Three Weeks in Alicante

My, my! Five weeks into our European adventure! And what's up with us?

We’ve been in Alicante, on Spain’s Mediterranean coast, for almost three weeks. We’re finding our way around, and finding many reasons to like this sea-side town.

Initially we were put off by the town’s appearance, after the elegance and beauty of Seville. Here we find high-rise buildings on the beach, and newer high-rises built in front of older ones, blocking their view. (Indeed, where we are staying has a large, wide living room that may have had wonderful views of the ocean at one time; now it looks out on the brick wall of the building in front of us!) The downtown area is a jumble of styles and ages, neither classily ancient, nor fully modern.

 

What it's all about here -- the beach! We live at the far end, kinda to the left of that high rise.

View from our roof. See the highrise to the right? Those buildings to the left used to have a view!
(Thanks to my daughter Nina for the photo; that's her shadow on the right!)

Inside. Nice big room; lovely brick wall!

But then, this is a beach town! People come here from all over Europe – and the world – for the sun and sand, not lessons in history. Not that there is no history here. It was a Greek settlement, then a Roman one, and the Moors first fortified the hill overlooking the city. After they were driven out in the 15^th Century various European factions moved through, enhancing the hill-top fortifications to protect the town from pirates, and the Turks. Throughout it all, the city was bombarded and destroyed several times, the last being during the Spanish Civil War when it was attacked by Italian war planes and over 1000 Republican supporters were killed.

Today, though, it’s all about good times. Our first night here, when we were joined by my daughter, Nina, we wandered through a very lively restaurant and café area. The tables spilling out into the streets were filled with diners and drinkers. We passed streets full of outdoor sports bars, where patrons followed the game on huge screens hung outside the bars, and every good play was marked by loud cheering all over the neighborhood.

Lively outdoor sports bar, one of many cafes in downton Alicante.

We later came upon a quiet park with massive fig trees, their air roots reaching the ground and forming enormous trunks, much like Banyans.  A dozen or so tables surrounded a kiosk bar. We sat in the golden glow of the sodium-vapor lights and had cocktails. A very romantic setting!

Yeah, it's a bar.

Nina and her dad, me!

Paula and Nina. Nice cocktail!

Since then we’ve covered the city pretty well. We heard about a fantastic art venue, the old train station now called Casa Mediterraneo. While in the process of being restored it’s had a translucent blue roof installed that lends a beautiful relaxing glow to the large interior space. Alicante was just ending a festival celebrating Turkish culture, and the space, while empty, had large portraits hung around the walls, paintings inspired by the artist's visits to Turkey. We returned at the end of the week for a Sunday concert presenting Turkish-inspired music played by a local orchestra.

Casa Mediterraneo. Great performance & exhibition space!

A local orchestra, play8ing Turkish-themed music

The portrait artist, on the far left, next to Teresa.

Afterwards we ran into Teresa, the rental agent for the apartment we’re renting; a Madrid native, she’s been here in Alicante for almost two decades. We walked with her back through town, among local families out strolling on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. We passed along the beach, already crowded, and it’s only mid-May!

Copacabana in Rio? No, just folks out for a Sunday stroll on the Passeig Esplanada d'Espanya in Alicante

And a little further down the beach another trippy walkway!

Detail of the beach walk. Interestingly, this pattern is identical to one I saw in Fez, Morocco.
The Moorish influence is still prevalent!

We arrived at Teresa’s favorite xiringuito, or beach bar, just a few blocks from our apartment. Although the tables were jammed with the Sunday lunch crowd, we found places at the bar and tried Teresa’s suggestion, Vermout, which she referred to as a “home-made martini.” Dark, clear, and well-iced it was very refreshing, and went down well. But I stopped at one! Two hours and several plates of shared tapas later (not as sophisticated as the gourmet dishes in Seville, but good and not expensive), we were satisfied, full, and very amused. I ended with a different view of Alicante – this is a fun town!

At the xiringuito with Teresa and Elenor, a visitor from Florida

So, whatever happened to Madrid? And Porto? And Seville? Ah, those are tales for another time! Perhaps we'll hear more about them soon, but for now, we're in Alicante, living five minutes from the beach!

One of the more elegant buildings in Alicante, reminiscent of the South of France -- Nice, or Montpellier.
And, note the "Peace" sculpture to the right.

Another former train station

Alicante's Central Market, built in 1912; damaged but survived the bombing during the Civil War (1939)

Inside the Central Market

The whimsical mushroom street (Calle San Francisco)

        Up next: 
Seville vs. Madrid. And maybe something about Porto