier. We found a perfect spot to watch the fireworks on the pier.

The first night we watched the fireworks from the pier, they had a mishap about half way through the fireworks. Part of the system fell and launched their fireworks into the beach sand. We could see the fireworks hitting the beach sand and then just glowing. This went on for about 5 minutes. Then the fireworks began to go up into the sky again. It was fairly windy and the fireworks display was hindered by the strong winds.

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view of misfiring fireworks on the beach

The second night we attended the fireworks, it was a lot better. We managed to get the same viewing area and the fireworks were excellent.

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view of fireworks from the  pier in Alicante

We could hear the crashing of the waves against the pier and the thunder of the fireworks in the sky. It was very enjoyable.

The below video if of the finally of the fireworks one of the nights.

https://youtu.be/HpHASmroZvc

“Adios y que tenga un gran dia”

Spain

The week of the Hogueras de San Juan Fiesta

This week has been very busy and exciting for anyone living or visiting Alicante. The fiesta Hogueras de San Juan is a week-long fiesta with music, fogueres, dances, food and fun. We have been trying to take in as much of the fiesta as possible.

The street parties were set up in almost every neighbourhood. The block parties were fenced in and most of them had an ornate gate made for the fiesta. Below are a few of the “gates” for the block party entrances.

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Entrance to one of the block parties
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Entrance to block party
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Entrance to block party

We headed out each day to take part in some of the fiesta activities. We have put together some of the highlights of the week activities below.

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Fogueres of the 2016 Alicante fiesta

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Images of Fiesta in Alicante
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Fogueres and crowds of the fiesta

There were block parties every night and music until the early morning hours. Fireworks and firecrackers were a continues activity.   People were gathered in large crowds enjoying the fiesta and the different events. We came across numerous bands that would walk throughout the city playing music. The video below is an example of  only one of the talented groups wandering through the city playing music.

https://youtu.be/FdP4tqoQ3Vo

We saw amazing fogueres and displays that were both artistic and creative. There were parades that took place all week. We attended some of the parades and enjoyed seeing the traditional clothing and listening to the music. They even had a “Nanos y Gegants” parade, which was very enjoyable. People put on large paper-mache heads  and walk through the streets. There are main characters which are very large approximately 18 feet high that promenade through the streets. They stop along the way and dance and twirl to music.

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Large head parade
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18 feet high characters in the parade

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People sing and walk along the parade and encourage other people to take part. It was neat to watch them in the parade.

https://youtu.be/8YkKQUirs4E

“Adios y que tenga un gran dia”

Spain

Burning of the fogueres

At midnight on June 24th, the Fogueres de Sant Joan celebrates the “Crema” which is burning of the fogueres. The first foguere that is burnt is at the Ayuntamiento de Alicante (City Hall). A very large group of people gather at the Ayuntamiento de Alicante to wait for the official start which is the fireworks launched from the Castillo de Santa Bárbara in a palm tree design.

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crowd gathering at city hall for the crema

It was so crowded that we were not able to get close enough to see the foguere at city hall, which is approximately 4 storeys high and very beautiful.

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City hall foguere before it was burnt

We worked our way to the next foguere which was just around the corner from city hall. There was a large crowd there as well, but we managed to see most of the foguere being burnt.

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Foguere before it was burnt

https://youtu.be/MYgz7cIXu7o

Large crowds of people party and follow the  bomberos throughout the entire city.  Each foguere is loaded up with fireworks and then set off to start the foguere on fire. We followed a few of the fogueres on the way home but the crowds were too big to see the foguere on fire. We decided to head home and wait for the burning of our local foguere.

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Shelley and Ray at the local foguere in their neighbourhood at 3 a.m.

Shortly after 4 a.m. the bomberos arrived and our local foguere was set on fire. The video below captured the burning of our local foguere at 4 a.m.

https://youtu.be/pmUetDD5RfE

It was a very busy and interesting week. The festival is the biggest one of the year and attracts thousands of people. We are glad we were here to enjoy it.

“adios y que tengo un gran dia”

 

Life is too short to wait for adventure!