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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Brad, Louise and Shelley at the Santa Barbara Castle
We walked around the castle and checked out the 11th-century historic site.
Original wall of Santa Barbara Castle with Mediterranean sea in backgroundRay in guard post at Santa Barbara CastleShelley overlooking the city of Alicante from Santa Barbara CastleSanta Barbara CastleStairs on outer wall area of Santa Barbara CastleShelley 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.
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.
When we arrived back at the apartment we decided to take a relaxing swim and cool off by the pool.
Ray diving into the pool
The day was very enjoyable and we had lots of fun.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
One of the things we have enjoyed in our adventures in Spain is the culture. The Spanish tradition of the “abanico” is interesting. The use of the abanico (Fan ) is a long-standing tradition in Spain. The use of the fan in Spain began around the 13th century when fans from the Middle East were brought back by Crusaders.
The tradition of the fan was originally used for cooling a person in the heat of the Spanish weather. It is alleged that the fan was also used as a form of secret coded messages. The “secret” fan language was a means to deal with the restrictive social etiquette. In fact, one of our Spanish friends told us how her mother communicated with her father before they were married through the fan secret language.
The secret language is believed to be as follows:
Open fan over the chest showing the design “Yes”
Open fan over the chest showing the back “No”
Open fan covering one of the cheeks “I like you”
Wave fan very fast: “I really like you”
Wave fan very slowly: “I am not interested”
Open fan covering your nose “I want to see you”
Open fan covering your chin “I want to talk to you”
Closed fan near the heart: “I love you”
Open fan placed over lips: “Kiss me”
Close fan waving; “I am thinking about it”
Hit close fan against hand “Leave me alone”
Open and close the fan: “I am upset”
Open fan waving energetically on one side “Don´t come now, other people around”
The “abanico” is still very popular in Spain and it is not uncommon to see women waving the fan when they are hot. The abanicos are sold extensively throughout the country and it is not uncommon to see tourist buying a cheap fan as a souvenir.
Abanicos on display in Barcelona souvenir store for saleNumerous abanicos on sale at a local department store in Alicante
The abanicos range in price from $1 euro up into the hundreds of dollars. The handcrafted artisan style fans are very beautiful and a piece of art. We looked at some fans on display that were quite expensive and locked inside a display case.
Expensive abanicos on display in locked case at local department store
The style and diversity of the abanicos are truly amazing. There are some for women’s small hand purses, evening classic style and some are works of art used to accent a women’s clothing. We bought a fan to remind us of the tradition. Can you tell which secret Shelley is saying in fan language?
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